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Steven Stamkos was in Toronto representing the Tampa Lightning at Tuesday's annual NHL media junket. Stamkos didn't want to talk about his own contract status rather he chose to focus his attention on his club and it's chances of returning to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2016. Stamkos and the Bolts ran out of gas and eventually succumbed to a grittier, more talented and far more experienced Chicago Blackhawks team in the 2015 Cup Finals.
While Stamkos was talking Bolts, Elliotte Friedman of Sportnet was on 960 AM in Calgary talking about the Stamkos to Buffalo Sabres trade speculation that he first reported in his blog on Monday night.
Friedman wrote Monday:
It’s crazy to think the future wouldn’t include Stamkos, since the moment they traded Martin St. Louis, the Lightning couldn’t move fast enough to take down the former captain’s mural outside the arena and replace it with the new leader.However, approximately two weeks ago, a rumour made the rounds that there were trade talks involving Stamkos before the draft. (His no-move clause kicked-in days later.) The best intel I could gather is that it didn’t get close. Some sources indicate teams called Yzerman to ask. Others say the Lightning wanted to check the market in case they eventually had to do something. A few suspected Buffalo, because Sabres GM Tim Murray is unafraid to take bold steps. (Via text, Murray declined to answer and another source claimed it never really went anywhere.) The info is out there, but it’s very hard to pin down.
To be clear, Stamkos is entering the final year of his contract with the Lightning. He will become UFA on July 1 if he and Steve Yzerman do not reach a contract extension. Stamkos has not asked for a trade nor are the Bolts actively trying to trade their captain like they had with Martin St. Louis a couple of years ago.
On Tuesday, Stamkos said that he is not worried about his next contract right now.
"We'll see," Stamkos said. "It could happen tomorrow, it could happen next week. If not, then you get into camp and then you deal with it then and you have discussions."
Stamkos said he and his agent haven't decided yet whether they will negotiate with Steve Yzerman during the regular season.
Stamkos will earn $5.5 million this season and carries a salary-cap hit of $7.5 million. Stamkos also has a no-movement clause for this part of his contract.
At question is whether or not other NHL GMs, like Buffalo's Tim Murray, have reached out to Yzerman to ask about the present and future status of Stamkos. It's common practice for GM's to phone up fellow GM's gather updates and intel on players, especially those high profile one like Stamkos who may soon be hitting unrestricted free agency. To know Tim Murray is to know that he would say that he is tasked daily with having to build the best team that he can for his owners Terry and Kim Pegula and by extension the fans of the Buffalo Sabres. If that means calling up Yzerman asking about Stamkos, then so be it, because it would make the Sabres a better team if they could land Stamkos in a trade. Murray is a big game hunter as evidenced by his trades for A-list stars Evander Kane and Ryan O'Reilly. Ironically, Kane, O'Reilly and Stamkos all share the same player agency.
On Tuesday, Friedman was guest on AM 960 in Calgary where he was asked about the Stamkos trade buzz:
“The other thing that’s part of that blog that we haven’t talked about yet is the trade rumors. I’m still confused about a lot of that.
“It’s funny. Sometimes, as you know, you write something, you say something and then people call you and say, ‘Well, you didn’t get this,’ or ‘You could have written this,’ or ‘There’s a little bit more about this.’
“After a few hours of that happening – almost 24 hours now… – I’m still not 100 percent sure what exactly happened there.
“One thing I do believe is it wasn’t really too close, but I’ve found that around the league there’s varying degrees of belief about how close it was or wasn’t.
“So I don’t think it was that close, but I think there were definitely some talks.…
Is there a difference between trade conversations and calling to inquire about a player's status and availability?
‘There are some teams who believe that it was simply teams calling and asking and saying, ‘What are you doing with Stamkos? Nothing? Okay.’
“But there are other cases – and one of the teams I mentioned in the piece is Buffalo because I think obviously Tim Murray is a guy, he was very aggressive last year. He got Evander Kane. He got Ryan O’Reilly, who was heading into the last year of his deal.
“I think that there are some people who believe that the talks with Buffalo went far – I don’t know if far is the right word, but they went somewhere.
