Latest on John Tavares, Travis Hamonic, Steven Stamkos (again!) and more in Part Two of your Sunday NHL rumor roundup.
Latest Islanders rumors.
Could John Tavares leave the Islanders for the Leafs in 2018?
NEW YORK POST: Larry Brooks speculates New York Islanders captain John Tavares could grow frustrated of playing in Brooklyn and bolt to the Toronto Maple Leafs as an unrestricted free agent in 2018. Brooks cites the club’s unwillingness thus far to build a practice facility in Brooklyn as one source of this frustration. If the Isles also fail to progress as a playoff club, that could also play a role in Tavare’s potential departure.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: I recall back in 2009 when there was speculation out of Toronto claiming Tavares would refuse to report to the Islanders if they drafted him, and in 2011 suggesting he’d stage a holdout after his entry-level contract expired to force a trade to Toronto. Given how those prognostications turned out, we should take this one with not just a huge grain of salt, but the whole damn salt shaker.
NEWSDAY: Arthur Staple reports it’s increasingly unlikely the Islanders will move defenseman Travis Hamonic by the Feb. 29 trade deadline. He cites two sources claiming the club’s appetite for an in-season move is “exceedlingly low.” Even moving him in the summer could be problematic.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Unless the Islanders get blown away by an irresistible offer, Hamonic won’t be going anywhere this season.
Stamkos to the Sabres?
THE BUFFALO NEWS: Mike Harrington suggests the possibility of Steven Stamkos signing with the Buffalo Sabres, rather than the Toronto Maple Leafs, if he fails to re-sign with the Tampa Bay Lightning. He claims the Sabres are closer to winning than the Leafs and already have core pieces in place, plus they also have deep-pocketed ownership willing to spend top dollar to land him.
SPECTOR’S NOTE: Well, if you’re gonna dream, why not dream big. Actually, Harrington makes some good points, but the Sabres and Leafs won’t be the only clubs pursuing Stamkos if he hits the open market. There could be some closer to winning than those two teams.
Trade deadline predictions for the Vancouver Canucks.
THE PROVINCE: Jason Botchford predicts the Canucks will trade defenseman Dan Hamhuis to the Pittsburgh Penguins, they won’t acquire any first-round picks at the trade deadline, they won’t trade winger Radim Vrbata if still in playoff contention, they’ll find a taker for fading grinder Brandon Prust (perhaps the Washington Capitals?)while Chris Higgins won’t be dealt.
There ya ho Shticky. Yesterday you were bang on about that guy looking 7 years ahead at McDavid when you pointed out that Tavares was closer. Let the talk begin.
lol told ya.
I will point out tho the prognostications, here are coming from NewYork not Toronto and the denzines of Leaf nation but somehow I doubt any will remember where it started and will be turned in to Toronto their fans and sports media do this everytime.
Actually, Tavares makes more sense than Stamkos in terms of where the Leafs might be considering their availability as potential UFAs.
Totally agree and at that point in time, when the Sens riff raff will be off the books with all of Dion Gleasons buy out the money held on Gunnarsson aswell as Bozak and Lupul and 2 more years of development of prospects…pipe dream I know but why on earth would you choose Stamkos now and squash the possibility no matter how remote is beyond me.
Stamkos would be a bad idea for Buffalo, since will have some rising stars of their own to pay in the coming years. Who do you get rid of if you sign Stammer?
Nash? No sense in having two top-scoring Forwards who disappear in playoff hockey.
Oops. Sorry. Was thinking Rangers. LOL
uuuuuuuuhhhhhhh. 32 points in 60 games and people still talk about Nash? He isn’t Crosby, Mario, Wayne etc….. he should put up 1 point a game?
Karlsson, 19 points in 29 playoff games….what a loser!!! Ryan 17 in 32….TURD!!!!! Hoffman, 3 in 6….PUKE!!! Turris…. 17 in 27….. OMG!!!!! What a loser? Seriously?
