As training camp approaches, the respective contract statuses of Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos and Los Angeles Kings center Anze Kopitar continues to generate interest.
Steve Stamkos could be king of Toronto if he signs with the Maple Leafs.
SPORTSNET: Damien Cox fantasizes over how Tampa Bay Lightning captain Steven Stamkos could become “king of it all in Toronto” if he decides to join the Maple Leafs next summer as an unrestricted free agent. Despite the lack of talent on the Leafs, who are in the midst of a long-overdue roster rebuild, Cox suggests the deep pockets of the club’s ownership, the hirings of Mike Babcock as head coach and Lou Lamoriello as GM and the additions of promising youth like William Nylander and Mitch Marner might be enticing to Stamkos.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: On the other hand, there’s the fishbowl existence of life as a Leaf in Toronto, the nearly 50 years since the franchise last won a Stanley Cup, the uncertainty over how long the rebuild could take and how successful it will actually be, the opportunity of playing for a perennial Cup contender in Tampa Bay and the fact no NHL superstar in his playing prime has signed with a Canadian team as an unrestricted free agent, unless you count Curtis Joseph jumping from Edmonton to Toronto in 1998.
Now, if Stamkos really wants to return to Toronto, the Leafs will happily pay him whatever he wants if the Lightning won’t. As Cox points out, the longer Stamkos remains unsigned, the greater the speculation about his future. It’s going to cost the Lightning around $10.5 million annually to re-sign him, they have to ensure sufficient cap room to re-sign other key free agents over the next couple of years and they probably have concerns about the low value of the Canadian dollar slowing the rise of the salary cap.
By the sound of things, however, negotiations with the Lightning are ongoing. There’s a long way to go between now and next July, and no guarantee Stamkos will hit the UFA market when July 1 rolls around. If he’s still unsigned when the playoffs end in June, then I’ll buy into the possibility he’ll bolt to Toronto.
Luke Fox reports Los Angeles Kings center Anze Kopitar isn’t panicking over the fact he hasn’t yet re-signed a new contract. “I’d like to stay an L.A. King, and I’m pretty sure the Kings would like me to come back,” said Kopitar. “We’ll see. We’ll work on it. The talks are still ongoing, just maybe on a little bit of a slower pace than everybody expected.” The center adds he’d like to sign an extension before the start of the season, expressing confidence it can be resolved. Like Stamkos, Fox believes the longer Kopitar is unsigned, the more he’ll be talked about.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Kopitar’s future isn’t receiving quite as much hype as Stamkos, but in my opinion it’s no less notable. The problem for the Kings is limited cap space and Kopitar’s likely asking price, which could be $10 million per season. He reportedly doesn’t want to talk contract during the season, so expect speculation over his future to increase if he hasn’t inked a new deal when the season opens next month.
ESPN.COM: Craig Custance speculates new contracts for Stamkos and Kopitar will impact the value of New York Islanders center John Tavares when he becomes eligible for UFA status in 2018. The Isles can open contract talks with Tavares in July 2017, whose current annual cap hit is $5.5 million, while his actual salary over the next three seasons is $6 million.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Tavares will easily double his money, be it with the Isles or another club, by 2018. If he leads the Isles into Cup contention, his asking price could go higher. Of course, that’s still three years away, and a lot can happen between now and then.
I will not argue that Stamkos is not worth $10 million a year, perhaps Kopitar is too. I will argue they don’t see that money in a stagnant cap world.
What team could afford that contract right now? Arizona? Would a GM be willing to put roughly 15% of his payroll into a single player? Maybe….. but I think that will depend on how Chicago fairs this season with two (error 1) such contract after a massive overhaul. Then there is just that. Will a GM be willing to overhaul a roster to make room?
Again, I am not saying they aren’t worth the money. I am saying economics will get in the way of their ability to get it. Keep in mind, Teows and Kane (the obvious comparibles here) signed those extensions when everyone expected a massive cap jump. I see $8.5 to $9 million personally….
