Vincenzo Arelliti
He Can't Play Center
I’m willing to bet JT doesn’t return to NYI next year. I’m also willing to bet he doesn’t get traded at the TDL.
Speculation: Tavares Tells Toronto, "I'm YOUR Huckleberry Now". Fans leaguewide mourn.
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PiggySmalls
Oink Oink MF
- Mar 7, 2015
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If Garth Snow wants to make one last push to show JT they are serious about being contenders in the future, he will go out and find a quality goalie. They have extra picks from the Hamonic trade to get someone. I enjoy watching their games and their offense is so dynamic but Halak and Greiss is not the answer and the injuries to their D-corps is not helping.
I still fully expect JT to resign there though. But if he doesn't resign, I don't see how STL is not an attractive destination. I am really glad to see the Blues' spouses are getting more publicity. At the beginning of the season they had a retired player on NHLnetwork Radio and he talked about how one of the under looked reasons why a player chooses one team over another is the team/area support for their spouse and family. The Blues have nearly always have been known for having excellent family support. I don't know if JT fiancé stays with him during the season or stays in Toronto. But I'm sure she would be met by the other wives with open arms.
I still fully expect JT to resign there though. But if he doesn't resign, I don't see how STL is not an attractive destination. I am really glad to see the Blues' spouses are getting more publicity. At the beginning of the season they had a retired player on NHLnetwork Radio and he talked about how one of the under looked reasons why a player chooses one team over another is the team/area support for their spouse and family. The Blues have nearly always have been known for having excellent family support. I don't know if JT fiancé stays with him during the season or stays in Toronto. But I'm sure she would be met by the other wives with open arms.
TK 421
Barbashev eats babies pass it on
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During a recent Leafs-Flyers broadcast Freidman said one team was prepared to offer 15 mil x 7 for JT. That's from a Flyers fan named Tripod who posted in the main board thread. The cap going up is really going to require all of us to adjust our thinking about what a fair contract is. Will Stillman keep the team up against the cap? Or do the Blues start banking some of that cap space?
TK 421
Barbashev eats babies pass it on
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Ikr? I have a really tough time wrapping my head around those #'s and an even tougher time seeing Armstrong actually paying that.
Dbrownss
Registered User
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No contending team is going to pay that. If I had to guess its Montreal, because they are desperate. Im sorry but they are not a Tavares away from being contenders.
NHL network radio goes over the JT saga at least once a week. They mention the Blues often as a destination that can offer a competitive contract along with a playoff roster that he would drop right into, and its a popular small market team too.
NHL network radio goes over the JT saga at least once a week. They mention the Blues often as a destination that can offer a competitive contract along with a playoff roster that he would drop right into, and its a popular small market team too.
Or it might simply be the Canadian media pushing rumours in the hope or a more exciting FA. I don't believe for a second that a GM has said that he'd offer 7 years at $15m, unless he is attempting to indirectly tamper just to get him to UFA.
Are the Blues an attractive destination? It depends on what he is looking for.
If he is simply looking for the best chance to win, $70m and a very good place for his family to live... we're in a great position.
If he is looking for $12m a year, a big market to maximise his endorsements potential and a good chance to win... we're not in the running.
If we want Tavares, the time to make a move is in May.
Are the Blues an attractive destination? It depends on what he is looking for.
If he is simply looking for the best chance to win, $70m and a very good place for his family to live... we're in a great position.
If he is looking for $12m a year, a big market to maximise his endorsements potential and a good chance to win... we're not in the running.
If we want Tavares, the time to make a move is in May.
PiggySmalls
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Montreal Media has speculated how much the Canadiens can offer JT and it has really caused the number to skyrocket. If it is the Habs that want to offer that much, so be it. No player is worth more then McDavid, I don't care how much the cap goes up (Not even Crosby because of his age).
The Note in MI
Bow to the pyramid
I wouldn’t pay more than 10-11 million pending term for JT.
Is he really going to want to leave with Barzal and the other young talented players they have.
