Maple Leafs thrown into crazy monster trade rumour!

On Wednesday on the opening of training camp, Lightning captain Steven Stamkos got people nervous in Tampa Bay when he expressed his frustration about his feeling to be heading into the season with an expiring contract. The 33-year-old star forward is set to play out the last of an eight-year, $68 million deal with a cap hit of $8.5 million. He could become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, 2024.

“To be honest, I’ve been disappointed in the lack of talk in that regard,”Stamkos said.“It was something that I expressed at the end of last year, that I wanted to get something done before training camp started.

“There haven’t been any conversations.”

While GM Julien BriseBois has attempted to calm all speculation that Stamkos could be on the move if the stalemate persists, it did not stop some pundits and fans were putting out there the possibility that Stamkos could end up in Toronto.

The same fantasy was brought forward nine years ago when Stamkos was still unsigned with free agency around the corner and was mentioned to be considering a move to his hometown of Toronto, though it did not happen.

But Adam Proteau of The Hockey News entertained the possibility of this monster move:

“ it may not be probable that Stamkos will leave the Lightning, but there is a possibility he will do just that and, perhaps, take his talents to his hometown Toronto Maple Leafs.

“… Stamkos, who doesn’t need to hit a home run with his next contract, as he’s earned close to $100 million thus far. It needs to be about the right fit and the chance to win a Stanley Cup. Even if the Leafs let star winger William Nylander walk away as a UFA next summer, they could choose to use most, if not all, of Nylander’s cap space to give to Stamkos. Again, not a probable situation, but certainly a possible situation.”

You gotta love those rumours! And so, let’s have some fun, which Blue and White will Stamkos end his career with?

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