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

[Apex Predator]

The jobs of these reporters is not to travel around and harass the players during the offseason. That's a great way to get blacklisted.
Matthews has said he wants to stay every time it's brought up, so if people haven't accepted it yet, saying it again isn't going to change anything.
His contract will be signed when they're ready.

I’m not hear to debate if he’s staying or not but those words mean nothing. Tavares said the same and we know how that played out.

 

[Squiffy]

Ya, it's been two weeks and a couple days. Defcon 5, maybe 4. We can go 3 if we open camp without a deal. 2 by December, if we hit trade deadline we can go Defcon 1 and pretty much start burning things down. In the mean time, what in the blue baby Jesus difference does it make if he is signed tomorrow or September 7th, other then instant gratification?

Realistic...as a fan you want info....dud he or did he not have a shiiitty season because of injury. He was not a 13m player last season.
Stop eating the crap given to you.

Straight up, not trying to be a jerk, have you considered asking? I once emailed Cox to see if he knew about the status a prospect that had sat out a 3 day back-to-back-to-back with the Marlies, I think it was Stralman. He answered back, didn't know, but would check it out, let me know what he heard, he did a day later, was a minor injury, just playing it safe. Showed up in his article in the Leafs notes section a couple days later.

We're talking wrist brace in handshake line here right? Hell I might try myself just to not live through another 8 weeks of AM's "chronic" wrist injury speculation. We know he had surgery, if I remember he was back on the early side, probably bugged him some all season, probably spending 4 months right now making it right long term. It's a kid from Arizona that turned in to an NHL EA Sports cover boy, he didn't get there by lack of effort.

 

[Divine]

I think at this point it's obvious none of the core wants to sign a team-friendly deal. You don't actually want to play here if you only do so at the highest price.

Dubas ruined this teams structure by overpaying them as RFA's. How can you expect to get a discount now after telling Matthews he's worth 11.7M as an RFA with zero leverage? Now he has all the leverage and he's expected to do the team a favour?

If he wants to say, he'll show it. I hope Treliving doesn't cave like Dubas did.

 

[Gabriel426]

Honestly, they sign or not, let’s call it what it is. Let’s not fool ourselves and celebrate if AM signs for 13mil and 4 yrs bc that’s a crappy deal. If Pastra or Tkachuk or whoever signs such deal, we will be laughing at those teams

 

[Mr Bill Waters]

Lets keep things in perspective here: this is the second best player in the league - and depending on the year, some times the first. He is well worth 13.7x3. And if we fail to reach the glory land in those three years, well we go sign McDavid.

 

[LEAFANFORLIFE23]

Interesting take but my opinion is that he was the arrogant GM that thought he could reinvent how a team is structured in a hard cap world and has severely injured what could have been an awesome opportunity and rebuild.
we are faced with paying these already overpaid under achieving player that have accomplished nothing as far as moving the team forward in the playoffs even more money. No matter how much the cap goes up each one of them is going to demand a disproportionate % of said cap.
We will never get out from under them until someone has the stones to make serious personal changes to the core 4


Hey man I actually agree with most of this as far as the reporters go.
However is still think that if he is going to sign what is the point of waiting, unless there are important details they have not agreed on yet and if that is the case then nothing is guaranteed until they both sign the document

So you clearly haven't been paying attention, otherwise you'd know we were told Matthews wasn't signing July 1st, most players don't.

We have also been told that he is going to sign and it will be a 3-5 year deal.

You know who else doesn't have an extension?

Guy like Dahlin, Power, Stamkos and Aho, Mack and Pasta didn't sign right away either.

Yet for some reason despite EVERY credible report saying it will get done, that neither side is worried that it won't Leaf fans are panicing.

It's July, wish it were done too so I didn't have to read bullshit but I'm not concerned about it getting done because again EVERY credible report says it will get done andit will be 3-5 years.

 

[TMLBlueandWhite]

Matthews clearly values money more than winning a cup.

If he was gonna take a team friendly he would have signed by now.

These guys could have gone down as all time favourites. But their greedy "me first" attitudes don't resonate well with the hardworking bluecollar fans paying for it all. They just come across as a bunch of spoiled entitled brats demanding so much again without having won anything yet.

The team already paid them for accomplishments not yet achieved.

As if winning was a foregone conclusion. Now they're right back at square one again. And these guys still haven't even come close to contending.

