Nik the Trik said:
But within the context of where you and I both are with regards to Stamkos...what's the best case scenario here? The Leafs' have a pretty good #1 over the course of a time period where they might not be very good regardless? One that makes it harder to finish where you want to in order to (hopefully) draft a franchise level defenseman?
I think they were hoping for stability in net behind a young roster. I don't think they wanted to rotate new goalies in every couple years until they found the guy that's good enough to take them to the next level. Unfortunately, stability comes with a price - one some people are obviously more comfortable with than others, and that's understandable. I don't think this moves the needle all that much in the short-term, and, without other upgrades to the roster, I can still easily see this team finishing in the bottom 5.
Would I have preferred that they waited? Maybe.
I see the wisdom in not rotating through a new goalie every couple seasons, but I also see the value that could have come from retaining the picks. I don't think there's a huge difference in value either way. At some point in the near future, they were going to be paying a goalie close to the same salary, so, I'm not particularly concerned by that, either.