Steve Stamkos?

[TBLeafer]

Bolded years are Cup wins.
Significant UFA signings I can think of from these teams in these years: Zdeno Chara, Marian Hossa, Brian Rafalski (sort of)

Yeah, this is something we've talked about before but Hossa was unquestionably the most successful UFA contract of the post-lockout era but that's chiefly because of two things, the conditions he signed under were ideal(the team was already good, he fit a need they had and filled a secondary role) and his contract was ideal(he provided elite performance without an elite price tag).

If still available, that's a deal I'd sign any day of the week. As is, I think it's pretty telling that you can't do that sort of thing any more.

The only one you're missing is Gonchar for the first two Pittsburgh teams, and, to a lesser extent, Campbell, for the 1st Hawks team.

Thanks for the additional names and context, guys.

So over the last 10 years, there have been 3 Cup Finals effective UFA signings (+2 sort ofs) conducive to repeated success; and for the most part they were augmentative additions, or impossible to duplicate value. I'm not even going to count how many UFA signings there have been in that time, but it looks like a very, very low success rate.

I'd be curious to see which teams made UFA splashes that resulted in them bleeding off younger potential stars as well, but without a comprehensive database of rosters and transaction history to play with, that'll have to wait for when the offseason is truly boring.

You don't find that par for the likelihood of being 1 in 30 teams in the NHL to begin with?  That's why I said add in SCF, 2nd place finishers given that they did get as far as winning their conferences in the last 10 years, even though they missed out on hockey's holy grail.

Teams like the Rangers, Tampa Bay (unless you don't think Stralman is significant), etc.

[Nik]

Teams like the Rangers, Tampa Bay (unless you don't think Stralman is significant), etc.

Who do you count as the really significant UFA contributor on those Rangers teams? Richards?

[herman]

You don't find that par for the likelihood of being 1 in 30 teams in the NHL to begin with?  That's why I said add in SCF, 2nd place finishers given that they did get as far as winning their conferences in the last 10 years, even though they missed out on hockey's holy grail.

Teams like the Rangers, Tampa Bay (unless you don't think Stralman is significant), etc.

I included repeat finalists per this point. Anaheim, Tampa, Ottawa, Edmonton, Philadelphia, New York, New Jersey, San Jose, and Carolina were not included because they didn't yield repeated finals appearances. A lot of the teams on this list are struggling to remain relevant right now.

Is it repeated, sustained success you want?

[CarltonTheBear]

Guys there's real hockey news going on!

[herman]

Guys there's real hockey news going on!

:OOOOOOOO

[TBLeafer]

Teams like the Rangers, Tampa Bay (unless you don't think Stralman is significant), etc.

Who do you count as the really significant UFA contributor on those Rangers teams? Richards?

He's but one of them, considering big name UFA's have factored into multiple years of team building for them over the past decade, Richards crapping the bed aside.

[Nik]

He's but one of them, considering big name UFA's have factored into multiple years of team building for them over the past decade, Richards crapping the bed aside.

So who then? Did signing Chris Drury and Wade Redden help them to a conference finals?

[Bill_Berg]

You don't find that par for the likelihood of being 1 in 30 teams in the NHL to begin with?  That's why I said add in SCF, 2nd place finishers given that they did get as far as winning their conferences in the last 10 years, even though they missed out on hockey's holy grail.

Teams like the Rangers, Tampa Bay (unless you don't think Stralman is significant), etc.

I included repeat finalists per this point. Anaheim, Tampa, Ottawa, Edmonton, Philadelphia, New York, New Jersey, San Jose, and Carolina were not included because they didn't yield repeated finals appearances. A lot of the teams on this list are struggling to remain relevant right now.

Is it repeated, sustained success you want?

That's what I consider. If I just wanted the team to win one cup and suck again, then I would have a different opinion of what they should do, and I'd likely want them to sign Stamkos. But I want to see them reach the finals over and over, and then over and over again. I don't want to ever see 5 years straight go past without the Leafs being one of the top 3 Cup contenders.

[TBLeafer]

He's but one of them, considering big name UFA's have factored into multiple years of team building for them over the past decade, Richards crapping the bed aside.

So who then? Did signing Chris Drury and Wade Redden help them to a conference finals?

I think its unreasonable to assume perennial contender actually means making it to the SCF 5 straight years in the cap era and if that's your expectation of the way this Leafs team needs to built, then yes, you are in for disappointment.

[Potvin29]

Bob McKenzie reporting he's re-signed with Tampa

[herman]

Bob McKenzie reporting he's re-signed with Tampa

 

Cancel the Stamkos Sweepstakes, he has decided to return to the Tampa Bay Lightning. #TSN

— Bob McKenzie (@TSNBobMcKenzie) June 29, 2016

[Deebo]

LOCKED!

[CarltonTheBear]

LOCKED!