10 goals in 60 playoff games. Roughly about 13 goals over a seasons worth of playoff games. Lame duck. You can go on about his pk skills but he’s not being paid $7.5 for those.
NYRForLife has a short fuse when Nash’s name is brought up in terms of being a no-show in the playoffs.
And Karlsson makes the big $$$’s for his amazing defensive skills? Lol.
Center is one position that Buffalo is and will be strong for many years.
Buffalo does need to upgrade their right wing. Personally, I would send Gionta packing at the deadline and that would all but deplete our right wingers.
Kyle Okposo is where we should spend some money.
Sabres need a 4th d man – left handed, more defenseman if someone wants Gorges
larry brooks is a jackass
Amen
I keep forgetting that Toronto is the number one destination for stars… First Stamkos and now Tavares, some of these writers fail to remember the other 29 teams in the league. As with Stamkos, if Tavares decides to bolt when he can in 2018 that there will be tons of teams ready to offer huge contracts and teams that will likely be much closer to a Stanley Cup than Toronto will be
Gosh, guys Tampa Bay is pretty close to winning. Tampa Bay has good goaltending. Tampa Bay has a press corps that is reasonable to deal with. Florida has low taxes. Florida has in-season golf. But, so many other stars have bolted for Toronto, or Montreal, or their home town. that I guess the Lightning fans should give up hope.
Don’t forget to add McDavid Crosby Ovechkin Karlsson Doughty to that list that wanna defect to the worlds capital
You could fill out a 23 man roster with players rumored to be waiting for their chance to “bolt” to Toronto.
lol no doubt it gets rather sickening you would think with all these guys that was would have came the leafs would be up with the habs at 24 cups! lol
why will free agents want to sign with toronto.
Here’s why:
toronto will draft matthews
toronto has 30 mill now = stamkos will sign cuz of matthews
within another 2 seasons they have another 15 mill = tavaras will sign cuz of stamkos.
The leafs centres will be matthews / tavaras / stamkos / kadri / nylander / marner.
They dont need other players becasue they will win 3 cups in next 3 years and reilly will win norris
So, you think the Leafs’ name will be drawn out of the drum by Campbell do you? They might. But the 2 teams that finish in the last 3 spots with them have the same % chance. And one of them will likely be Edmonton. Stay away from high bridges on that day.
leaf are after defense, chychrun, joveli, russian… only chychrun slated to go top 5 anyways
so anything higher is actually a bone
I was just thinking that. Pretty soon we’ll be hearing rumors that the entire All-Star lineup wants to play in Toronto because…talking heads in Toronto want it happen? Too much cool-aid being passed around up there.
Tavares will not want to leave NYI for an even worse team.
Yeah maybe the Sabres have the pieces to win, But not with Lehner as their main Goalie they wont.
Not really sold on that blueline either.
So in otherword if the Sabres want to build a top heavy top 6 with no D and questionable D and no capspace to fix it sure fill your boots. Right now I could careless about Stamkos as long as its not his hometown.
oh, your talking about Edmonton. lol
Yeah same here with questionable D and Goaltending Buffalo wont get very far. And i don’t see Stamkos putting himself into that situation honestly.
I think Lehner is a bridge to one of their kid goalies. Need defense too, Sabres still years away from being there.
More times than not players ‘bolting’, pardon the pun, to other teams for more money rarely works out.
Thanks Lyle. Thanks! I couldn’t get enough of Stamkos going home to Toronto everyday, now I won’t have enough time in my day to read all the comments about Tavares having a sit in until he is moved to the bug smoke.
With 2 years to go I would suggest you can do it if you just stick to binge reading the Tavares articles on slow news days like Tuesday and Thursday….youre welcome for the tips ?
Bug smoke? should be big smoke; however bug isn’t bad; yes you know why; because its BUGGING Me! sorry couldn’t help myself.
