Oh I'm sorry TTWD , I understood that you actually meant what you typed.
There are your words.
Even if we get Stamkos we'd still need an elite match-up center if we plan on being serious contenders
Your words "elite match -up center" you and I disagree greatly on what that means
if your going to toss out names like zajac,stepan,Johnson and call them elite?
hahaha FINE i'll counter with Kadri,Bozak under coach babcock, any and every single day of the week.
Zajac was elite defensively at the time (and still arguably is), feel free to disprove that if you can. His offense leaves a lot to be desired, which was mitigated by having Parise and Kovalchuk, both of whom were outstanding defensively as well.
Tyler Johnson was unquestionably elite last year, again, feel free to try and build an argument against that. He had some of the best scoring% and possession metrics in the league.
Stepan is without a doubt the weakest of the group, and he's still significantly better than Kadri or Bozak. Miles better if we're talking purely from a defensive/shutdown perspective.
The other thing is that of the teams you listed, 2 of them were Cinderella runs (NJ and Philly), and the Rangers were built around a borderline generational goalie + elite D core. If we look past recent cup finalists to perennial contenders, the majority of them have high end match-up centers.
Fact is you need a guy who can go out against the opponent's top line and at LEAST break even against them. Stamkos does not do this. It's not his fault necessarily, his natural talents just don't lend themselves to a puck possession game anymore. He's not a primary puck carrier on his line, although he is great at converting chances. He's the piece you add if you have money left after finding your true #1C.