“And there’s other people who believe very strongly, including a guy who’s been a really excellent source of mine, who said that he believes it didn’t get that far.
“And so it’s hard to tell. And Tim Murray and Steve Yzerman aren’t talking, so it’s not like you really know one way or the other.
“At the very least, there was something. But like you said, some of that might have been teams calling and saying, ‘What are you doing with Stamkos?’ …
Source: Sportsnet 960/ Transcript: Chris Nichols
Tim Murray doesn't talk. Period. He is as stealth as any executive, NHL or otherwise, that you will ever encounter. He has mastered the art of saying a lot without saying nothing at all. Murray is like Fort Knox. He is air tight and leak proof. Only he and Steve Yzerman know the nature of their alleged Stamkos conversation. It would not surprise me in the least if Murray and Stevie Y did in fact have a chat about Stamkos. Why wouldn't Murray do his diligence and phone up Yzerman to get the up to the minute status on one of the top five players in the NHL? Yzerman would be crazy not to pick up Murray's call. Murray is not a window shopper, nor a tire kicker. He is a thoroughbred horse trader who is devoid of fear and trepidation. Murray has shown the cajones and confidence in his own abilities as leader of the Buffalo Sabres to shock the hockey world by executing not one but two monster, blockbuster trades in the past seven months. First, he traded Tyler Myers, Drew Stafford, Joel Armia, Brendan Lemieux and picks to Winniped for Evander Kane, Zach Bogosian and Jason Kasdorf. Then, moments before opening faceoff of the 2015 NHL DRaft in Sunrise, Florida in June, Murray traded Mikhail Grigorenko, Nikita Zadorov, JT Compher and the 31st overall pick in the draft for Ryan O'Reilly and Jamie McGinn.
While his GM counterparts were at their Muskoka estates or traveling in Europe, Murray may well have been setting the table for the Sabres to have first position negotiating status for the moment in time that if and when Stamkos becomes available.
Murray's modus operandi was similar in his recent blockbuster trades. He laid the groundwork via dialog with Winnipeg and Colorado before he closed the deal for Kane and O'Reilly respectively. Trades of that magnitude take months to close. They don't happen over night. Murray has the luxury of time and tens of millions of dollars in salary cap space on his side right now.
Let's just see what tomorrow brings to Stamkos and Yzerman.
Hell, Stamkos may be signing an $84 million ( 8 years, $10.5M AAV) contract extension on September 16, the day before NHL training camps officially open.
Or, maybe there are some acrimonious times ahead for Yzerman and Stamkos with regard to a new contract.
Tim Murray and other NHL GMs will be watching Tampa very closely to be sure.
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There is a new development to report in the Patrick Kane situation.
The Erie County District Attorney has postponed grand jury proceedings into a sexual assault allegation against Chicago Blackhawks star forward Patrick Kane. The report comes from a person familiar with the investigation confirmed by John Wawrow of The Associated Press.
Evidence was scheduled to be presented to jurors today, however, the hearings were postponed for "about two weeks", the person said.
The person did not provide a reason for the postponement, and spoke only on condition of anonymity because District Attorney Frank Sedita and Hamburg police have not revealed any details of the case since announcing they had launched an investigation last month. Sedita did not respond to an AP request seeking comment.
Kane has not been charged with a crime.
The Blackhawks open their training camp on September 17 for player physicals. Players will hit the ice on September 18. It is not known if Kane will be in attendance for the beginning of training camp or if he will be granted permission by the Hawks to tend to his legal matters.
The NHL is aware of and monitoring the investigation but has not taken any disciplinary action against Kane, a Buffalo native and eight-time 20 goal-scorer. Kane is one of the most recognizable faces in the NHL. However, he was not included on the list of 40 or so players who were invited to participate in the NHL annual media gathering which is taking place in Toronto until Wednesday.
The alleged assault occurred a week before Kane was scheduled to host the Stanley Cup in his childhood neighborhood in South Buffalo.
Kane's agent Pat Brisson spoke with Sportsnet on Tuesday.
