Value of: (1 yr rental) Matthews to COL BOS CAR SEA VGK

[McJedi]

Matthews has a NMC kicking in July 1st and then walks as a UFA one year after that.

Leafs are either :
- extending Matthews on July 1st
- sign and trading Matthews on July 1st (LAK or ANH or ARZ)
- trading Matthews before July 1st, he has 1 year left then UFA

So what is Matthews worth for one year to Colorado, Boston, Carolina, Seattle, Vegas? Or any team that would maybe be interesting in adding him for one year.

Toronto can't retain any salary, but I suppose theoretically some third team could if you involve them and the team adding Matthews compensates the third team.

I don't claim to know what a fair deal here is. You tell me.

My personal assumptions :
- All trades will include 1st round pick or one of the team's best prospects or both
- COL trade includes at least one of Girard, Lehkonen
- BOS trade includes at least one of Hall, Coyle, Carlo, Ullmark
- CAR trade involves Kotkaniemi
- SEA trade involves at least one of Gourde, McCann, Schwartz, Wennberg, Burakovsky
- VGK trade involves at least one of Martinez, Marchessault, Karlsson, Smith

Avs have no interest or cap space. They don’t need a 1C. They don’t need a crazy expensive 2C rental.

 

[Avs44]

Avs have no interest or cap space. They don’t need a 1C. They don’t need a crazy expensive 2C rental.

I mean...all I care about is a second cup. I'd mortgage the future for Matthews and dump assets as necessary to fit him in cap-wise. And who knows what happens with Nuke/Landy.

 

[McJedi]

I mean...all I care about is a second cup. I'd mortgage the future for Matthews and dump assets as necessary to fit him in cap-wise. And who knows what happens with Nuke/Landy.

Avs would target a 2C. Not a highly expensive 1C.

Someone like D Toews for Lindholm makes more sense. There. 2C problem fixed.

Avs have Byram to replace Toews. Newhook may turn into a 2LW, but he’s too small to be a 2C.

Let’s pray Nuke hasn’t ruined his reputation with the club and Landys career isn’t over.

 

[Frank Drebin]

- CAR trade involves Kotkaniemi

Good luck

 

[Frank Drebin]

Bruins pass. Not worth the assets for one season.

He could help get over the hump

 

[TheBeard]

Matthews with retention to Colorado for Byram straight up.

 

[stats1]

The only trade that makes sense to me is Arizona. He can hammer out an 8 year mega deal, Arizona can finally get a super star home grown talent and maybe get something going in that area, maybe a new arena, maybe you can attract some free agents and become competitive again

 

[stats1]

LA makes too much sense , the memes of him leaving are funny but I still think he stays in Toronto at the end of the day

He’ll be able to hang out with his best buddy Bieber more often

 

[lanceuppercut75]

Why aren't the Leafs retaining salary? There is 0% chance the Leafs win the Cup without Auston Matthews next year. Their center depth becomes John Tavares - Pontus Holmberg - ...? It's a weak UFA year. If you move Matthews, you're giving up on this core and the next couple seasons at least. Might as well retain for one year. Like, why is Lehkonen on here? Are the Leafs without Matthews gonna add a 28 year old decent second liner and be able to get past an eighth place team?

The Leafs aren't retaining salary because they're a contending playoff team. A third party team can be involved in the trade and retain salary if needed.

Lehkonen was put into the OP because Matthews has a $11m cap hit, and unless Colorado can convince a third team to retain a lot of Matthews' cap hit / salary, they're going to need to be sending cap back in the deal. Girard is the most expendable Av with a cap hit that isn't small. After that it's Lehkonen. Avs don't want to move Lehkonen, but he's more expendable than Makar, MacKinnon, Rantanen, Nichushkin, Landeskog.

 

[lanceuppercut75]

That no trade clause kicking in on July 1st is brutal for Toronto. Who in their right mind would give an RFA that kind of leverage? Matthews is holding all the cards here.

He's UFA not RFA next summer. Your post is the whole reason I made this thread. MAYBE you can extend him, or MAYBE you can sign and trade him somewhere that he wants to be long term. BUT, if you can't, then you have to look at what your remaining available options are. Trading him to a team that he won't extend with for just a one year cup run is Plan C. A Kahwi Leonard to the Raptors situation, if you will. "Keeping him and hoping he extends later on" is Plan D and the Leafs need to avoid that plan at all costs.

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

Avs have no interest or cap space. They don’t need a 1C. They don’t need a crazy expensive 2C rental.

Speak for yourself on that.

Avs would target a 2C. Not a highly expensive 1C.

Someone like D Toews for Lindholm makes more sense. There. 2C problem fixed.

Avs have Byram to replace Toews. Newhook may turn into a 2LW, but he’s too small to be a 2C.

Let’s pray Nuke hasn’t ruined his reputation with the club and Landys career isn’t over.

Or trade Toews + 1st for Matthews. And trade another 1st to Arizona for 50% retention on Matthews.


