Now that the Stanley Cup Finals are over, the draft speculation as well as the trade talks begin. There are a number of rumours out there that have been gaining momentum consistently over the past week and a half or so, with some holding more water than others. In most cases trade rumours turn out to be nothing more than rumours, but occasionally there is truth in the speculation.
At this point I'd like to state that I was raised in Toronto, consider it my home, and of course am a die hard Leafs fan for better or worse. Like every year, next season will mark the end of our Stanley Cup drought. With that being said, I'll provide 3 rumors that don't seem to go away. One of which will make you understand the inspiration behind this post. Check it
Steven Stamkos
Its hard to imagine that the Tampa Bay Lightning wouldn't find a way to come to terms with Stammer in offering a suitable contract. However TBay doesn't have much cap space to play with since they already shell out a small fortune to their veteran superstars Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St.Louis, both still under contract until 2017-18 for Vinny and 2014-15 for Marty. Tampa is also already over the cap which means they will be moving players around this off season.
According to Eklund from HockeyBuzz.com, there are numerous sources (and by numerous I mean over 40 in the past 3 days) saying that Stamkos and Tbay are not coming to terms in a timely manner. That being said you then might wonder who is in the running for the Stamkos bid. Currently the Leafs are rumoured to be at the front of the pack, this would not only solve a huge part of Toronto's lack of offense, but would also be a perfect fit seeing as Stammers home town is Markham, just outside Toronto within the GTA. Also worth noting is the fact the Leafs GM Brian Burke has freed up a large amount of cap space over the past couple years and could offer Stamkos a considerable amount. The Islanders have also been mentioned as contenders but screw 'em. Here's to hoping Christmas comes early.
Ilya Bryzgalov
Ilya is regarded as one of the better goalies in the NHL. The Coyotes are more or less a lackluster team on paper but with Shane Doan running ship and Bryzgalov standing on his head they were able to make the playoffs in a ridiculously tight Western Conference this past season. However there are very strong rumours suggesting he is on the move and most likely will be landing in Philadelphia. This makes perfect sense for the Flyers as they made an absolute mockery this season of what it means to have a #1 goalie, interchanging between 3 different mediocre tendies throughout the regular season and even the playoffs. It seemed to fly for a while as Philly currently has one of the most offensively stacked teams in the league but it wasn't enough as their strange goal tending theory ultimately cost them their season, losing to Boston in the second round. Bryzgalov essentially would solve this problem however the Flyers will need to make quite a bit of cap space for him.
Ryan Smyth
Ryan Smyth has apparently requested to be traded from the Los Angeles Kings for family reasons. More specifically he wants to return to his hometown and play once again for the Edmonton Oilers. His contract expires at the end of the 2011-2012 season which makes it worth L.A's while to trade him while they can, and seeing that Edmonton has tremendous young talent, a deal is very possible. Also Ryan Smyth would be the perfect veteran figure on a team stacked with budding superstars such as Taylor Hall, Jordan Eberle, and Paajarvi-Svensson. This rumor will most likely be turned into fact considering Ryan Smyth has gained the utmost respect in any hockey market he's ever played for and in nearing the end of his career would like to finish it on his own terms.
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