Steven Stamkos is projected to go first overall at the NHL draft this summer.
Cliff Fletcher may want to get to know Jay Feaster. As in, real well.
Fletcher, or for that matter any GM willing to sell the farm, may be able to pry the #1 overall pick in this summer's NHL Entry Draft, also known as Steven Stamkos, out of the tight little grasp of Feaster and the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Now, before the often-ornery denizens of so-called Leaf Nation are calling for me to be fitted for a straitjacket, I said a couple of weeks ago that the Leafs could fast-track at least part of their rebuilding phase by making a bold move up to draft Steven Stamkos this summer.
Problem one is now solved. Fletcher knows it is Feaster and his Tampa Bay Lightning that should be on his speed dial as the Bolts will now get the first crack, and likely the only one needed, at Stamkos in June.
Let's see. Tampa could use a goalie - unless you are one of the few who strongly believe Mike Smith is the answer - and Toronto needs a potential franchise forward to build around, probably more than any other team on the planet.
Oddly enough, Toronto has a pretty darn good goalie in Vesa Toskala and the Bolts now have that franchise forward. Well, Stamkos hasn't been brought home from the store just yet, but he's tucked away on layaway.
That is where the talks should start if you are Cliff Fletcher. If the Bolts price themselves out of the market, which is a pretty safe bet, then what has Fletcher lost?
If Toskala and the Leafs' first rounder, seventh overall, is enough to get a deal done, then you thank Vesa for a great year and wish him the best on the beach. Should another player be required to sweeten the pot, you do it as long as someone else - say, Smith - is coming back as well. Toskala is one of the few bright spots on this Leaf roster, but with Justin Pogge waiting in the wings, he probably won't be around when Toronto becomes a contender unless he plans on playing until he is, oh, about 70.
The deal is not as far-fetched as it would seem when you factor in the desire of the new ownership of the Lightning to get Vincent Lecavalier signed to a long-term contract. So, Stamkos automatically becomes the #2 centre on the depth chart. See where I am going here?
Tampa is probably more willing to make a deal with the team holding the second and third picks, giving them a shot at Drew Doughty or another one of the stud defensemen available. But if someone blows their doors off with an offer, the Bolts, no matter where that team is picking in the opening round, will be listening.
Conventional wisdom says there is a deal to be made, although it may be an expensive one. For the Leafs, it will begin with Toskala.
Fletcher only has to make one call to get things started.