• HOME
  • NHL Teams
    • North Division
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • East Division
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Central Division
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • Dallas Stars
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Nashville Predators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
    • West Division
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Arizona Coyotes
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • Minnesota Wild
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle Kraken
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • Headlines
  • NHL Rumors
  • NHL Prospects
  • World Juniors
  • Archives
  • Podcast Network
  • More…
    • CHL
      • Ontario Hockey League
      • Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
      • Western Hockey League
    • Columns
    • Women’s Hockey
    • Other Leagues
    • NHL Entry Draft
    • Books
    • NHL History
  • Log in
The Hockey Writers
  • Site Index
  • NHL Salary Caps
  • Hockey 101: A Beginner’s Guide
  • Join Our Team
  • Free Newsletter
  • Store
  • Log in
The Hockey Writers
  • HOME
  • NHL Teams
    • North Division
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • East Division
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Central Division
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • Dallas Stars
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Nashville Predators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
    • West Division
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Arizona Coyotes
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • Minnesota Wild
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle Kraken
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • Headlines
  • NHL Rumors
  • NHL Prospects
  • World Juniors
  • Archives
  • Podcast Network
  • More…
    • CHL
      • Ontario Hockey League
      • Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
      • Western Hockey League
    • Columns
    • Women’s Hockey
    • Other Leagues
    • NHL Entry Draft
    • Books
    • NHL History
Home
Trade Deadline

Stamkos to Vancouver Just Doesn’t Fit

By Noah Dolinajec January 24th, 2016

Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp

The Tampa Bay Lightning have offered Steven Stamkos an 8-year $68 million contract beginning next year. Steven Stamkos has yet to reply. Tensions between Stamkos’ party and the Lightning have been strained for some time as it’s been assumed Stamkos has interest in taking his game elsewhere. The Lightning have been a wildly successful team with Stamkos on the roster but as a Canadian Stamkos has expressed cryptic interest in joining a Canadian club. At first the Toronto Maple Leafs were rumored to be his desired destination but the Vancouver Canucks have recently popped up as a viable destination. The Canucks have over $12 million in expiring contracts this year all on players they probably won’t resign. With that in mind, are the Canucks willing to throw more than $8 million AAV at goal scoring wizard Stamkos? And is Stamkos to Vancouver a realistic move?

#Canucks SixPack from Saturday – HNIC thinks Vancouver cld take a run at Stamkos – https://t.co/ZW0pfuI9pF pic.twitter.com/XINcz2vWn8

— Omar A.R. (@omarcanuck) January 11, 2016

If Benning can work some magic before February 29th at 3pm the Canucks should have boosted their rebuild by shipping outRadim Vrbata ($5 AAV) and possibly Alex Burrows ($4.5 AAV). Not too mention resigning Brandon Prust or Yannick Weber seems like quite the longshot. Benning wants to keep moving in a new direction built on youth through his system. He’ll keep some select veterans around like the twins, Jannik Hansen, Alex Edler and Derek Dorsett but everyone else is more than likely a liquid asset.

Why Stamkos to Vancouver Just Isn’t Right

Steven Stamkos is one heck of a hockey player. He’s got a knack for the net (despite his unseasonably low output this year) and he’s a true competitor. At just 25-years-old the Ontario native has already surpassed the 50-goal mark twice in his career. He’s played in 540 NHL games and has recorded 296 goals. That’s more than 0.5 goals per game which means you can count on Stamkos to score at least every other night. Pretty unbelievable.

And fans in Vancouver are hungry for a fresh corps of players that bring speed and excitement, something Stamkos has surely done on most nights of his young NHL career.

Should the #Canucks target Stamkos? Hell yeah they should! https://t.co/RwGsCy1z4I

— The Canuck Way (@FSTheCanuckWay) January 20, 2016

So of course it’s without any hesitation that we can say Stamkos is an elite NHL player. But how much do his surrounding players play a role in that success? And Does Vancouver have the right pieces to compliment him?

His current linemates Ondrej Palat and Vladislav Namestnikov are great budding young players but they don’t quite accent Stamkos the way that Martin St. Louis did. There’s been the argument that Stamkos would be the perfect right winger for the Sedins to finish their careers with. What a powerhouse line that would be right?

Not so fast.

Stamkos, much like the twins one-year linemate Vrbata, is a goal scorer. Stamkos makes his living floating in the slot and sneaking to the outside to set up for a booming onetime shot. He rarely battles in front of the net for goals like Alex Burrows and Jannik Hansen do. So sure, on the powerplay having Henrik, Daniel, Hansen and Stamkos along with say Chris Tanev would strike fear in the opponents minds but beyond that Stamkos would be left in no man’s land on Vancouver’s roster.

It wouldn’t be fair to the twins and it wouldn’t be fair to Stamkos who would have to wait until the Sedins retired to find a new set of better suited linemates. It’s possible that Jared McCann could develop into that first line center that Stamkos needs but that could take serious time… like enough time that Stamkos would be nearing his 30’s before McCann really became a viable linemate.

