Around the League '16-'17 Other Teams' Free Agent Frenzy

[Sol]

I think some people are mixing up the lack of exposure to Domi as him being much worse than Galchenyuk. Similar in talent, but stupid as f*** to not trade for a center.

 

[johnjm22]

Some interesting stuff from Dreger on Matthews and Marner contract negotiations.

Dreger: Leafs headed for a contract battle with star forward Mitch Marner.

How these kids can look at the fans with a straight face and tell them all they want to do is win the Stanley Cup is beyond me. No, all they want is the biggest fattest contracts they can get.

No way would I give Marner 10M. He's really not that good.

Matthews on the other hand, just pay the kid and be done with it.

 

[damacles1156]

Some interesting stuff from Dreger on Matthews and Marner contract negotiations.

Dreger: Leafs headed for a contract battle with star forward Mitch Marner.

How these kids can look at the fans with a straight face and tell them all they want to do is win the Stanley Cup is beyond me. No, all they want is the biggest fattest contracts they can get.

The" Show me" contract is dead. It's dead in part due to contract length. The NHL contract length really needs to be shortened down to Four years for UFA and five years for your own RFA players. Players also need to hit UFA faster.

It would give teams way more flexibility if players don't meet expectations or drop off dramatically in production.

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

No way would I give Marner 10M. He's really not that good.

Matthews on the other hand, just pay the kid and be done with it.

Marner's not 10M good, not yet, but he will be, offensively, he's much better than Matthews, he's probably the most gifted offensively on that team.

 

[johnjm22]

Marner's not 10M good, not yet, but he will be, offensively, he's much better than Matthews, he's probably the most gifted offensively on that team.

I simply disagree.

 

[Kingspiracy]

How are they going to fit tavares and doughty with those big paychecks coming up?

 

[KINGS17]

The" Show me" contract is dead. It's dead in part due to contract length. The NHL contract length really needs to be shortened down to Four years for UFA and five years for your own RFA players. Players also need to hit UFA faster.

It would give teams way more flexibility if players don't meet expectations or drop off dramatically in production.

As I have said many times, I think one of the most important jobs of a GM is figuring out which young players on their roster should get the big 2nd contract. For Lombardi I think it was all too obvious in those players being Kopitar and Doughty. Perhaps that is the lesson for GMs here, if it isn't obvious, don't do it.

I don't think Matthews is worth $11.5M, but maybe $10M. Marner has a long way to go before he proves he is worth $7M in my book. It's not like he is a dominant 1C or 1D in the NHL. He is a up and coming talent who will likely be a star winger. Is Marner ever going to be Ovechkin good? Hell no!

I hope Shanahan keeps his head. I think it's rather silly when agents argue that another player with less production is getting paid $X, so my guy should get $X +++. Unfortunately, GMs seem to believe stupid contracts set a new market value.

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

I simply disagree.

With which part? I've seen Marner probably more than I've seen LA due to the time difference, kid has some work to do on his defensive game and two way game, but he's a wizard in the offensive zone, he makes something out of nothing, think of Kane light....

 

[deeshamrock]

Marner's not 10M good, not yet, but he will be, offensively, he's much better than Matthews, he's probably the most gifted offensively on that team.

I love Marner , and agree he's a total stud. But most GM's aren't giving 10M to a winger. It's gonna cost you wins and handcuff you. Esp when Matthews, who is their #1 center and the heart of their future , is gonna get that much. They can't afford both, look what it did to the Hawks. They have quite a few prospects in their farm system who are good forwards. After Matthews, if he gets 10M or in that range, the only other big contract , 8M or so, would be to a stud defenseman.
From what I've read over the last 6 mos or so, Marner and his camp want big money, in that 10M range, and I don't think the Leafs will got that route.
Will Marner see the potential future upside this team has and drop his price? Will he stick to his guns and move on ? Time will tell.
And I wonder w/o Lou there, how that is affected.

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

I love Marner , and agree he's a total stud. But most GM's aren't giving 10M to a winger. It's gonna cost you wins and handcuff you. Esp when Matthews, who is their #1 center and the heart of their future , is gonna get that much. They can't afford both, look what it did to the Hawks. They have quite a few prospects in their farm system who are good forwards. After Matthews, if he gets 10M or in that range, the only other big contract , 8M or so, would be to a stud defenseman.
From what I've read over the last 6 mos or so, Marner and his camp want big money, in that 10M range, and I don't think the Leafs will got that route.
Will Marner see the potential future upside this team has and drop his price? Will he stick to his guns and move on ? Time will tell.
And I wonder w/o Lou there, how that is affected.

