Markham-born Steven Stamkos is scheduled to hit the free-agent market this summer, and that has many wondering if he'll be looking to return home and play for the Toronto Maple Leafs. But would that be the right move for the rebuilding franchise?
Should the Maple Leafs make a run at Steven Stamkos in free agency?
Navin Vaswani: The rebuild's underway, Toronto's tied for the fewest points in the NHL, the prospects are on their way, and the Toronto Marlies are the best team in the AHL. It doesn't have to take five years. Stamkos is the man to make the Maple Leafs a playoff team on the rise - as soon as next season.
Gino Bottero: This is Phil Kessel all over again. The plan changes midway through time and time again. Spending money to accelerate things hasn't worked in the past. With so much young talent coming down the pipeline, the last thing the team needs is to be saddled with an aging, ineffective player on a max deal once those young prospects are ready to make a run.
Vaswani: Nothing was in place when Kessel was acquired. This time there's a plan. And it's rare that a player of Stamkos' caliber hits the free-agent market. He'll be 26 in February. Toronto will get his decline years, yes, but if it can win a Stanley Cup in the first five years of the deal, it'll be worth it. Stamkos is proven. He's elite, has experience, and fills the gaping hole down the middle that Mats Sundin's departure left eight years ago.
Bottero: One would need a very optimistic outlook to say the team that's dwelling near the bottom of the Eastern Conference and hasn't won a Cup since '67 has a five-year window. The team would be better suited investing in its future, putting money into homegrown talent that's been groomed in Mike Babcock's system.
Vaswani: Sure, Toronto's at the bottom of the standings, but that's Jonathan Bernier's fault. If he plays like an NHL goalie, the Maple Leafs are competing for a playoff spot. If Toronto can rid itself of some expensive contracts (Joffrey Lupul and Dion Phaneuf), an investment into Stamkos can be looked at as an investment in the club's future. Who better than to teach William Nylander, Kasperi Kapanen, Mitch Marner, and even Nazem Kadri, than Stamkos?
Bottero: Getting out from under those contracts is going to take time. If Stamkos is trying to carry the load himself, the Leafs are right back where they were with Kessel. With the unlimited resources the team has at its disposal, invest money in the coaching staff (which doesn't count against the cap) to help groom those young studs.
Vaswani: It didn't take long to get out of Kessel's mammoth contract. The bottom line: Kessel cost picks. Stamkos - like Babcock - only costs money. And, as you say, the Maple Leafs have unlimited amounts of it. There's no reason not to try and bring Stamkos home. He can play a part in grooming the young studs, too.
Bottero: But Stamkos would take up salary cap space, and at some point all those up-and-coming young guns on the Marlies are going to need to get paid. There will come a time when the Leafs will want to supplement their young core with a big name free agent, but that day is still years away.
