I was incredibly surprised that Dallas was granted a meeting over a team like Vegas, which I thought would definitely get in there. Pros to him signing in Dallas, it's a warm climate all year round, the team is still young enough to compete, especially now that they finally have a good goaltender who hopefully will stay injury-free this year and he will get to play with his buddies Seguin and Benn. On the Cons side, the Stars did not make the playoffs this season, and that in itself should be telling of where they line up against some of the other teams he's meeting with. As well, the Stars cannot offer him 8 years, it would be 7 max. Not to say it's bad, but the Stars have a new and inexperienced coach, at least at the NHL level. As well, and unlike the Leafs or Islanders, the Stars do not have a captaincy vacancy.

Great points, I love what Vegas did this year and they could absolutely pay him more than any other team in the league without a doubt. However, I just don't see them replicating that. I think he looks at Vegas as another scenario where he'd have to carry the load. Again, the 'Golden Misfits' season was absolutely amazing but they would be one of my 'bust' teams for 2019 just based on them riding purely off emotion this past season. As for JT, I'd be shocked if he signs with Dallas to be honest but you can't ignore the tax benefits he gets from moving to Texas. The Stars could offer him 10-11M which could be less than the Leafs, Sharks,etc - although long-term he would still make more money in Dallas. Similar to why Radulov signed with Dallas over MTL despite the same exact price tag. I think the captain vacancy is an interesting point but I'm not sure JT is the type of player to base all his decisions on that. In conclusion, I think he stays with NYI - can't forget Stamkos let himself go into a sweepstakes only to re-sign with the Bolts. I could easily see Tavares staying loyal as the captain and franchise player.

Spezza will have to be moved if we sign Tavares, but he's absolutely not going to Ottawa. He won't waive his NTC for a Canadian team. He wants to stay in the States, and he'll want to go to a contender. Like the moves, just not the team he's being moved to. And I like the fact that you were realistic and went after ONLY Tavares, instead of he AND Karlsson, like so many people I've seen on here.

Can't forget one of the bigger pros about Dallas; they have no state income tax. Tavares would take home more of his paycheck in Texas or Florida than he would just about anywhere else (especially New York).