Don't make assumptions.
Again, don't make assumptions. He should be paid what a player of his caliber is worth but they shouldn't break the bank and handcuff themselves. Personally, I do not think it will be necessary to handcuff themselves in order to sign him.
And that wasn't an insult, it was a serious question. What is wrong with you people?
It seems like you're missing something here - like I said, we all want him, the only issue is cost so if you agree with not overpaying him I have no idea what you're going on about.
But who is apparently on the downside of his career
If McJesus ever hits UFA status I can see people here arguing against signing him due to the potential cost
Some people have said ITT that they only care about goals, the fact that he doesn't get a ton of assists doesn't matter. Ok then, Stamkos' goals per game starting with the season he scored 60.
0.73
0.60
0.54
0.52
0.45
It's still early this season so he could improve on that 0.45, we'll see but like it or not, that's a downward trend. TB fans seem to think he's not same player he once was, there seems to good reason for this. He's not a defensive force, nor is he a great playmaker, he's basically a goal scoring specialist and in order to get the most out of him, you need to pair him with someone who can feed him the puck. He's not the type of player you would play in all situations or who makes those around him better. He's got a couple of years of prime left, after that, it's a question of how quickly rather than if he will decline. He's still a great player and may well be able to pot 30-35 goals a year even at the age of 30-32 but considering his limitations in other areas, making him the highest player in the league and guaranteeing him that money for 7 years would be a risk that I would rather pass on.