News Article: Auston Matthews - August 1st., Contract Crickets

[TheGreenTBer]

Some just believe it doesn't have to be one or the other.

Without having Tavares traded (which is borderline impossible) there's no way to have both all those guys re-signed and a team with Cup depth at the same time. It's not realistic.

 

[Trapper]

Some just believe it doesn't have to be one or the other.


If you swap out a Vegas player for Matthews do they still win the cup?

But it hasn’t been the other way because so far it’s been just one way.
Trying to fill a team of UFA around a few.

Try another way and then tell me it’s not just one way or this way was wrong.

 

[ACC1224]

Without having Tavares traded (which is borderline impossible) there's no way to have both all those guys re-signed and a team with Cup depth at the same time. It's not realistic.

Possibly. Teams don't win the cup for all kinds of reasons.

 

[ToneDog]

lol he's got another 1C, he had a nominated rookie of the year goalie this year, had the most vaunted PP in a century, had a borderline 1D in Ekholm and still lost.....

Also I can guarantee you he is going to take 15-17 on the next contract because he feels Edmonton jobbed him on the last one by not building a winner around him.

Skinner and Soup are not Sorokin or Shesterkin and Ekholm is not Pietrangelo or Hedman. I bet he walks before taking 15-17 from Edmonton if he feels they jobbed him.

 

[WillNy29]

Skinner and Soup are not Sorokin or Shesterkin and Ekholm is not Pietrangelo or Hedman. I bet he walks before taking 15-17 from Edmonton if he feels they jobbed him.

he'll take 15-17 elsewhere I can gaurantee it. its going to be pushed by his agent, the PA and his sense of having left too much on the table only to waste his prime away getting swept for 3 straight years and then taking a step back the year after that.

maybe if he didn't taken 12.6m they could afford a Sorokin

 

[ToneDog]

he'll take 15-17 elsewhere I can gaurantee it. its going to be pushed by his agent, the PA and his sense of having left too much on the table only to waste his prime away getting swept for 3 straight years and then taking a step back the year after that.

maybe if he didn't taken 12.6m they could afford a Sorokin

Sorokin is making $1m less than Soup. If they used Nurse's money to sign Petro, McDavid would have had a Cup by now IMO.

One more thing, if he'd sign here for $15m, I'd move heaven and earth.

 

[ACC1224]

But it hasn’t been the other way because so far it’s been just one way.
Trying to fill a team of UFA around a few.

Try another way and then tell me it’s not just one way or this way was wrong.

The constant that had the largest impact is gone.
I believe Treliving will handle things differently.

 

[francis246]

Without having Tavares traded (which is borderline impossible) there's no way to have both all those guys re-signed and a team with Cup depth at the same time. It's not realistic.

Yes it is, but you need your ELC guys to produce and you have to keep finding good cheap value contracts. If your pro scouting department is on it’s A game, it can be done. We can survive two years of Tavares. We need to give guys like Holmberg, Steeves and McMann bottom six roles, play Knies and Robertson in the top six. We have to promote from the Marlies just like we did in 2016-2017. We were in a similar situation at that point with our cap being spent on some vets that were set to expire. I don’t know why we got away from promoting from within.

Spend a majority of remaining cap on rebuilding the defense.

Sorokin is making $1m less than Soup. If they used Nurse's money to sign Petro, McDavid would have had a Cup by now IMO.

Petro had no interest in going to Edmonton. It was between Toronto and Vegas. He almost came to Toronto but our cap situation would have been so shitty. We would have had to have traded one of the core four for sure.

 

[ToneDog]

Yes it is, but you need your ELC guys to produce and you have to keep finding good cheap value contracts. If your pro scouting department is on it’s A game, it can be done. We can survive two years of Tavares. We need to give guys like Holmberg, Steeves and McMann bottom six roles, play Knies and Robertson in the top six. We have to promote from the Marlies just like we did in 2016-2017. We were in a similar situation at that point with our cap being spent on some vets that were set to expire. I don’t know why we got away from promoting from within.