I almost agree with you but I bet some GM will pony up the money. I have to wonder why the players (stars) say, “THE CUP” is what I’m after but then ask for top dollars that end up strapping the team for cash to sign other top players. How many millions do they need? I would rather be on a team with two 5 million dollar players than a team with one 10 million dollar player. Yes it’s the stars that bring in the fans but it’s the whole team that wins. I suspect the players association has something to do with it.
You could compare Mike Babcock’s move to players like Stamkos, Kopitar and Tavares. Babcock’s contract will help raise the salaries of every coach in the league. The problem the league faces now is not high player salaries, it’s the Canadian dollar. As crazy as it sounds, hockey fans need to pull for a significant rise in the price of crude oil.
hahaha serves the owners right.
10 years ago: complain that there is no parity in the league because of the canadian dollar
Today: complain that the salary cap and therefore can’t pay salaries because of canadian dollar
Typical hypocritical
around and around and around we go
“As crazy as it sounds, hockey fans need to pull for a significant rise in the price of crude oil.”
Don’t hold your breath. Economic think-tanks round the world are saying it could continue to drop to under $20 a barrel!
That is a funny response to make to Swinny’s comment. Swinny’ tells us all that Toews and Kane signed big contracts yes the thought may have been the cap will continue up but no one really believed that there is always a correction in markets like his. However your response is if Stamkos signed a big contract like that or other stars they will handicap their team. Yet when I look up the recent Stanley cup Champions I see Chicago has won 3 cups in the last six years while being handy capped with two burdensome contracts.
I think Players don’t beleive a second that they are handicapping a team by asking for top dollar. They believe there skills will help a team win the cup and they should be compensated accordingly. It is up to management to invest the money elsewhere wisely. It is the fact that a team employs a player with such calibre that entices other players to come to the team at a discount.
Toews and Kane 10.5 contracts don’t kick in into this season and yes that was with a predicted cap increase in mind. So as of date they haven’t won the cup with 10.5m per season on the books. We’ll wait and see.
Dang it, you win this duel.
What do you smoke Caper? Both Kane and Toews new contracts for $10.5M are in effect as of right now (2015-16 season).
Wait Caper. Saw what you replied to. Misunderstood your answer. 🙂
Actually todays “new nhl” is perfect for not 1 but 4, 10 million players on a team.
3 on 3 OT is the wave of the future.
Bettman: Well if we limit the platyers on the ice then we dont have to pay for 21 players anymore
Owners: wow good idea
PS. The greddy owners should also give a raise to the zambonia drivers and refunds to fans for wasting their time.
Retards
2 on 2. Like Basketball is t3h future. And larger goalie “protection”…
Here is a look at the Cup winners in the salary cap era and the % of their top players.
Year Team Salary Cap top two players % of cap
2006 Carolina $39 million Staal/Ward 4
2007 Anaheim $44 mill Pronger/Niedermayer 29
2008 Detroit $50.3 mill Lidstrom/Datsyuk 28
2009 Pittsburgh $56.7 mill Crosby/Malkin 22
2010 Chicago $56.8 mill Toews/Kane 11.4
2011 Boston $59.4 mill Chara/Bergeron 20
2012 Los Angeles $64.3 mill Kopitar/Doughty 21.4
2013 Chicago $70.2 mill Toews/Kane 18
2014 Los Angeles $64.3 mill Kopitar/Doughty 21.4
2015-16 Chicago Toews/Kane 28
Stamkos, Kopitar, Tavares all on Toronto. Oh My!!!
And they’ll all sign home-town discounts, right?
Only 2 million a piece. So that the Leafs can keep Dion.
HAHAHA!
jeff
nylander & marner straight up for lidberg, Ewanyk nand the hamburger goalie
Sign me up
wait that was too easy
throw in chris neil and we got a deal
Yep and all 3 players will command $11 million per year on 7 year deal that will be about 1/3 of Toronto’s salary cap considering that the cap because of the Canadian dollar falling wont be rising any time soon. Most likely falling so Toronto in a few years will be Chicago, Pittsburgh, Boston now.