The result is that the offseason talk, instead of being about how many goals Matthews is going to score next year, is all about how much money will he be getting.

And whether or not it will be the Toronto Maple Leafs giving it to him.

 

[Dekes For Days]

Again bs, if he had surgery you would PROBABLY know....and it is their job, they love to take credit when they guess right. You seem to think they are guess gods. No wonder Roger's lays off these guys.

If he had surgery, you'd probably know when it happens, and you'd definitely know at some point. The status of his wrist will be conveyed at some point before next season. That's really all you need to know. I'm not sure what a "guess god" is, but I do know that it is not their job to follow around players and harass them in the offseason.

I’m not hear to debate if he’s staying or not but those words mean nothing. Tavares said the same and we know how that played out.

Different situations and statements, but it doesn't really matter. Fact is, if one doesn't believe him now, then nothing he says is going to change their mind.
Best to just wait for him to sign.

 

[hullsy47]

Matthews clearly values money more than winning a cup.

If he was gonna take a team friendly he would have signed by now.

These guys could have gone down as all time favourites. But their greedy "me first" attitudes don't resonate well with the hardworking bluecollar fans paying for it all. They just come across as a bunch of spoiled entitled brats demanding so much again without having won anything yet.

The team already paid them for accomplishments not yet achieved.

As if winning was a foregone conclusion. Now they're right back at square one again. And these guys still haven't even come close to contending.

The result is that the offseason talk, instead of being about how many goals Matthews is going to score next year, is all about how much money will he be getting.i

And whether or not it will be the Toronto Maple Leafs giving it to him.

I agree .win something then we all can worry about who's staying who's leaving
Maybe at marners wedding we ll hear some juicy rumors weddings and the golf course are the hot spots now
But junior b camps are about 2 weeks away that's where the agents start to chirp

 

[Dekes For Days]

If Pastra or Tkachuk or whoever signs such deal, we will be laughing at those teams

That's because Pastrnak and Tkachuk weren't worth that kind of deal. Matthews is.

 

[TMLBlueandWhite]

I agree .win something then we all can worry about who's staying who's leaving
Maybe at marners wedding we ll hear some juicy rumors weddings and the golf course are the hot spots now
But junior b camps are about 2 weeks away that's where the agents start to chirp

Thanks for the response.

It frustrates me to no end seeing these guys back at the trough again without haven't even contended for a damn thing yet.

A single playoffs series win in eight years and they all expect big raises. For what? So they can win a second round in the next eight years.

If they even stick around that long, that is.

 

[Racer88]

So you clearly haven't been paying attention, otherwise you'd know we were told Matthews wasn't signing July 1st, most players don't.

We have also been told that he is going to sign and it will be a 3-5 year deal.

You know who else doesn't have an extension?

Guy like Dahlin, Power, Stamkos and Aho, Mack and Pasta didn't sign right away either.

Yet for some reason despite EVERY credible report saying it will get done, that neither side is worried that it won't Leaf fans are panicing.

It's July, wish it were done too so I didn't have to read bullshit but I'm not concerned about it getting done because again EVERY credible report says it will get done andit will be 3-5 years.

I have been paying attention. I know he wasn’t going to sign my July 1 obviously.
However if they are so dam sure he will sign why hasn’t he.
Secondly I don’t care who else on other teams hasn’t signed, that’s a them problem.
Can you give one good reason why if they are both 100% positive he will sign it is being delayed other then they are far enough apart on things to cause this hesitation.

 

[tuckerintensity]

Serious question. Why do you think they don’t sign this early? What would be the motivation to delay one of the most important financial decisions of their lives ?

At the end of the day, they want to squeeze every last penny out of the organization and the organization wants it done for the best term for them with the lowest cap hit.

It's not delaying, both sides are playing the game.

And let's be real, no one in that situation is in trouble. They can afford to play that game as long as it takes (and most do).

 

[therealkoho]

The roster didn't amount to anything post season with Matthews making north of $11 million.

And some want to make it $1-3 million worse..

That extra money is going to cut into the depth that's need when no-shows re-appear.

Why not just try trade him for some assets and redistribute some cap-space to positions that actually need it, depth and defence.

People need to accept that 3 players getting paid TOP 10 cap hits hasn't delivered anything in the post season where the Big/Important trophies are won.

