TAMPA, FL – NOVEMBER 12: Steven Stamkos #91 of the Tampa Bay Lightning warms up in a special jersey for Military Appreciation Night prior to a game against the Calgary Flames at the Amalie Arena on November 12, 2015 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Mike Carlson/Getty Images)
NHLBy Dave Lozo on

With Tampa Bay Lightning star Steven Stamkos liking a tweet about him potentially playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs for a second straight year (although it was called “favoriting” way back in 2014), it’s time to man your battle stations for what will likely be months of piping-hot fire takes about the pending free agent’s future.

Is he staying in Tampa? Is the Ontario native coming home to play for the Leafs?

Instead of guessing one way or the other, like many will, why not answer the both questions in the affirmative? Why surf around the Internet to get different takes when you can get all the takes here that you can bookmark and re-read until he makes his decision?

So without further ado, here is obviously what will happen with Stamkos.

Why would Stamkos leave Tampa for Toronto?

There’s nothing to worry about, Lightning fans: Steven Stamkos can like all the tweets he wants and it won’t change the inevitability of him signing a long-term deal to remain with the Lightning.

A lot of people will make a huge deal out of Stamkos tapping Twitter’s heart icon, but it doesn’t mean anything, and was definitely a slip of the thumb.

The 25-year-old is in the midst of his NHL prime, not unlike the Lightning, who were Stanley Cup finalists last season and should expect to find themselves contending for a Cup over the next handful of years. Stamkos is and will be an important, invaluable piece to that puzzle and the Lightning won’t be able to push for those championships without him.

Stamkos will command a contract with a cap hit of about $11 million, a steep but fair price for one of the sport’s elite goal scorers. The Lightning have enough room under a rising salary cap to accommodate that number, and there’s no way the Lightning can consider themselves a championship-caliber squad without Stamkos.

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Along with Stamkos, the Lightning boast a trio of talented forwards in Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat and Nikita Kucherov, who will all be RFAs after this or next season. They formed one of the most dominant lines in NHL history last season and their presence coexisting with Stamkos on another line is what will continue to make the Lightning a formidable opponent for years to come.

The Lightning have about $46 million allocated toward next year’s roster with 10 spots to fill. That’s more than enough for the Lightning to sign Stamkos, any and all RFAs, and remain one of the top the teams in the league.

And if the Lightning find themselves needing to create cap space, an expansion draft looms, which means they can unprotect Ryan Callahan and Matt Carle, two older, high-priced players that could be assets for a franchise in Las Vegas, Quebec or Seattle in a couple years.

Have you seen the Leafs roster? It’s a mess. They have a couple young prospects in their system in William Nylander and Mitch Marner, but they’re not going to be centerpieces of a playoff team for a couple years. There’s a reason why coach Mike Babcock signed an eight-year deal during the offseason — a title won’t be coming to Toronto any time soon, and Babcock knows it.

All Stamkos liking that tweet shows is that he and his agent are negotiating masters. It’s leverage. Remember when Stamkos took batting practice with the Toronto Blue Jays? That was just a smart player and smart agent sending a message to Lightning GM Steve Yzerman, that Stamkos deserves to be the highest-paid player in the league. Why would anyone leave the warm climate of Tampa for the winter wasteland that is Toronto?

As for Stamkos passive aggressively expressing displeasure about playing right wing instead of center, come on. Remember when Stamkos was struggling in last year’s playoffs and coach Jon Cooper moved him to the wing? All Stamkos did was deliver an offensive explosion that helped get the Lightning through the second and third rounds. Stamkos is a team guy who appreciates Cooper’s outside-the-box-thinking.

Please, ignore all the nonsense that will swirl around Stamkos, all because of a social media mishap. Stamkos won’t bolt for Toronto.

Why wouldn’t Stamkos leave Tampa for Toronto?

There’s something to worry about, Lightning fans: Steven Stamkos can unlike all the tweets he wants and it won’t change the inevitability of him signing a long-term deal to play with the Maple Leafs.

A lot of people will make a huge deal out of Stamkos tapping Twitter’s heart icon, and that’s because it means everything and was in no way a slip of the thumb.

The 25-year-old is in the midst of his NHL prime, unlike the Lightning, who were Stanley Cup finalists last season but shouldn’t expect to find themselves contending for a Cup over the next handful of years. Stamkos was an important, invaluable piece to that puzzle but the Lightning won’t be able to push for those championships with him in the future.

http://gty.im/459320924

Stamkos will command a contract with a cap hit of about $11 million, a steep and unfair price for one of the sport’s one-dimensional goal scorers. The Lightning have enough room under a rising salary cap to accommodate that number next season, but there’s no way the Lightning can consider themselves a championship-caliber squad with Stamkos long-term.

Along with Stamkos, the Lightning boast a trio of talented forwards in Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat and Nikita Kucherov, who will all be RFAs after this or next season. They formed one of the most dominant lines in NHL history last season and their presence coexisting with Stamkos on another line is the only way the Lightning can continue to be a formidable opponent for years to come, and that will be impossible.

The Lightning have about $46 million allocated toward next year’s roster with 10 spots to fill. That’s more than enough for the Lightning to sign Stamkos, but with so many talented RFAs needing new contracts soon, they can’t retain Stamkos and remain one of the top the team’s in the league.

And if the Lightning find themselves needing to create cap space, an expansion draft looms, which means they can unprotect Ryan Callahan and Matt Carle, but they are two old, overpriced players that wouldn’t be assets for a franchise in Las Vegas, Quebec or Seattle in a couple years.

Have you seen the Leafs roster? It’s a mess now but has potential. They have a couple young prospects in their system in William Nylander and Mitch Marner, who are going to be centerpieces of a playoff team in a couple years. There’s a reason why coach Mike Babcock signed an eight-year deal during the offseason — it’s because he wants to bring a title to Toronto, and Nylander and Marner will be big a part of that.

What Stamkos liking that tweet shows is that he and his agent want out. It’s not about leverage. Remember when Stamkos took batting practice with the Toronto Blue Jays? That was a smart player and smart agent sending a message to Lightning GM Steve Yzerman, that Stamkos wants nothing more than to play in Toronto. Why would anyone prefer the sun belt of Tampa over the hockey hotbed that is Toronto?

As for Stamkos passive aggressively expressing displeasure about playing right wing instead of center, that’s very important. Remember when Stamkos was struggling in last year’s playoffs and coach Jon Cooper moved him to the wing? All Stamkos did was deliver an offensive explosion that helped get the Lightning through the second and third rounds, and he still wasn’t happy with the position switch. Stamkos is a guy who wants to play center and doesn’t appreciate Cooper’s ill-informed thinking.

Please, don’t look away from the news that will swirl around Stamkos, all because of a social media protest. Stamkos is a dead-bolt lock for Toronto.

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