I think there’s a 99% chance Stamkos resigns in Tampa, but in the 1% off-chance he doesn’t, I think he’ll give Toronto a long hard look if we’re willing to pay. I agree with Lyle that players of this magnitude rarely sign with their hometown hockey teams, but if he’s a free agent next year there is a possibility it could work. As long as he’s willing not be on a cup contender for a few years, and the Leafs are willing to pay. The Leafs aren’t gonna be this crappy forever. But like I said, why would he leave Tampa? Great team, beautiful climate.
Just pondering my wandering a but could Nashville fit Stammer in their roster. Could,be a big trade there.
I could see St Louis make a big pitch for him. They need the leadership and could use the different chemistry it would bring also + the point totals.
This move in to the mega contracts under the new CBA restrictions of 8 years for your own players & 7 if signing a UFA are very new. Crosby, 8.7 cap hit 12 years & Ovechkin 9.5 cap hit on 13 years were signed prior to these restrictions obviously & their cap hits were reduced by the tail end of those long contracts. Other than Toews & Kane’s matching 8Y 10.5 contracts only 6 other players have signed long term deals at the high end of the cap stratosphere. Getzlaf 7Y 8.25, Perry 7Y 8.625, Subban 8Y 9, Malkin 8Y 9.5, Voracek 8Y 8.25 & Tarasenko 8Y 7.5 & several others in the 7Y 7 mil range.
Oil prices aren’t declining any time soon. It’s supply & demand. Franking technology turned the US from a net importer to 1 of the 5 largest exports of petroleum based products in under 5 years. At current consumption rates with no added supply it will be 3.5 years before demand catches up to supply. The problem though is no 1 is reducing supply just the opposite in fact. The solution for nations dependent on oil as a primary source of GDP has been to increase production to make up for the loss of revenue, making it worse not better!
As for teams not knowing where the cap was going. They should have. The major global money market traders have been projecting this for several years & I can assure they base this technical data on facts, stats & numbers. All clubs are getting global financial advice not just for their sports empires but their company’s that make owning these empires possible. That’s the world we live in today. I work in the petroleum industry & the smart money started planning for this 4 years ago in the real world. They do so by hedging; future selling contracts at predetermined price points, gradual reductions in employment, delayed or terminated expansion, reduced or eliminated dividends & the liquidation of assets, which started for the smart over 4 years ago but the stupid are now caught with their pants down. I deal with both parties daily. I applaud the smart & repossess the assets of the stupid.
Just curious. Who would you prefer to have on your team today, Tarasenko or Stamkos?
Tavares…lol
SHARKS SHOULD TRADE MARLEAU, THORNTON, NIETO, WINGELS & SOME PICKS TO THE LIGHTNING FOR STAMKOS. LIGHTNING WOULD GET THE VETERAN EXPERIENCE THEY NEED & YOUNG PLAYERS & DRAFT PICKS THEY’D WANT IN RETURN. IT’S NOT LIKE MARLEAU & THORNTON CAN’T PLAY ANYMORE EITHER. LIGHTNING NEED THAT VETERAN EXPERIENCE, TOO! ALTHOUGH IT WOULD LOOK WEIRD SEEING THORNTON & MARLEAU IN ANOTHER JERSEY.
What does any of that have to do with the price of eggs striker!?
This is a hockey thread.. You guys sure go off on your own tangents.
all I can say is hindsight is 20/20.. Easy to say all that stuff now.. How come you weren’t sounding the alarms even 1 yr ago????
Also stamkos or kopitar will be traded before they become free agents.. free agency is a pipe dream!!!!!
Come on guys get serious
There isn’t a player on the planet worth $10M/year with a $70M salary cap. If you sign a guy for that much, well, you get what you deserve.
Unless his name is Orr
$10M is 14.3% of the max cap. Hmm. I see what you mean, and agree as a whole, but I feel the need to mention both Brad Richards and Alex Ovechkin. At the time of their signings, both signed long term contracts for 16% of the max salary cap. Today, that would equal to $11.2M annually…which is crazy of course. Maybe the GMs boldly banked on the cap to rise back then. I think so.