L K
Active member
I don't think Toronto is the perfect fit for Stamkos at this point, but are the Leafs really 3-4 years away from contending if they sign Stamkos? I mean, yeah, if they don't fix their goaltending, sure but let's say Bernier figures it out or they make a trade in the offseason along the lines of JVR/Stuff for Anderson/Vatanen.
Pittsburgh made the playoffs in Crosby/Malkin's second season (won 47 games), make the finals in their 3rd season and win it in their 4th. To me the definition of contending isn't really "being the best in the league", it's a team that's good enough that they can potentially beat anyone.
I fully expect next year to be tough because a lot of rookies means a lot of guys who are potentially 50-90 point players are going to score at 30-50 point paces. But while I wouldn't equate Stamkos to Crosby, or Matthews to Malkin, you are also talking about adding Nylander and Marner to that list. It's still a year or two before this team is good but I think adding a #1 pick like Matthews AND a premier established NHL goalscorer absolutely accelerates the rebuild.
So I don't really buy that argument that Stamkos is then coming to a team that is 3-4 years away. I think he sacrifices 1-2 years maybe but this team is a hell of a lot closer if he does end up here.
I do buy the argument that he's just not a great fit because he comes in as arguably the #2 guy behind Matthews right away AND given that Tampa keeps moving him away from center I'm not entirely convinced that he's guaranteed to keep a spot up the middle in Toronto either.
Pittsburgh made the playoffs in Crosby/Malkin's second season (won 47 games), make the finals in their 3rd season and win it in their 4th. To me the definition of contending isn't really "being the best in the league", it's a team that's good enough that they can potentially beat anyone.
I fully expect next year to be tough because a lot of rookies means a lot of guys who are potentially 50-90 point players are going to score at 30-50 point paces. But while I wouldn't equate Stamkos to Crosby, or Matthews to Malkin, you are also talking about adding Nylander and Marner to that list. It's still a year or two before this team is good but I think adding a #1 pick like Matthews AND a premier established NHL goalscorer absolutely accelerates the rebuild.
So I don't really buy that argument that Stamkos is then coming to a team that is 3-4 years away. I think he sacrifices 1-2 years maybe but this team is a hell of a lot closer if he does end up here.
I do buy the argument that he's just not a great fit because he comes in as arguably the #2 guy behind Matthews right away AND given that Tampa keeps moving him away from center I'm not entirely convinced that he's guaranteed to keep a spot up the middle in Toronto either.