I'll take Matthews over Lindholm literally 100/100 times.

 

[violaswallet]

To Arizona with extension for a package including Arizona first pick this year (not 1oa).

I think it makes a lot of sense if Arizona gets like 3-5 overall pick to do this trade.

Toronto needs cheap scoring, Arizona would benefit from a legit superstar

 

[lanceuppercut75]

Matthews to the Kings makes too much sense.

Kopitar's deal ends the same year his would kick in and he'd be nice and close to home with the glitz and glam of LA.

Lock it in.

According to HFBoards LA Kings fans, they aren't willing to trade anything of value for Matthews, because they're fully confident that he'll still be a UFA on July 01 2024 and they're fully confident that they can sign him as a UFA to replace Kopitar (and... let Kopitar walk? Why?)

Don't ask me to explain the logic, I'm just repeating what I've been told over and over.

 

[lanceuppercut75]

Matthews with retention to Colorado for Byram straight up.

You don't trade a player as young and as good as Byram for a player with 1 year on their contract and then UFA. I don't care that it's a superstar. If Matthews was extending or had multiple years on his contract? Sure, okay.

 

[PatriceBergeronFan]

He could help get over the hump

True but at the cost of the very few prospects the Bruins have might be a hefty gamble.

 

[Xerloris]

Why would anyone want a perpetual playoff loser?

 

[AndreRoy]

The only trade that makes sense to me is Arizona. He can hammer out an 8 year mega deal, Arizona can finally get a super star home grown talent and maybe get something going in that area, maybe a new arena, maybe you can attract some free agents and become competitive again

Or he could sign there in a year without his future team having to give anything up to get him.

Arizona is a moot point - they wouldn’t want to pay his salary and while I actually like the Phoenix area it’s not exactly where a young star athlete who enjoys the celebrity lifestyle would want to live. LA and Anaheim are close enough to home for family and friends to see him play, offer more on the glamour side of things, and have a better chance of being competitive if Matthews cares about that.

 

[Ovi895]

Trade Matthe

(and... let Kopitar walk? Why?)

Don't ask me to explain the logic, I'm just repeating what I've been told over and over.

Check Kopitar's age at the start of the 2024-2025 season maybe

 

[lanceuppercut75]

Check Kopitar's age a year from now maybe

Yeah but it's likely Kopitar would a pay cut to be 3rd line center (and later on 4th line center maybe?) to retire with the LA Kings. The fans were so upset when Quick was traded away, and they view Drew Doughty as completely untouchable... but now they want to tell Kopitar to just go F himself? Doesn't make sense to me.

 

[Ovi895]

Yeah but it's likely Kopitar would a pay cut to be 3rd line center (and later on 4th line center maybe?) to retire with the LA Kings. The fans were so upset when Quick was traded away, and they view Drew Doughty as completely untouchable... but now they want to tell Kopitar to just go F himself? Doesn't make sense to me.

A 37 year old Kopitar and a 26 year old Matthews would not play the same role for LA going forward at all

If Kopitar stays for a token salary it wouldn't have any bearing on them going for Matthews or not, and given how they dispatched with Quick its unlikely they'd choose Kopitar over Matthews if they had a shot at both but Kopitar wanted his market value

 

[VaporTrail]

I think Buffalo would have the cap space

Buffalo has plenty of cap space but no way would GMKA ever give up the assets for one year of AM.

 

[dirtydanglez]

I think Buffalo would have the cap space

he'll end up somewhere south in the warm weather

 

[Kingfan1967]

LA doesn't have the cap space in 2023-2024 to fit Matthews, and really no way to get there, (not going to trade the multiple roster pieces to get a rental) in 2024 Kopitar's contract ends and if he resigns with LA (and no reason he won't) LA might be able to sign Matthews then (cap will still be tight but doable then).

 

[DingDongCharlie]

Is Dubas the guy to make a Matthews trade?

He'll be fired after they are eliminated. That would be the nightmare dealings for the new GM.

 

[lanceuppercut75]

LA doesn't have the cap space in 2023-2024 to fit Matthews, and really no way to get there, (not going to trade the multiple roster pieces to get a rental) in 2024 Kopitar's contract ends and if he resigns with LA (and no reason he won't) LA might be able to sign Matthews then (cap will still be tight but doable then).

Yeah. The only "Matthews to the Kings" trade that works THIS summer involves 50% retention from a third team, or it involves Matthews signing a long term extension with the Kings and two of Danault, Kampe, Fiala, Iafallo going back to the Leafs, for trade value purposes but also for cap purposes.

Next summer probably makes more sense for the Kings, but the Kings are just hoping that Matthews hasn't extended with the Leafs or whatever team the Leafs have traded him to by July 01 2024. It's a gamble. If the Kings GM and management REALLY want Matthews, they're taking a risk waiting a year. Who knows what Kings management is thinking though. It's possible they just want Matthews but aren't all-in on him.