Not sure if you heard this or not before; But no one wants to play in Winnipeg! Its too cold, -23 Today with the wind chill (finally warm enough for me to go outside). Byfuglien resigned, I say he took a discount, certainly could’ve got more term on the open market. Drew Stafford resigned in the off season, I’m certain there was other choices he had. Now its reporting that Ladd, still trying to work out a deal because he doesn’t want to leave the peg. Nobody wants to come here but when they do, they seem to enjoy it, (unless your name is Evander Kane) the city isn’t big enough for him, he’s a big apple type personality. I will say its good for Winnipeg and the NHL when players of Byfuglien and Ladd calibre are not only willing but want to stay in the small market, ice bucket, where players are treated like rock stars, as long as you put up the effort.
I spend many a day I. Winnipeg. It’s a dry cold. A -20 in the peg is not as cold in my opinion as -20 in Ottawa. I was in Vancouver a few years back and it was hovering over zero and I could not stop shivering, cold got me to the bone. Winnipeg when all is said and done is t as cold as the temperature on the tv makes it out to be.
How bad are my Bruins? beat Winnipeg they demote their goalie, Beat Minnie and they fire their coach. If I’m the GM in Detroit today I be worried, better hope for a win or he could be a mascot at some pizza chain.
Tavares and the Leafs in 2018? I don’t know..shaker of salt for sure on that. Tavares, will be going on 28 in late Sept of 2018. Not sure the Leafs would want to pay the large $ for him as a UFA at 28 but who knows.
Thornton, Marleau, et al come off books year before Tavares becomes free agent. San Jose is a great place to live, let alone play. Tavares might be interested.
On a side note wasnt this the week last year when tje lions share of the deals revolving around the deadline started?
Nvm it was the week previous to the deadline but 2 weeks nefore is when it started for Toronto with Franson and Santorelli….
who cares?
Meow
While Buffalo may be further along in their rebuild really how far along are they. Aside from contract money/term in hand there are other factors. If the Cup was the only factor, I’m not sure Buffalo would be a desired location. Oh, they have Eichel you say. Well I would argue that the Oilers are closer than the Sabres and the Oilers have McDavid who, having watch both play, is far superior to Eichel. The Oilers supporting cast of up and coming talent is as deep if not deeper than the Sabres. The other factor that plays against Buffalo is the endorsement factor. Discussion on TSN radio in Vancouver this week suggested that if Stamkos were in Toronto he could make upwards of 20 million in endorsements because of the market. He won’t make anything close to that in Buffalo, less than 1/2 to be sure. While he wouldn’t make that in Edmonton, or any other Canadian market, he would make a lot more than Buffalo. Toronto and Edmonton both have superior coaching as well. Inept coaching is something that does not bode well for the Habs as well, along with the fact they not really a very good team without a healthy Carey Price. If playing for a contender is more important than playing close to home, what about the Islanders & playing with Taveres? Has this ever been speculated? The Islanders are a lot closer than any of the 4 teams previous mention in my diatribe and the stage is as big as as it gets.
20 million would be almost 5 times what Crosby makes now in endorsements & he leads the NHL!
I doubt your numbers regarding Crosby, you seem to share the most inane (I’ll help you, it means silly) thoughts that wander through the empty vastness that is between your ears but even if they are remotely close he is in Pittsburgh, hardly a hockey hotbed. Perhaps if Crosby played for the Steelers he may approach the numbers Stamkos could get in Toronto.
Hahahahahah, when a star player is rumored…RUMORED…that his place to sign is Toronto, everyone gets jealous. Just that alone, calls for a “enough said” for our amusement.
We take solace in the fact Toronto is brutal & has been for what seems like forever.
When was the last time they won anything, how does that song go, sometime in the late 60’s?
Were most of you leafs fans that comment here even born?
don’t worry striker im a leaf fan and sick of all the leaf talk about how good these prospects are we have heard it forever! we haven’t won a cup since 67 we have made the playoffs once in the past decade and that was a shortened season lol now we are finally rebuilding and fans think its a good idea to sign a player for 10 million cause hes from the Toronto area? losing teams fans always go on a hope and a prayer lol
At least Toronto appears to have laid the right foundation now for future success.
