James van Riemsdyk
I honestly don’t think so. I feel that Stamkos will sign back with Tampa, but what if? Some people have mentioned a trade for Steven Stamkos of the Tampa Bay Lightening and Philadelphia Flyers. This trade would bring Tampa Bay Sergei Bobrovsky, Brayden Schenn, future picks, and I’ve also seen the name of James van Riemsdyk. I asked the question on Twitter, would you fans approve this trade if you were the G.M. Paul Holmgren. Most of you said yes, and some didn’t approve.
One person on Twitter, “PhillyFran” questioned why would Tampa be interested in people whom are unproven? I sat back and thought about this, and it was a great point. At the same time, other than being a big time scorer in the regular season; the same can be said about Stamkos. What he has done in the Playoffs? He has been mediocre at best in post season play. On the other side, what does Schenn, Bobrovsky, and a blooming star to be van Riemsdyk have to show? van Riemsdyk was one of the best players in the NHL Playoffs last year. The only other players that came close to his level of play for the Flyers was Daniel Briere, and Claude Giroux. As for Schenn, he has played in nine NHL games with the Kings, and has two points so far.
So what does this all mean? It’s about building for the future. This is something many teams have been doing in all sports for as long as sports has been around. I know what you are saying. This is common sports sense. My point is, the Flyers have been building for “now” for years. The finally spent some money and picked up Ilya Bryzgalov from Phoenix. This is maybe the best number one goalie since Ron Hextal for Philadelphia. Now holding on to Schenn, whom is believed to be a huge star in the NHL; along with the likes of van Riemsdyk, Giroux, and Bobrovsky there is something to be excited for. I feel trading all those key components away would be like starting 100 percent over again.
Tampa Bay feels the same on Stamkos. Steve Yzerman’s largest task will be to make sure the young stud in Stamkos is still on Tampa’s roster at the begining of preseason. These are the types of players you build a Dynasty around, not trade for other hopeful prospects.
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