NHL Mailbag: Toronto Maple Leafs, John Tavares, Erik Karlsson

This week’s NHL mailbag features tough questions about Erik Karlsson, John Tavares, and the Toronto Maple Leafs

Happy Fourth of July everyone who lives in America. And happy Wednesday to those who don’t live in the United States. This week’s NHL mailbag will be a short one, but here at Puck Prose, we’ve still got a lot to cover. We’ll be touching on your questions about the Toronto Maple Leafs, Erik Karlsson, John Tavares, and more.

Let’s get underway.

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How do you think John Tavares handled his decision process?

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Let me begin by saying I think John Tavares joining the Toronto Maple Leafs is huge. You’d have to go all the way back to 1972 to find a more significant free agent signing. That’s when Bobby Hull signed with the Winnipeg Jets, who were at the time in the now defunct WHA.

Tavares’ decision was a surprising one. Even when Scott Niedermayer left the New Jersey Devils to sign with the Anaheim Ducks, it was largely because he wanted to play on the same team as his brother. Tavares departing from the New York Islanders could cause more players to consider doing the same. This could be a small step towards the NHL having super teams.

Personally, Tavares didn’t handle his departure from the Islanders in the best manner. I totally get why Isles fans feel upset. It sucks that Tavares will never get to have his Hollywood moment of leading the Islanders to a Stanley Cup. But the Isles are to blame as well.

Do You Think The NHL Is Going To Have A Super Team Soon?

First of all, hockey has had super teams in the past. The 1990-91 and 1991-92 Pittsburgh Penguins stand out. As does various Detroit Red Wings teams from about 1996 to 2005. There’s also the 1980’s Edmonton Oilers, as well as the Montreal Canadiens and Islanders dynasties.

Even with Tavares, I wouldn’t call the Leafs a super team. Yet. Now, if they somehow get a top pairing defenseman, I’ll reconsider. But as this article is being typed, the Leafs are the closest to being one.

That said, let’s suppose Erik Karlsson gets traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning. In my book, that’s enough to be a super team. You’d have the reigning Norris Trophy winner (Victor Hedman), a two-time Norris winner (Karlsson), arguably the best wing in the league (Nikita Kucherov), a Vezina Trophy Finalist (Andrei Vasilevskiy), and some guy named Steven Stamkos, who is the second-best goal scorer since he entered the league. He’s behind some guy named Alex Ovechkin, maybe you’ve heard of him?

I’m probably in the minority with this opinion, but a super team would be good for the league. Maybe it’s just me, but I vividly remember the Red Wings in the mid to late 1990’s. They were stacked. Watching them play was so exciting and it made me love hockey even more.

Must Read: Ranking Each NHL Team's All-Time Starting Lineup

What Else Do The Maple Leafs Have To Do This Summer?

The Leafs have drastically improved their team by signing Tavares. But they still have a little bit of work to do. Their top priority? Signing William Nylander. They’d be wise to sign Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner to extensions in case of an offer sheet. No general manager is bold enough to do it, but it would be nice to get their budget set for the next few years.

If Toronto does absolutely nothing else in free agency, they’re still good to go. There are no impact players remaining. They’d be wise to kick the tires on Dylan DeMelo, who could be a cost-efficient third pairing defenseman for them. But if the Leafs don’t win the Stanley Cup, it won’t be because they didn’t sign DeMelo.

Toronto should get creative and explore trades. They have over $16 million of cap space and Nylander’s their only RFA left. The Leafs will have even more cap space once they send Nathan Horton to the long-term injured reserve list.

Justin Faulk and Jeff Skinner are intriguing options. Sure, Faulk has two years left on his deal, which isn’t completely ideal considering next summer is when Marner and Matthews get significant pay raises. But they can get rid of guys. At worst, the Leafs could trade Faulk next offseason. Skinner would make an already lethal lineup even more deadly.

I think the Leafs have at least one move left in them. Don’t rule anything out because general manager Kyle Dubas is really, really good at what he does.

Where does Karlsson end up?

There are four possible outcomes. Let’s rank them by the likelihood of them occurring.

Karlsson gets traded to the Stars. Dallas is reportedly very close to acquiring him. The holdup appears to be which promising young defenseman the Stars will be sending to the Ottawa Senators – Julius Honka or Miro Heiskanen.

He gets traded to the Lightning. Karlsson would reportedly love to play there. And if he really wants to, he could be the biggest jerk in the world. Karlsson could refuse to negotiate an extension with any team other than the Lightning. This would give Tampa Bay general manager Steve Yzerman all the leverage.

Karlsson gets traded somewhere else. Maybe Nashville Predators general manager David Poile does something insane and clears enough cap space. Perhaps San Jose Sharks general manager Doug Wilson pushes in all of his chips. And don’t rule out the Vegas Golden Knights, who could take on the contract of Bobby Ryan as well.

The Senators hold onto Karlsson to start next season and there’s no way that ends well for Ottawa. Ask the Islanders what the ending looks like. It’s not good.

Next: NHL Free Agency Tracker

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