Spend a majority of remaining cap on rebuilding the defense.



Petro had no interest in going to Edmonton. It was between Toronto and Vegas. He almost came to Toronto but our cap situation would have been so shitty. We would have had to have traded one of the core four for sure.

Exactly, so they are paying Nurse 9.5m and he is no #1D and hence why McDavid hasn't been able to hoist a Cup carrying that team.

 

[francis246]

Look at Vegas, you had and Eichel at double digits (ok so Matthews), a fantastic salary like Marchessault (trade a winger for this), a solid 2-way, big body vet like Stone, Pietrangelo as the anchor and great rookie goalie (could this be Woll?)

Fill in with hungry, North/south, solid team guys.

They were also heavily over the cap. They took advantage of a unique situation. All things being equal you cannot look to the Vegas mode and try to model your team after that. They got lucky being able to circumvent the cap and take full advantage of LTIR space. Not even Vegas will be able to replicate what they did again, that team is going to be in cap hell and they will be throwing a bunch of guys overboard in the next few months, with little to no prospects as well.

Vegas got their cup and that’s amazing/incredible for their franchise but it will be nearly impossible for already established franchises to do it the way Vegas did.

Exactly, so they are paying Nurse 9.5m and he is no #1D and hence why McDavid hasn't been able to hoist a Cup carrying that team.

Lol Nurse at 9.5 is not the reason why Edmonton hasn’t won a cup. Goaltending is the #1 reason why McDavid hasn’t won a cup. You can’t win a cup with .800 SV%, it’s not going to happen. They better pray skinner is the answer or they can get Hart there and run a Skinner/Hart duo.

 

[WTFMAN99]

They were also heavily over the cap. They took advantage of a unique situation. All things being equal you cannot look to the Vegas mode and try to model your team after that. They got lucky being able to circumvent the cap and take full advantage of LTIR space. Not even Vegas will be able to replicate what they did again, that team is going to be in cap hell and they will be throwing a bunch of guys overboard in the next few months, with little to no prospects as well.

Vegas got their cup and that’s amazing/incredible for their franchise but it will be nearly impossible for already established franchises to do it the way Vegas did.



Lol Nurse at 9.5 is not the reason why Edmonton hasn’t won a cup. Goaltending is the #1 reason why McDavid hasn’t won a cup. You can’t win a cup with .800 SV%, it’s not going to happen. They better pray skinner is the answer or they can get Hart there and run a Skinner/Hart duo.

Vegas could do alright on keeping it together;

 

[francis246]

Vegas could do alright on keeping it together;

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they could potentially depending on who they sign in that bottom six. Barbashev is gone, he ain't making 4 million. But even in your projection it will be awfuly close again with just $26,683 to spare and not much in the AHL to help with depth at this point. You also have to hope Adin Hill wasn't a flash in the pan and is actually a legit NHL goalie. I think they also said Mark Stone may never be able to play a full 82 healthy. He could do it, but it's probably he'd be in a lot of pain. Too many variables for me, don't really see them repeating.

 

[WTFMAN99]

they could potentially depending on who they sign in that bottom six. Barbashev is gone, he ain't making 4 million. But even in your projection it will be awfuly close again with just $26,683 to spare and not much in the AHL to help with depth at this point. You also have to hope Adin Hill wasn't a flash in the pan and is actually a legit NHL goalie. I think they also said Mark Stone may never be able to play a full 82 healthy. He could do it, but it's probably he'd be in a lot of pain. Too many variables for me, don't really see them repeating.

I think he had a similar surgery to Eichel right?

I could see Barbashev taking 4M from Vegas because of the tax situation there.

They could also try to do a more economical goalie than Hill at 3.25M, Thompson was a really good goalie this year, maybe they go more tandem

I didn't use anyone from Vegas's farm team because it would be presumptive but they do have Brisson, Morozov, Cotter and maybe Korczak that could help them next season.

 

[Niagara Bill]

Some just believe it doesn't have to be one or the other.