No short cuts this time hopefully.
Why on earth would “jealousy” enter into it when not one of those “rumors” ever came true? Especially since they were never started by anyone closely associated with the player concerned because, if they had, at least ONE would have found their way there. Get over yourself.
Comment none of the rumors ever come true? Where is Babcock coaching this season? Last year all the comments were about how he would never leave Detroit. Then when he wasn’t signing Detroit all of the comments were about how he would never go to Toronto.
babcock has been the saviour!! 2 points out of last in the nhl! lol
So you are obviously saying that they would be better off without him? Or what exactly is your point?
Yep but your a Leaf fan…lol honestly big bear grow a set and stop pretending.
His point is at the top of his head, the rest of him is obtuse
lol get your head out of the clouds boys just being realistic
Being realistic about what, you haven’t made a point. Or did you expect him to come in and win a cup in the first year? This is a rebuilding team, my point was that sometimes the rumors are true. You haven’t made any point at all, except that you seem to have expected him to win a championship in the first year of a rebuilt.
Is it me, or did big bear used to post under the name Jell-O? And then for a while he posted under the name k? Just a suspicion.
Leaf fan who doesnt know what Leaf players were traded for comstantly bringing up the Habs and thought Tinordi was some how worth Kirby Rychel hmmm ya just being realistic and taking my jead out of the cloduds but Id say youre proba ly a Habs fan that just enjoys trolling the Leafs and you dont have the cahones to admit it. In your little head you think that no one is catching on that youre just trolling and dont have to worry about getting booted for it..after all your just being realistic with a fans opinion about your favorite team
right? whose prospects suck and their savior coach has them 2 points oit of last? Honestly man youre not fooling anyone when you start bringing up how many cups the Habs have won and all their great singings and moves of Bergevin like Semin Kassian but you do t know who was traded for Gunnarsson or
Liles… realistic bog bear you are a Hans fan trolling anyone who says anything about the Leafs, and youve done it for months…youre not fooling anyone.
Its not K Pudding becaise at least K is man or woman enough to stand behind what they are saying and are not pretending they are something they are not….thats kinda the sad thing Big near isnt even really good at what he is doing lol. I have more respect for K least K isnt alittle weasle about it
Yessss! I thought I was the only one who thought big bear was Jell o!
Strangely I was just thinking the same thing
Finally
lmao im not jello I don’t stoop to shticky standards by making other names up to say I agree! lmao
George, nothing to add to say I am wrong?
I like the make up of Buffalo’s roster better than Edmonton’s. It appears to be deeper & many of the kids have far better defensive awareness. Not to mention that O’Reilly is 1 of the best 2 way centers in the game. Just a few notches bellow the likes of Toews, Kopitar & Bergeron.
It will be interesting to see which of these team digs themselves out of the cellar 1st. Buffalo has the advantage of playing in a significantly easier conference.
I notice in the team you put together Striker, that you value the 2way center. You had Toew, kopitar, Bergeron and O’reilly; while leaving off Seguin and Crosby. Both of whom would be on my team. Not to include Crosby on your team, is very short sighted or like a lot others you just don’t like him.
Once again, more drivel. It just keeps coming and coming!
I agree about oreilly he is a great 2 way center
Dan Hamhuis for Ben Lovejoy and Ian Cole..Done
“Canucks will trade defenseman Dan Hamhuis to the Pittsburgh Penguins”
No.
The Leafs fan rumor mill is churning at full capacity these days. Stamkos, Tavares, then probably Marshawn Lynch will be in the rumor mill for the Leafs.
Why do so many people in Toronto conjure up such stuff with absolutely no merit?
I don’t think Larry Brooks is a Toronto fan, he writes for the New York Post. If you notice that’s where the Tavares Rumor came from.