Is he really going to want to leave with Barzal and the other young talented players they have.
I'd do 10 mil in a heartbeat, but I don't think anyone is going to pay him McDavid money, nor should they. 10 mil is about in line with what Tarasenko got when you add in inflation.
If you give JT $10M...what do you give Petro, Tarasenko & Schwartz on their next models? I’d gladly wade through Cap-hell though if it meant building a Cup-winning model like Chicago and Pittsburgh. Give the money to your top-5 players, and fill in around with hungry rookies and cheap vets.
- Jul 4, 2014
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I completely agree, and I would go as high as $12M for JT, but with that model you damn well better win it all at least once or you've set your franchise back a good 5-10 years.
Dbrownss
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Thats the range that was set on NHL radio. Only JT can answer the second question.
Another question is, why hasn't he signed? While its similar to Stamkos, itd not identical. Tampa is a complete powerhouse team that can win a cup, Islanders are not. Stamkos could have gotten more on the open market, The Islanders can offer more.
The rumor is 100m is on the table for him in NY, no team can do that realistically without him being traded prior to FA. If I had to guess, most playoff teams cant offer up more then 77m contract. That's a huge difference, I dont think its about the money. He wants a championship
You cross those bridges when you come to them. Schwartz is the main concern out of those three. We'll have no problems offering Pietrangelo a big long term deal, and Tarasenko will about to turn 32 at the start of his next deal and not looking for anything particularly long term.
Or he wants to sign somewhere specific.
Vincenzo Arelliti
He Can't Play Center
We easily have the cap to do 12M. By the time Schwartz and company need a raise, the cap will have gone up more, and other things we can’t imagine will be happening.
If JT is at all interested in STL (and there’s no way in hell he goes to MTL), we should offer him that. If he was only interested in money, he would stay in NYI. If he was interested in money and a possible cup, he would come here. MTL is in a worse situation than NYI, and with Price and Tavares both on the same team making huge deals, there’s no way they can compete - same with NYI and their budget.
There are three options: Tavares wants money and wants to wait for the cap to be set and stays with NYI, Tavares has a specific destination in mind, or Tavares wants to win. In all of those situations he will demand at least 11M due to he and the PA really wanting to push for a non-discount contract. The only team that can provide all of that with all the amenities, IMO, is STL. If he isn’t doing option one or two, he’s coming here.
If JT is at all interested in STL (and there’s no way in hell he goes to MTL), we should offer him that. If he was only interested in money, he would stay in NYI. If he was interested in money and a possible cup, he would come here. MTL is in a worse situation than NYI, and with Price and Tavares both on the same team making huge deals, there’s no way they can compete - same with NYI and their budget.
There are three options: Tavares wants money and wants to wait for the cap to be set and stays with NYI, Tavares has a specific destination in mind, or Tavares wants to win. In all of those situations he will demand at least 11M due to he and the PA really wanting to push for a non-discount contract. The only team that can provide all of that with all the amenities, IMO, is STL. If he isn’t doing option one or two, he’s coming here.
In May? While Playoffs are going? Wouldn't June be the right time? Btw what JT would cost us if we acquire him before JT goes FA?
Make the call the week the Islanders season ends. They aren't going to trade him before they feel like they have exhausted all possibilities, which would be approaching the draft.
The cost is going to be significantly less than it would be for a rental. They have to trade him to a team that Tavares is willing to sign with. Either way, we find out if he is interested in signing here and if he is then we can avoid the UFA market at a modest asset cost.
I still expect him to sign an extension with the Islanders though.
Too difficult to predict because these trades rarely happen, and not with players of his calibre.
If Tavares decides that he is leaving the Islanders, then the best way to get ahead of the competition is being able to give him 8 years. That would require the Islanders extending him and immediately trading him. We'd still have to give up something good for the Islanders to play ball in the scenario. Probably looking at a good prospect & 1st.
Without the extension? Probably a decent prospect and conditional pick.