If you swap out a Vegas player for Matthews do they still win the cup?

No...his dollars influence who else is on the team. Do they still have Pietrangelo. His lack of team first influences the room, unless Stone and a few others could knock some sense into him. No one on the Leafs could influence him or Marner, so my guess is neither could the Knights. No team in hockey had 2 better hard working respected players than Tavaras and OReilly, and they couldn't get those 2 mercenaries to step up.
I love AM as a player, and MM to a lesser degree, but neither one looked interested in playing the brand of hockey the playoffs bring. As long as Bettman allows the rules to change post game 82, those 2 mercenaries cannot lead your team.

 

[ACC1224]

No...his dollars influence who else is on the team. Do they still have Pietrangelo. His lack of team first influences the room, unless Stone and a few others could knock some sense into him. No one on the Leafs could influence him or Marner, so my guess is neither could the Knights. No team in hockey had 2 better hard working respected players than Tavaras and OReilly, and they couldn't get those 2 mercenaries to step up.
I love AM as a player, and MM to a lesser degree, but neither one looked interested in playing the brand of hockey the playoffs bring. As long as Bettman allows the rules to change post game 82, those 2 mercenaries cannot lead your team.

IMO, if he's in Eichel's place they still win.

 

[francis246]

I think he had a similar surgery to Eichel right?

I could see Barbashev taking 4M from Vegas because of the tax situation there.

They could also try to do a more economical goalie than Hill at 3.25M, Thompson was a really good goalie this year, maybe they go more tandem

I didn't use anyone from Vegas's farm team because it would be presumptive but they do have Brisson, Morozov, Cotter and maybe Korczak that could help them next season.

I think it was slightly different than the one Eichel had. Eichel's main point of injury was his neck/upper back area. They haven't disclosed much about Stone's back injury location wise. I don't believe it's related to the neck.

I think Barbashev will make a lot more than 4 on the open market.

Goaltending is probably their biggest challenge at this point, besides injuries. It's not impossible for them to repeat, it will likely be a bit harder as they won't have the same quality of depth this year.

 

[WTFMAN99]

I think it was slightly different than the one Eichel had. Eichel's main point of injury was his neck/upper back area. They haven't disclosed much about Stone's back injury location wise. I don't believe it's related to the neck.

I think Barbashev will make a lot more than 4 on the open market.

Goaltending is probably their biggest challenge at this point, besides injuries. It's not impossible for them to repeat, it will likely be a bit harder as they won't have the same quality of depth this year.

Eh, if it's not Barbashev at 4M, they could maybe swing Miles Wood for a couple of years around 2.5M

I'm really not seeing the doom and gloom about Vegas like others are, although I think after this upcoming season, their depth WILL take a hit because Stephenson, March, Carrier, Kolesar etc all need new deals I believe, although Martinez does expire.

 

[francis246]

Eh, if it's not Barbashev at 4M, they could maybe swing Miles Wood for a couple of years around 2.5M

I'm really not seeing the doom and gloom about Vegas like others are, although I think after this upcoming season, their depth WILL take a hit because Stephenson, March, Carrier, Kolesar etc all need new deals I believe, although Martinez does expire.

oh i don't think it's doom and gloom, I just don't think they'll be able to ice a comparable team/stay healthy. They kind of got lucky with the LTIR allotment and Stone being able to come back from surgery in the time he did.

 

[myleafs]

Marner at 13M is going to be one of the worst deals in league history if that's what happens. Complete no show when it matters, gotta start paying guys for what they can do in big games, not stat padding the regular season.



Matthews is a 90-100 point Elite two way 1C. He's been on pace for 90+ for a few seasons in a row now, arguably the best goal scorer in the game and he's improved so much on the defensive side of the game. If there's a guy on the team I'm paying, it's him. If Marner wants the same amount he can take a hike.