So although it seems like a dynamite move on paper, bringing Stamkos to Vancouver would create some serious friction. The question is whether or not the Canucks brass would be willing to wait out the storm that would ensue.

The Money: Stamkos Would Demand $8.5 Million Or More

Stamkos is currently sitting in his house in the state of Florida pondering whether or not to accept the nearly $70 million on the table in front of him or whether he’s best suited to play in different colors next year. No one can blame him. That’s a lot of money, but most analysts think he could be leaving some significant dough off his earnings if he signs with the Lightning, not to mention it’s kind of a slap in the face that the Lightning offered below what he’s publicly valued at…which is not really a specific number as much as it’s an intrinsic knowledge of his worth.

Should Vancouver feel destined to get Stamkos not only would they need to give Tampa Bay a massive return, most likely including one or two of Bo Horvat, Ben Hutton, Jared McCann and Jake Virtanen, but they would need to be prepared to offer Stamkos significantly better value. Like at least $1 million AAV more than Tampa is offering. That could be troublesome for Vancouver.

The Canucks do have some expiring contracts totalling almost $16 million in cap space, but if they let all those players walk they will need to fill more than just one role in the top-six. The departure of Vrbata would be filled with Stamkos but Bartkowski, Hamhuis and Weber would leave the Canucks with virtually no veteran depth on defense except Tanev and Edler. For a team that’s been outshot in 31 of their 49 games this year, it doesn’t seem smart to sacrifice their defense in lieu of bringing a flashy star name like Stamkos to Vancouver.

Attendance is down in Vancouver but the fans are passionate to say the least. They don’t need to be making PR influenced roster decisions. Benning should follow his own set of guidelines and continue building a solid, sustainable corps.

 

  • Tags
  • Daniel Sedin
  • Henrik Sedin
  • Jake Virtanen
  • Steven Stamkos
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn WhatsApp

Get theScore App Now!
Recent Posts
Jan 20th 12:15 PM
Washington Capitals

Capitals Plagued by Inconsistency & Lack of Effort on Opening Road Trip

Jan 20th 12:05 PM
Winnipeg Jets

3 Takeaways from Jets’ Thrilling Overtime Victory Over the Senators

Jan 20th 11:55 AM
Philadelphia Flyers

Flyers See the Goalie Depth They Hoped for With Elliott Shutout

Jan 20th 11:45 AM
Arizona Coyotes

Brassard Fills Role as Wily Coyote Off the Bench

Jan 20th 11:35 AM
Pittsburgh Penguins

Penguins’ Third Line a Bright Spot During Slow Start

Jan 20th 11:25 AM
Colorado Avalanche

Looking Back at Colin Wilson’s Consistent 11-Year NHL Career

Jan 20th 11:15 AM
Edmonton Oilers

Oilers Struggling Early With Scoring & Non-Existent Power Play

Jan 20th 10:45 AM
Detroit Red Wings

Red Wings Rewarded With Bobby Ryan’s Red-Hot Start

Jan 20th 10:35 AM
New York Rangers

Rangers’ Schedule Means Quinn Needs Adaptability Behind the Bench

Jan 20th 10:25 AM
Colorado Avalanche

Avalanche Need to Make Byram a Fixture in the Lineup

Editor’s Picks
World Junior Championship All-Time Leading Scorers

World Junior Championship All-Time Leading Scorers

2021 Guide To the World Junior Championship

2021 Guide To the World Junior Championship

Masthead

Newsletters

RSS Feeds

Privacy Statement

Contact Us

About THW…

Founded in 2009, The Hockey Writers is a premier destination for news and information on everything hockey. Updated daily with news and features from over 130 writers worldwide. Over 2 million monthly readers now come to THW for their hockey fix.

© The Hockey Writers 2020. All rights reserved.
logo
  • HOME
  • Hockey Headlines
  • NHL Rumors
  • North Division
    • Calgary Flames
    • Edmonton Oilers
    • Montreal Canadiens
    • Ottawa Senators
    • Toronto Maple Leafs
    • Vancouver Canucks
    • Winnipeg Jets
  • East Division
    • Boston Bruins
    • Buffalo Sabres
    • New Jersey Devils
    • New York Islanders
    • New York Rangers
    • Philadelphia Flyers
    • Pittsburgh Penguins
    • Washington Capitals
  • Central Division
    • Carolina Hurricanes
    • Chicago Blackhawks
    • Columbus Blue Jackets
    • Dallas Stars
    • Detroit Red Wings
    • Florida Panthers
    • Nashville Predators
    • Tampa Bay Lightning
  • West Division
    • Anaheim Ducks
    • Arizona Coyotes
    • Colorado Avalanche
    • Los Angeles Kings
    • Minnesota Wild
    • San Jose Sharks
    • Seattle Kraken
    • St Louis Blues
    • Vegas Golden Knights
  • World Juniors
  • CHL
    • Ontario Hockey League
    • Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
    • Western Hockey League
  • THW Podcast Network
  • Store
  • FREE Newsletter
  • Search THW
  • More…
    • Join Our Team
    • The THW Archives
    • Prospects
    • The Goalie Page
    • NHL Salary Cap Information