Thanks, Sportsnet
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Ryan O'Reilly skated with many of his new Sabres teammates on Tuesday morning in Buffalo. The group of attendees to the informal skates is growing by the day as training camp draws nearer. On Friday, I watched as Matt Moulson, Zach Bogosian, Mike Weber, Pat Kaleta, Mark Pysyk, Zemgus Girgensons, Jake McCabe, Jamie McGinn, Justin Bailey and others ran rigorously through drills then scrimmaged for thirty minutes.
O'Reilly joined in on Tuesday. He will likely skate with the same crew of vets and prospects on Wednesday morning.
However, on Thursday September 10, ROR will be trading his bucket, sweater, skates, stick and gear for a business suit. Thursday morning, O'Reilly will step before the judge in London, Ontario where he will have to answer questions about his poor decision to drive his vintage pickup truck through a cafe and bake shop drive thru lane while his ability was impaired in the early morning hours of July 9.
O'Reilly was originally supposed to go before the judge on August 20, however, his case was moved to September 10, just seven days before the Sabres report to FNC report for their medical testing.
O'Reilly was traded to Buffalo along with power forward Jamie McGinn for Mikhail Grigorenko, Nikita Zadoirov, JT Compher and the 31st overall pick just moments before the opening faceoff of the NHL Draft in late June. The still hasn't had his introductory press conference with the Buffalo media.
On July 2, Sabres GM Tim Murray inked O'Reilly to a seven year, $52.5 million contract. In six years with the Colorado Avalanche in the NHL, O’Reilly has compiled 90 goals and 156 assists.
On Tuesday, John Vogl of the Buffalo News spoke with the Sabres center.
“After this week it’ll be sorted out and I can comment more on it, but it’s an unfortunate situation,… O’Reilly said. “I think with the way the Sabres have invested in me and seen light in me, to be involved in a situation like that it’s definitely unfortunate. I would never want to do that, so I definitely apologize to all the fans and just the kids that see the situation.
“I’m not going to say exactly what has happened. That’s going to come out in court. I’ll just be happy when it’s taken care of and I can just move on and start playing hockey.…
With his expectations and a huge salary come higher responsibilities.
“It’s obviously something I’ve had to deal with all summer, and I feel horrible about it,… O’Reilly said. “It can be a little difficult at times, but everyone here has been nice about it and supported me and is hoping for the best. To have that, it makes it much easier. I just focus on being here and let that thing take care of itself.
“I’m not saying the outcome is set yet, but just to be in a situation like that and have it come out the way it’s been spun, it is unfortunate. I know families and parents and kids, it’s not a good message to send to them. Again, I do apologize and I will do what I can to make that up to them. I think that’s something I’ll be happy to put behind me.…
**
The silver lining in O'Reilly's troubling summer is that he can't wait to seek the solitude and positivity that is emanating from the Buffalo work out and locker rooms.
“Being a part of it now and skating and talking with the guys, there’s an excitement,… said O’Reilly. “You have a sense that we want to make that change and become a legitimate team. More than anything, it’s just fresh. Everyone’s just excited, and it’s something we’ll continue to build on.…
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My take:
I don't know Ryan O'Reilly the man. I just know the player that I've watched since he played junior with the Erie Otters and pros with the Colorado Avalanche.
He is a young man who made a big mistake. To the best of my knowledge, he hasn't made this type of mistake in the past. Fortunately, there were no serious injuries to civilians, O'Reilly, nor his passenger as a result of his transgression. When the judge renders his verdict, O'Reilly will have pay the consequences for his actions and will have pay his debt to society.
I believe him when he says that he is sorry. I'm looking forward to watching him accept the terms and conditions that the judge will set forth on Thursday. This type of life lesson can help O'Reilly to strengthen his character and his commitment to being the best person he can be both off and on the ice.
**
Props to Sabres power forward prospect Hudson Fasching for earning his "A" at University Minnesota
Bischoff, Fasching & C. Reilly will serve as #Gophers alternate captains this year. http://t.co/Lbg9yMJKRZ pic.twitter.com/VwfP77Bvcb
— Minnesota M Hockey (@GopherHockey) September 8, 2015