Brian39
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- Apr 24, 2014
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Frankly, that doesn't matter. Karlsson and Doughty's next contracts will influence what Petro can get significantly more than what we give a UFA center. After this year, Schwartz and Tarasenko have 3 and 5 years left on their deal and their new contracts will very likely be signed under a new CBA. A massive Tavares deal might impact their deals, but it likely wouldn't change much. Even if it does cause us to spend an extra couple million more AAV between those players, that's a decision that's years down the road. You'd have plenty of time to structure your cap accordingly and hims signing $10+ mil to a non-Islanders team is going to drive up salaries league wide of any player willing to leave their current team to hit UFA.
I'm not quite sure what a fair number for Tavares is. He has shown an ability to make a ton of different wingers look very, very good and I think he'd be a lock to be a 75 point center here for at least the first few seasons. But regardless of what that number is, it has to be based on what you think he actually adds to the team and not based on what it may do to your salary structure 3+ years out.
Realistically, $11 mil AAV is doable and fair. It won't be the highest offer he gets, but it would very likely be the best offer from a team with a comparable supporting cast. That would put us at about $72 mil against the cap with 18 guys on the roster (I included Dunn, Thompson, Barby and Sanford in this calculation as I think all should be on the 23 man roster next year). Without replacing one of Gunnar/J-Bo with an entry level contract like Walman, that should leave us with about 6 mil in space to extend Fabbri, Ed, a backup and 2 more 4th line/depth players (assuming a $3 mil increase in the cap, which is on the low end of predictions). Shed Gunnar or J-Bo's contract and you have enough room to spend on a quality backup and to give Ed more than a cheap bridge deal. Long story short, Tavares at $11 mil doesn't cause cap issues next season. It also wouldn't hurt the season after, since Barby is currently the only RFA due a raise after 18/19. Now, the summer of 2020 would get interesting as we have a number of good players due new contracts. However, most our 'bad' contracts should be off the books by then and I have to think we would find a way out of either Steen or Berglund's contracts by then if we get Tavares in 2018 (either via trade or buyout). There also very well may be a compliance buyout by that time since it is incredibly likely there either won't be a 20/21 season or we will have a new CBA before the start of that season.
Long story short, we are well positioned to take on $11 mil AAV. We would be able to add him without any real cap casualties for at least 2 years and potentially longer if we can shed some combination of Berglund, Steen, and Sobotka. By 2020, we should know which of Thomas, Kyrou, Thompson, Kostin are good enough to be true top 6 guys and will make some of our secondary talent expendable. Unless the cap decreases significantly (which has never happened), Tavares at $11 mil AAV shouldn't prevent us from going into 20/21 with all of Tavares, Schenn, Schwartz, Tarasenko, Petro, Parayko, and Allen. On top of that, Dunn, Fabbri, Walman, Thomas, Kyrou, Thompson, Kostin, and Husso will all still be under RFA years and would only be off the roster if they bust or are part of a trade. We should be able to hold onto Ed unless he is made expendable by prospects (I doubt it) and the above roster would still leave us with enough cap space to fit a vet or two to that group.
If he is available (which is still a big if), I'd much much much rather overpay him by a couple million and figure out how that affects our 4th-7th best forwards 2 years down the line than pass on him because it could cause cap issues down the road. I'm generally very against using UFA to acquire talent, but this is one of the few exceptions. I firmly believe that we are the favorite in the West for at least 3 years if we add Tavares to this group without having to lose significant assets.
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Note Worthy
History Made
I wouldn't be able to contain my excitement if we landed Tavares. And if (big if) he makes it to FA, I honestly like our chances of being able to sign him.
Brian39
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- Apr 24, 2014
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I agree that we have the best chance (or at least as good a chance as anyone) of getting him if he doesn't remain an Islander.
With that said, I'm still shocked that he hasn't been extended. I truly believed that the new arena deal was going to lead to a quick extension. I still believe that he will be an Islander and that he is hoping that dragging this process out will force the Isles to improve the supporting cast as part of their pitch to him.
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