Will be interesting for sure, honestly, I think I pay Marner over Matthews, I think he's that dynamic. I guess it depends on the supporting cast, and how much you think the cap goes up etc... They don't have a stud dman they are gonna pay 8M yet, they need two strong dmen, with Reilly, Dermott, Gardiner etc, I don't know if they need a Doughty, or Karlsson or OEL type, you put together 6 #2 Dman, that's a solid solid group

 

[deeshamrock]

Will be interesting for sure, honestly, I think I pay Marner over Matthews, I think he's that dynamic. I guess it depends on the supporting cast, and how much you think the cap goes up etc... They don't have a stud dman they are gonna pay 8M yet, they need two strong dmen, with Reilly, Dermott, Gardiner etc, I don't know if they need a Doughty, or Karlsson or OEL type, you put together 6 #2 Dman, that's a solid solid group

I agree that Marner is the more dynamic offensively gifted player, but Matthews is a terrific young center who (from what I've seen) makes the players around him better and has shown he has a lot of leadership potential in him. It's a tough call... losing Marner will hurt. But the heart of most teams, is still center depth.
I am curious to see how the departure of Lou affects that decision, he is old school and it could be now that will change.
also, there was that issue between Babcock and Matthews at the end of the playoffs where Matthews felt he wasn't getting enough ice time. Babcock is a guy who likes to lean on his vets in critical situations, and defended that position. But what if there is a rift? What if Matthews isn't comfortable there?

The plot could thicken...

Agree on defense, you can put together a good strong 6 man group, but that is their achilles heel. I like Reilly, he's developing nicely and Gardiner got unfair criticism for awhile I felt because the team around him, including the forwards, was terrible in front of him.

 

[deeshamrock]

Can someone please explain to me how Marc ****ing Bergevin has a job still? This guy is AWFUL and happens to be in one of the most high pressure/worst markets in North American sports. The same market that hires based almost entirely on bilingual abilities, tolerates this guy???

Off the top of my head some of his greatest hits -

Trades Sergachev for Drouin. Really makes no sense.

So desperate to add sandpaper that he gives Shaw that massive deal. Shaw's probably done. Guy can't keep up with the NHL.

Trades Subban for Webber. A total head scratcher. Webber's contract is frightening. Subban was the better player then, now, and going forward.

Gives Price arguably the worst contract in the league. Even at his peak it's still too much, factor in his awful season last year and it can get really bad really fast.

Look at the roster they have, it's a couple decent players and a giant group of nobodies. What is this team? I don't even know what this recent trade is accomplishing, more grit? Galchenyuk is compared to a Kopitar-lite when entering the draft and Montreal has no center depth. I don't get it, hard to imagine this guy is employed making millions.

I don't get that either. That town, of all NHL franchises, is under the heat. So how can the ownership continue to support him? It defies logic... And Patches is headed out next (Probably to FLorida)
Giving 10M to Price, was one of the worst decisions , good luck getting rid of that contract.
A good GM , one who understands how to build a winner, that takes a map and a game plan. He has neither. Appears to be rearranging deckchairs on the Titanic. He isn't building thru the draft, he's given away those away and the pieces he has now, they don't add up to success and playoffs. No Free Agent worth his salt is going to sign there.
At some point, Molson needs to wake up.

 

[Sleeping Dog]

Which part of Wisconsin? If it's Madison, don't be too sure.

“We're not going to Moscow. It's Czechoslovakia. It's like going into Wisconsin.”

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Will be interesting for sure, honestly, I think I pay Marner over Matthews, I think he's that dynamic. I guess it depends on the supporting cast, and how much you think the cap goes up etc... They don't have a stud dman they are gonna pay 8M yet, they need two strong dmen, with Reilly, Dermott, Gardiner etc, I don't know if they need a Doughty, or Karlsson or OEL type, you put together 6 #2 Dman, that's a solid solid group

It's sort of the Toews/Kane question for TO, but yeah, they don't have the stud d-man depth to worry about it yet. But to me, you almost always pay the Kopitar-style center over the scoring winger unless said winger is literally Ovechkin or Kane. I think Marner is just under that territory when all is said and done, but I'm also not convinced it's an either/or decision for them.

