Can Chris Tanev Resist the Siren Song of the Toronto Maple Leafs?
On 32 Thoughts yesterday, Jeff Marek mentioned that it “sounds like” Chris Tanev’s decision is coming down to Dallas or Toronto, with Vancouver in the mix there as well.
Try to entertain the absurdity of someone actually wanting to go play in Toronto for just a moment. If we take this seriously, then I think there’s a couple options that are most likely here. Toronto and Dallas are in somewhat similar positions in terms of cap space and roster need, and both of them appear to be prioritizing Tanev, which is likely why we’re hearing juicy rumors. He’s the first thing they both want to take care of, and Tanev’s agent knows it.
Despite that, Tanev probably doesn’t have a strong preference for either city. Playing in Dallas for a couple of months doesn’t appear to have engendered lifelong loyalty in his heart, nor should it. Sure, he’s from the Toronto area, but so is half the NHL, and it hasn’t appeared to have driven Tanev back to Ontario so far. Dallas has more generous tax laws for rich folks like him, and the weather is also nicer for athletes who hate being cooped up by snow and having their joints ache in frigid temperatures. Dallas also has a sterling reputation without all the pressure of Toronto’s bubble—not that Tanev appears to be bothered by such pressure.
He’s at the point in his career, 34 years old, where he can afford to drive the bus a fair bit, and it appears he’s going to. Good for him! From an external perspective, it looks like Tanev and his agent are essentially using Toronto and Dallas to drive the bidding up against the other team in order to get the biggest contract they can. This has already (again, per Jeff Marek) driven the price north of Jim Nill’s “comfort zone” (which I would guess means above $5 million, or thereabouts), but what can the Stars’ backup plan really be at this point? Sign Tyler Myers and pretend it’s 2010? Tanev is obviously the piece they need, and he only costs money. I don’t know that Nill is going to want to part with more assets (like their meager collection of draft picks) to trade for a lesser option like John Marino or something.
Toronto will probably go bonkers in their bidding because they’re used to having to overpay, and the Stars will probably try to get an answer from Tanev’s camp as soon as possible so they can pivot as needed if the price gets absurdly high. There does have to be a limit, given the cap situation, but I do think we’re at a point now where it’s clear that Ryan Suter was bought out primarily to ensure the Stars could bring back Tanev. And that’s a pretty easy calculus, in retrospect.
Dallas has other things to tidy up with its roster, but none of them compare to the importance of getting Tanev or a comparable player, if there’s one to be had. Dallas is tight to the cap, so they can’t make other moves until they know just how much more money they’ll need to spend on defense than they hoped. It’s probably why Scott Wedgewood hasn’t gotten an answer about coming back, and why Matt Duchene (who by all accounts is eager to return) hasn’t been re-signed yet. The Stars simply don’t know how much residual cap space they have to work with, because the biggest piece in the puzzle has all the leverage he needs to make a team pay one of its employees more than they’d like to. And who among us wouldn’t love to be in that position?
Anyway, Tanev is a player worth rooting for no matter where he winds up. Hopefully it’s Dallas, but given that he pivoted to roller hockey in his youth after being told he was too small to succeed (yes, seriously), I think it’s all gravy at this point for him. Hopefully the Stars have enough gravy of their own left to spread around.