What do you think Petro? Seems like he may want to be in the 12 mill a year range. Maple Leafs have enough cap space to sign JT.
I honestly don't think he's worth that much. The Golden Knights showed that you only really need an all-star goalie to make a run at the cup.
I want to keep JT but the most encouraging thing Lamoriello has shown is he isn’t just going for a quick fix; otherwise he’d have overpaid in a trade with a first round pick for Grabauer. I don’t think he’s going to overpay for JT.
I agree with both of you guys, the one thing Isles have in their favor is that the true stars of the NHL are all between 10 and 13 million a year salary. Crosby, Kane, Towes, Kopitar, Stamkos, so if he wants to see this through he can take the 10 mill a year and leave some money for FA signings that can be used to strengthen the team. Isles still have tons of cap space even if JT takes 10 mil a year.
Is Toronto a viable option cap wise, really? If so, Tavares could choose them for sure. They were great last year and showed growth this year despite their Game 7 loss to the Bruins. He would make them Stanley Cup caliber for 2019 and the next 5+ years probably. I heard someone say San Jose earlier and I just didn't think that were good enough to be realistic for Tavares to leave, but Toronto is. Maybe San Jose is, they went 6 games against Vegas in Round 2, went to the Cup in 2016, but they are older. The Maple Leafs are a perfect spot if he really doesn't want to re-sign with the Isles, but something tells me he does.
I was surprised to see it myself, only the Isles have more cap space according the source I saw. http://www.spotrac.com/nhl/cap/
I preface this by saying I want JT to stay,,,,that said I WILL NOT BLAME HIM ONE BIT FOR LEAVING this should have been resolved a long time ago that said If I were him now that we have Lou and Trotz I take the offer and stay. Is it possible we can trade his rights to another team ( say for instance Tampa ) and get a body or 2 back by midnight ? I will be all for that as well.
I think I heard Lou say he will either sign with the Isles or elsewhere. No sign and trades or trading his rights. I think he will stay, as this reminds me of Stamkos a couple years ago, but you never know til he officially signs.
Boston and Tampa Bay are interesting additions to the teams he is meeting with. Boston makes sense, but I don't see how Tampa Bay has the Cap room to add a star like Tavares.
Those are drive up the price meetings. If his demands get outrageous I’d prefer to see them go after Karlsson if they can extend him in the $8 mil range.
Yep. I have to say, I don't particularly have a good feeling about this. The Islanders have completely cleaned house and had an excellent draft, and will be moving into a new arena. There really isn't anything else they can do at this point. It seems to me that if Tavares really wanted to stay all he would have to do is sit down with the team and give them a number. Shopping himself around this way indicates to me that he's perfectly willing to go somewhere else. And places like Boston, Tampa, San Jose, and Toronto have a hell of a lot more to offer on the ice than do the Islanders.
I hear you and agree, but this is a once in a lifetime moment for Tavares. He is 28, right? So a deal with the Isles takes him to 36. Nothing wrong with looking around and seeing what else is out there before you agree to spend the rest of your career at one place. If the 8 years, $88 million figure is true, maybe they have to add to it and make it 8 years, $96 million or something like that. I think he stays, but I don't trust anything until it is official.
Hey, look at what I wrote - I never once criticized him for doing it. All I'm saying is that it sounds to me like he wants to do exactly what you're suggesting he do - look around - and if he does that I'm quite sure he'll find options that are better than staying in an objective sense. The only reason to go with the Islanders over teams like the Bruins, Lightning, Sharks, and Leafs is if you want to stay for emotional reasons, and if that was the case he wouldn't need to look around. The Isles have done everything they can to show him that they are all in; if he's still looking around then to me that means that that isn't enough.
I believe the Lightning and the Maple Leafs have the edge of all the teams looking to sign him. From management down to HC and a good mix of youth and veterans where he won’t be the focal point of the offense but another excellent weapon the other teams have to defend against. As much as I want him to stay on the island, he has given them a good chunk of his youth and has nothing to show for it, the other question is how long before these changes the islanders made will have results? Next year, three years from now? Tampa and Toronto are clicking right now, there’s no uncertainty with those teams. That’s what makes me nervous at this point.
Arthur Staple was on with Joe and Evan earlier today. You could probably visit the WFAN site and the audio will be up sometime today if you want to listen. He has it at 80/20 JT stays. Says JT very impressed with Lamoriello and Trotz's plan for the team going forward. He also said if it was still the Snow/Weight show than JT most likely gone. You should visit islandermania.com. Great Isles site and the JT thread over there will keep you updated as information becomes available.