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

It's sort of the Toews/Kane question for TO, but yeah, they don't have the stud d-man depth to worry about it yet. But to me, you almost always pay the Kopitar-style center over the scoring winger unless said winger is literally Ovechkin or Kane. I think Marner is just under that territory when all is said and done, but I'm also not convinced it's an either/or decision for them.

Agreed, and Marner will turn into Kane, I feel, and you pay him over Matthews, but there's seriously no reason they won't/can't pay both.

 

[Bandit]

I don't get that either. That town, of all NHL franchises, is under the heat. So how can the ownership continue to support him? It defies logic... And Patches is headed out next (Probably to FLorida)
Giving 10M to Price, was one of the worst decisions , good luck getting rid of that contract.
A good GM , one who understands how to build a winner, that takes a map and a game plan. He has neither. Appears to be rearranging deckchairs on the Titanic. He isn't building thru the draft, he's given away those away and the pieces he has now, they don't add up to success and playoffs. No Free Agent worth his salt is going to sign there.
At some point, Molson needs to wake up.

Do they? They have a season ticket waiting list a hundred miles long while rolling a shite product out onto the ice year in year out.

 

[kovacro]

Jake Gardiner is a time bomb on defense. Better for the Leafs to convert him to a forward.

They will find a way to work things out to retain both Marner and Mathews. Nylander will be the one who moves on via trade to acquire a solid defenseman.

They also have some guys on the Marlies (Rosen, Borgman, Lindgren) who will fight for spots next season and don’t sleep on Travis Dermott, he could develop into a nice 2nd pairing guy.

Also have Ozhiganov coming over on a 1-year deal. We’ll see how that works out.

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

Jake Gardiner is a time bomb on defense. Better for the Leafs to convert him to a forward.

They will find a way to work things out to retain both Marner and Mathews. Nylander will be the one who moves on via trade to acquire a solid defenseman.

They also have some guys on the Marlies (Rosen, Borgman, Lindgren) who will fight for spots next season and don’t sleep on Travis Dermott, he could develop into a nice 2nd pairing guy.

Also have Ozhiganov coming over on a 1-year deal. We’ll see how that works out.

Gardiner is fine, they need to find a W. Mitchell or Regehyr type to pair him up with, but for what he does, he takes way too much heat in the TOR market etc

 

[damacles1156]

As I have said many times, I think one of the most important jobs of a GM is figuring out which young players on their roster should get the big 2nd contract. For Lombardi I think it was all too obvious in those players being Kopitar and Doughty. Perhaps that is the lesson for GMs here, if it isn't obvious, don't do it.

I don't think Matthews is worth $11.5M, but maybe $10M. Marner has a long way to go before he proves he is worth $7M in my book. It's not like he is a dominant 1C or 1D in the NHL. He is a up and coming talent who will likely be a star winger. Is Marner ever going to be Ovechkin good? Hell no!

I hope Shanahan keeps his head. I think it's rather silly when agents argue that another player with less production is getting paid $X, so my guy should get $X +++. Unfortunately, GMs seem to believe stupid contracts set a new market value.

It's why GM's always have to save themselves from themselves. Shorter contracts will be demanded by the GM's at the next CBA.

 

[Ziggy Stardust]

It's why GM's always have to save themselves from themselves. Shorter contracts will be demanded by the GM's at the next CBA.

They already got that when they wanted term limits and got the 7 years for UFAs and 8 years for re-signing their own free agents.

 

[Sol]

They should definitely make it so players hit Ufa earlier, and lower the max contract for Ufa for four years. 8 years is insane.

 

[KINGS17]

They already got that when they wanted term limits and got the 7 years for UFAs and 8 years for re-signing their own free agents.

I think they need to make further adjustments. Anything over 5 years is probably too much. If you want to keep the long term deals, allow teams to cut the players not living up to their deals after 3 or 4 years.

 

[GoldenBearHockey]

I think they need to make further adjustments. Anything over 5 years is probably too much. If you want to keep the long term deals, allow teams to cut the players not living up to their deals after 3 or 4 years.

NHLPA would never sign off on that...and they would be silly to even entertain the idea....

 

[kovacro]

NHLPA would never sign off on that...and they would be silly to even entertain the idea....

The next round of CBA negotiations should be fun. Can’t wait.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

Haha. K17 had a good list of things that will likely be debated in the next talks if I recall correctly, and each one of them was murderous on its own.