Hate that stat. People used to talk about Kessel being a 40 goal guy....he wasnt and never did hit that mark. Auston has one 100 pt season and his next best was last yr at 85. Mcdavid actually got 153 pts, not paced for it. And people want to make 34 the highest paid player.....okeedokeee

 

[Niagara Bill]

IMO, if he's in Eichel's place they still win.

Not a bad comparison, but Eichel showed some fire, and 2 yrs ago displayed a hunger in his decisions. If AM wants the same , then trade him now.
I hope to wake up one morning this week to AM saying he has agreed to a contract, I really hope that July 1 comes, no trade becomes his bargaining power because the Leafs will lose the negotiations at that point.

 

[ACC1224]

Not a bad comparison, but Eichel showed some fire, and 2 yrs ago displayed a hunger in his decisions. If AM wants the same , then trade him now.
I hope to wake up one morning this week to AM saying he has agreed to a contract, I really hope that July 1 comes, no trade becomes his bargaining power because the Leafs will lose the negotiations at that point.

I think Eichel showed 'fire' because of his surroundings. Leafs need that type of environment.

 

[Sypher04]

Not a bad comparison, but Eichel showed some fire, and 2 yrs ago displayed a hunger in his decisions. If AM wants the same , then trade him now.
I hope to wake up one morning this week to AM saying he has agreed to a contract, I really hope that July 1 comes, no trade becomes his bargaining power because the Leafs will lose the negotiations at that point.

What makes you think we have any leverage now either? Matthews is dictating is contract demands, trade protection or not. You’re not threatening a trade if he doesn’t sign pre July. You may do it, but threatening your stars won’t get you anywhere in negotiation, so nothing really changes in terms of leverage. It’s all Matthews.

 

[Niagara Bill]

What makes you think we have any leverage now either? Matthews is dictating is contract demands, trade protection or not. You’re not threatening a trade if he doesn’t sign pre July. You may do it, but threatening your stars won’t get you anywhere in negotiation, so nothing really changes in terms of leverage. It’s all Matthews.

Agreed, but if he plays extreme hardball today imagine what will happen next June.
Which headline do you want to see before June 30th, 2023
...Matthews rejects Leafs desperate offer and enters final year of contract armed with a no trade clause
Or
...Leafs agree to blockbuster trade, sending Matthews to....(name your team) on eve of no trade clause kick in.

I pick number 2.

I don't want 8 more years of salary cap hell.

 

[ToneDog]

They were also heavily over the cap. They took advantage of a unique situation. All things being equal you cannot look to the Vegas mode and try to model your team after that. They got lucky being able to circumvent the cap and take full advantage of LTIR space. Not even Vegas will be able to replicate what they did again, that team is going to be in cap hell and they will be throwing a bunch of guys overboard in the next few months, with little to no prospects as well.

Vegas got their cup and that’s amazing/incredible for their franchise but it will be nearly impossible for already established franchises to do it the way Vegas did.



Lol Nurse at 9.5 is not the reason why Edmonton hasn’t won a cup. Goaltending is the #1 reason why McDavid hasn’t won a cup. You can’t win a cup with .800 SV%, it’s not going to happen. They better pray skinner is the answer or they can get Hart there and run a Skinner/Hart duo.

You need to go back you post #3219 were I said:

1. McDavid would not take $16m if you can't build a team around him
2. McDavid just needs #1G and dman and he'll do the rest
3. Rather pay 153 point McDavid $16m than whatever the Leafs pay Matthews

Subsequently said, Skinner and Soup are not #1 and Ekholm is not Petro which led to Nurse.

Agreed goaltending is the #1 reason, defense is #2, forward depth is #3.

They have $14.5m invested in their #1G and #1dman. Those are mistakes many fans saw a mile away. I mean how many posters said the Oilers will regret 5m x 5 for Soup. So far they are right.

 

[HolyCrap]

Well somebody posted it or I would never has seen it. I hate social media giving a voice to morons, bullies and trolls.

Me too Pal. I have literally no social media. Have a incognito Facebook name just so I can follow some group pages for fishing and market place. Lol