Could top NHL free agent John Tavares pick Dallas? We could find out Saturday
Top NHL free agent John Tavares could make a decision today, one that will go a long way toward answering where he will continue his prolific career.
The centerman is the best free agent to hit the market in decades and the Islanders are doing everything they can to keep him around, reportedly extending him a contract offer worth $88 million over 8 years. But after Saturday, June 30, they lose the advantage of that eighth year under the terms of the NHL's collective bargaining agreement.
It's possible he informs New York's management sometime on Friday.
The Islanders ownership did just hire Barry Trotz, who just the Capitals to a Stanley Cup this past season, as their head coach. They also brought in veteran general manager Lou Lamoriello to replace the beleaguered Garth Snow. Those are positive steps, but it's difficult to say if the moves are going to help get the one thing Tavares claims he wants most: a championship.
So, where does that leave the Stars, who, along with the Bruins, Sharks, Kings and Lightning, have all met with Tavares in Los Angeles?
If he does defy the odds and ends up in Dallas, then he probably isn't as serious about hoisting the cup as he claims. The team has missed the playoffs in eight of the last 10 years and never made it out of the second round in the Western Conference during that time span.
Last season, under the leadership of general manager Jim Nill and head coach Ken Hitchcock, the team completed one of the worst regular-season collapses in the history of the NHL.
The Stars are in a bit of a jam in terms of their salary cap status. Trying to juggle Tavares' cap hit (a projected $12 million for each of the next seven seasons) with captain Jamie Benn's monster contract (seven seasons remaining with a hit of $9.5 million per season), in addition to a potential extension for Tyler Seguin next summer (projected to be somewhere near Tavares' eight-year, 88-million-dollar offer from the Islanders), carries significant risks into the future, too.
But Sean Shapiro of The Athletic provided a few paths forward for how the Star's powers-at-be can figure out a way to make it work.
The problem for Nill and his staff is that other teams have or are similarly willing to adopt that aggressive monetary mindset in order to sign arguably the best available free agent of the past 15 years.
Where, then, is the Stars' advantage?
In terms of dollars and cents, some might try to argue that the absence of income tax in Texas could be an incentive. Thus far, the evidence of that selling point has been thin, but that could change based on the new legislation of the current administration.
The team's best plan of attack is to borrow a page from the NBA and maximize the supposedly strong relationship between Tavares and fellow countrymen, including Benn, Seguin and even goalie Ben Bishop.
Apart from the Islanders and Stars, every team in the sweepstakes offers some combination of a lucrative contract, a recent track record of success, loyalty, national glory and a commitment to winning, both now and down the road.
Meanwhile, the learning curve facing a rookie head coach, the unknown development of mostly unproven prospects and the uncertain amount of dollars in tax savings linger over a future in Dallas.
This story was originally published June 29, 2018 at 12:45 PM.