I don't know about that Ulf, Matty makin that extra bacon might be the catalyst that final fills his bag with a set of ostrich eggs. I mean I can understand how a guy would have a tough time playing spring hockey while having to worry about paying his rent and how he can afford a bus pass to get to work, let alone fighting through a check. People just don't understand how another 3m a season is going to help this kid and take the pressure off. So what that he's not the best player in the league, it really doesn't matter when you've got the Biebs hanging around and you get to be the highest paid player in the league. That is what is important am I right? The fans just need to understand how hard it is to win a SC, some people say it's the toughest championship of all to win, so they just need to be patient. I don't understand why the fans expect a world class performance all the time, they just don't have a clue that making 14.7 or whatever doesn't make things any easier for the player.

 

[Racer88]

Let’s keep things in perspective here: this is the second best player in the league - and depending on the year, some times the first. He is well worth 13.7x3. And if we fail to reach the glory land in those three years, well we go sign McDavid.

Second best player is a very big stretch. Did you see him in the second round this year……invisible

At the end of the day, they want to squeeze every last penny out of the organization and the organization wants it done for the best term for them with the lowest cap hit.

It's not delaying, both sides are playing the game.

And let's be real, no one in that situation is in trouble. They can afford to play that game as long as it takes (and most do).

I agree they are playing games and as such nothing is for sure that he will sign.
As far as a team friendly contract as some have speculated that’s laughable.

 

[tuckerintensity]

Why not just try trade him for some assets and redistribute some cap-space to positions that actually need it, depth and defence.

Edmonton should probably just trade McDavid because they can't win. Buffalo should trade Dahlin. NY should trade Fox. Who knows why Washington didn't trade Ovechkin when they couldn't get over.

 

[Racer88]

Ok, I have exhausted my allotted time in Matthews. . He can either sign or walk I don’t care.

 

[tuckerintensity]

I agree they are playing games and as such nothing is for sure that he will sign.
As far as a team friendly contract as some have speculated that’s laughable.

Not many do, fans here just think others have. Nothing was team friendly about McDavid or MacKinnon when they signed, they got their highest paid in the league contracts.

He will sign though, we can't afford to let him walk for nothing.

 

[therealkoho]

Mackinnon didn't sign his extension until September 20th after winning a Cup.
What's the rush?

He needed a little more rest after a long season and a really long playoff, and then having to lift that big hunk of silver and bakelite and lug it all around all summer long when it's stinking hot, gee give the guy a break.

 

[Nineteen67]

Edmonton should probably just trade McDavid because they can't win. Buffalo should trade Dahlin. NY should trade Fox. Who knows why Washington didn't trade Ovechkin when they couldn't get over.

Edmonton has won with McDavid.

 

[Dekes For Days]

Edmonton has won with McDavid.

When did McDavid win a cup?

 

[Mr Bill Waters]

Second best player is a very big stretch. Did you see him in the second round this year……invisible

McDrai went missing in the second round too. Happens to even generational players - like these three.

 

[LEAFANFORLIFE23]

I have been paying attention. I know he wasn’t going to sign my July 1 obviously.
However if they are so dam sure he will sign why hasn’t he.
Secondly I don’t care who else on other teams hasn’t signed, that’s a them problem.
Can you give one good reason why if they are both 100% positive he will sign it is being delayed other then they are far enough apart on things to cause this hesitation.

I don't have the connections, that CJ, or Friedman, or Pagnotta have so I can't answer that question except to say that negotiations take time, It's not like Matthews is the ONLY thing on Treliving plate.

All I do know is that every single credible report says it will get done so I have no reason to believe it won't

 

[ToDavid]

David Pagnotta said again yesterday the deal will be 3 or 5 years 13-14 million.

Said there is no doubt on either side it will get done.

Pagnotta is just repeating the numbers being thrown around by the rest of the media. I’m not putting a lot of weight to those ridiculous numbers. Maybe I’m being overly optimistic, we’ll see.

If none of the big insiders have anything on Matthews’ AAV, the biggest player in the biggest market, then I don’t buy that Pagnotta has anything. All the “reports” so far have been “I think” or “it could be” speculation.

Honestly, the vast majority of time these guys have anything real it’s because there’s a prolonged negotiation, where one side leaks the offer/ask to try to pressure the other side. From all reports, team and player are on the same page here so I doubt anyone is talking to the media.

 

[ULF_55]

I don't think Matthews nor Nylander are worried about making the mortgage / rent.

They're both already under contract.

But I'm sure they appreciate our concern.