NHL Roundtable: Stamkos' future in blue and white, flying Senators, and choosing a Game 7 goalie

"On the Fly," theScore's NHL Roundtable series, continues ...

Toronto Maple Stamkos

Ben Whyte: Once again, Steven Stamkos sent Toronto Maple Leafs fans into a frenzy with his Twitter activity, favoriting a tweet that alludes to a future homecoming for the third time in 18 months.

Leaving a young Tampa Bay Lightning team fresh off a run to the Stanley Cup Final for a rebuilding project would be a shock, to say the least, and while this may simply be a clever bargaining ploy by the impending free agent, the situation in Toronto is more attractive now than it's ever been.

While rumors swirl of discord between Stamkos and Lightning head coach Jon Cooper, Toronto finally boasts a stable front office with Brendan Shanahan, Lou Lamoriello, and Mike Babcock. Morgan Rielly continues to improve, and prospect William Nylander is leading the team's AHL affilia to new heights.

The Maple Leafs won't be shy with the pocketbook, and by next year, Stamkos may be checking Twitter in different shades of blue and white.

One Game 7, One Goalie

Ian McLaren: With two weeks left before the holiday break, 16 goalies boast a save percentage of .920 or higher. Of the bunch, only seven have appeared in 20 or more games: Roberto Luongo, Jake Allen, Cory Schneider, Marc-Andre Fleury, Braden Holtby, Ben Bishop, and Henrik Lundqvist.

As good as Allen and Schneider can be, their playoff experience is limited, so they're scratched in order to quickly whittle down the field. Both Luongo and Fleury have appeared in a Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, with the former Vancouver Canucks goalie dropping the ball and the Pittsburgh Penguins netminder stopping a Hall of Famer point blank to preserve the win. Still, those peak playoff performances are well in the past, and question marks remain at this point in their careers.

And then there were three. While it's tempting to roll the dice on Holtby's .936 postseason save percentage and a contending Washington Capitals team, it's hard to ignore the fact Bishop and Lundqvist came up big in Game 7 situations just last season en route to an Eastern Conference showdown. Yes, Bishop outdueled "The King" in a climactic Game 7 by posting his second shutout of the playoffs, but there's simply no denying Lundqvist's ability to win the biggest games. In fact, with a second-round win over Holtby and the Capitals, Lundqvist became only the third goalie in history to win six Game 7s, matching Patrick Roy and Martin Brodeur. In those victories, he allowed only five goals, recording a .973 save percentage. Even in the loss to Bishop's Lightning, he stopped 23 of 25 shots, coming oh-so-close to breaking the record.

Yes, he's getting up there in years, but until further notice, Hank's the man you want in net in Game 7.

Surging Sens

Mark Millard: This is the most talented edition of the Ottawa Senators since the 2006-07 team that went to the Stanley Cup Final. Back then, Dany Heatley scored 50 goals, Jason Spezza tallied a ridiculous 87 points in 67 games, Daniel Alfredsson matched Spezza's total, and Mike Fisher was at his best.

The Senators haven't had that kind of production in nearly a decade, but they've finally found it with an impressive young core this season and five players in the top 30 in scoring.

Erik Karlsson is a front-runner for the Norris Trophy once again, Bobby Ryan is proving to everyone he's still a legit player, Mike Hoffman has emerged as one of the best young goal-scorers in the game, Mark Stone is showing last year wasn't a fluke, and Kyle Turris has solidified himself as a legitimate No. 1 center.

With a record of 33-12-6 since March, the Senators have become a serious threat. The future is now in Ottawa.