Does Stamkos Really Want to Be the Next Sundin?

It's a good think the Hockey Hall of Fame is in Toronto.

Otherwise, the Stanley Cup would never be in that city.

And yes, if the Chicago Cubs could become a contender, why not TO?

Except both have been contenders before and are still empty-handed in the era of color video, at the very least.

Full marks to Brendan Shanahan for hiring a couple of dudes who've been there and done that. However, this year's Leafs still make for a repulsive-tasting chicken salad.

So Toronto fans do what they always do: dream of quick fixes with marquée names.

This season, that would be the local lad, who just happened to put the dagger in last night when ​their team paid a visit to his team:

Stamkos is wisely being coy about his inner thoughts. He knows he's due for serious dosh from someone.

But, really, at this stage of his career, why would it be the Leafs?

Dude's in his prime. He's got a shot at winning a Cup in Tampa, or New York, or a few places where contention is a reality. That's still a few years away in TO.

That's the team with the legacy that made Mats Sundin one of the best and most popular players never to sip from the silverware. Such is the way of Leafness.

None of that ever happened in a Cup final series.

Boston did Ray Bourque a solid and shipped him to the Avalanche, where he did get his name engraved on the Stanley Cup. It's doubtful the Leafs would ever move Stamkos at any stage of his career, especially with a contract that'll be unmovable.

This sort of speculation is mostly Ontario-grown, anyway. The best Toronto's rumor mill can stir up is Stamkos' ultimate price tag, because the only legacy they can realistically offer isn't one of immortality. Babcock & Co just need too much time to mold the Leafs into a legit contender, and that's not gonna mesh with the prime of Steven Stamkos.

He's surely got more ambition than to be the next ringless Mats Sundin.