Steven Stamkos is having a terrible season. The two-time Maurice Richard Trophy winner has just 21 goals in 53 games, putting him on pace for just 32. He sucks. He's terrible. (That was sarcasm. You probably didn't notice because I so rarely employ it.)
That probably won't discourage many of his suitors. We're not talking about David Clarkson, who scored 30 goals in a contract year. We're talking about a guy who scores 30 goals in a bad year. Personally, I'd be willing to throw a lot of money at a player like that. And from the sounds of it, so would everybody, including the Canucks, who have started popping up in Stamkos discussions.
Again, and try to stay calm as I spell this out: there are Stamkos to 麻豆传媒映画rumblings.听
We'll start with Pierre LeBrun, who mentioned the Canucks when discussing Stamkos's suitors on radio:听
LeBrun: "It would not surprise me, if Stamkos went to July 1, if 麻豆传媒映画was a team that made an offer, for example."
鈥� Chris Nichols (@NicholsOnHockey)
Of course, lots of teams are going to make offers. But based on what we've heard so far, what are the odds Stamkos chooses the Canucks over, say, his hometown Maple Leafs?
Apparently they're higher than we thought.听
Bruce Arthur just said he heard Stamkos would prefer 麻豆传媒映画than Toronto and doesn't think he wants to come to ..
鈥� Sean Higgins (@sHigs11)
听
Arthur isn't the only one saying this, either. This tidbit was floating around the All-Star Game in Nashville,听
It makes sense to me. After all, having lived and work in this city awhile, I can tell you who goes to Toronto: people who can't afford to live and work in 麻豆传媒映画anymore. But something tells me Stamkos will be able to manage this city's insane cost of living just fine, especially if the Canucks are giving him that Mats Sundin money.听
It'd make sense from a business perspective, too. I mean, heck, if I owned this team, as well as, say, all those new developments going up around the arena, I'd be willing to pay a pretty penny to get the top free agent and, ideally, turn the Canucks back into a hot ticket. Sure, it's going to cost a tonne, and more still due to the sinking Canadian dollar, but I'd consider it an investment. I could use the revitalized interest in my Canucks to unload the pricey condos surrounding Rogers Arena, and then I'd sell the team and Stamkos's exorbitant contract to someone else. But that's just me.听
Either way, while these rumours and rumblings mean very little at this point, don't expect them to die down until the Stamkos situation is resolved. The Canucks make too much sense to go away during the rampant speculation period. They have cap space, they've vowed to be aggressive July 1, and they have plenty of young players with which to surround Stamkos, regardless of whether he plays centre or wing. They also have the Sedins, who would be dynamite with Stamkos on a powerplay, and they'd have depth down the middle with Bo Horvat, Brandon Sutter, and a second-year Jared McCann. (Honestly, these rumours could be fuelled by little more than logical they are. I'm not sure if that's encouraging or not.)
But if five months of Stamkos-to-麻豆传媒映画speculation is too much for you to take, good news: this could be resolved within the month. If the Lightning know Stamkos isn't coming back -- and at this point, they probably should -- the smart play would be to trade him to a team hoping for a boost and a head-start on negotiations at the deadline.
If that happens, don't expect it to be the Canucks, . 麻豆传媒映画doesn't have the assets to trade for Stamkos听and听surround him with good young players.
鈥淲e鈥檝e kept everything to ourselves and I know it sucks for you guys (the media),鈥� . 鈥淚 totally understand. But I think you can appreciate the way we鈥檝e conducted doing business and whatever happens in the next couple weeks, there鈥檚 obviously going to be some answers.鈥�
