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

[Clark4Ever]

Aho signing for 8yrs. I guess his agent just didn’t bother looking at the potential cap jump in a few years like how only Leafs players agents tend to do.

That's true, but it's probably in the best interest of the Leafs to not go 8 years with any of the core players. Some of the 8 year contract extensions being handed out around the NHL to players in their mid to late 20's might not age well.

 

[Stephen]

I think you missed the part where Winnipeg Ian said that there is absolutely no excuse for anyone who wants to be paid the highest AAV in the NHL to finish that low in the point totals, including injury.

That's exactly what he's saying, and citing finishing 22nd in points in a season that her was obviously injured in as his reasoning.

He believes Matthews should be paid like Kempe because "they score at a similar pace." If you want to hop in that boat, I wouldn't grab a paddle, I'd bring a bucket.

Dude, is finishing 17th in points unacceptable of someone who wants to be paid the highest AAV or not? You made the rules.

So wait, what’s the rationale for the Leafs paying Auston Matthews 1st overall money if he’s ranked 22nd in league scoring this year if Mackinnon was invalidated with his injuries and Stanley Cup win?

 

[Stephen]

Wait a minute, is Matthews just a better Phil Kessel??



Also, nice little shot at JT at the end there...yikes.

Tavares falls into the category of Instant Made Leaf Legend where the franchise imports a big name a la Dion Phaneuf and gives them all the status befitting a name player. Throughout his career there isn’t a lot that really suggests JT is some exceptional leader.

 

[Gabriel426]

That's true, but it's probably in the best interest of the Leafs to not go 8 years with any of the core players. Some of the 8 year contract extensions being handed out around the NHL to players in their mid to late 20's might not age well.

Thats the thing, If the Leafs got no intention of signing them after their next contract, thats fine. But if the Leafs are in the lets wait and see...deal with it in 5 yrs later, thats pretty dumb bc unless AM, MM, and Willie drop off dramatically in the last two years of their next contract, Leafs will still need to pay them equal or higher than their next deal to keep them.
This not going 8 yrs for core players like AM, MM and Willie is only a Leafs thing bc medias and some here(might be close to those players or just medias alias accounts) starts spreading stuff like it is better for the team.....Look at Aho, Pastra, Mack, and Tkachuk, do you think any Canes, Bruins, Avs and Panthers fans are complaining they signed for 8 years? Then when McD and Drai time to sign their next contract, do you think Oilers fans will think them signing a 5 yrs deal is doing the Oilers a favor?
You lock in your top stars when under 28 for 8 years and do mid term deal on complimentary players. I know the ghost of Phil and Dion might scare some Leafs fans but AM, MM and Willie are no where near their levels.

 

[Clark4Ever]

Thats the thing, If the Leafs got no intention of signing them after their next contract, thats fine. But if the Leafs are in the lets wait and see...deal with it in 5 yrs later, thats pretty dumb bc unless AM, MM, and Willie drop off dramatically in the last two years of their next contract, Leafs will still need to pay them equal or higher than their next deal to keep them.
This not going 8 yrs for core players like AM, MM and Willie is only a Leafs thing bc medias and some here(might be close to those players or just medias alias accounts) starts spreading stuff like it is better for the team.....Look at Aho, Pastra, Mack, and Tkachuk, do you think any Canes, Bruins, Avs and Panthers fans are complaining they signed for 8 years? Then when McD and Drai time to sign their next contract, do you think Oilers fans will think them signing a 5 yrs deal is doing the Oilers a favor?
You lock in your top stars when under 28 for 8 years and do mid term deal on complimentary players. I know the ghost of Phil and Dion might scare some Leafs fans but AM, MM and Willie are no where near their levels.

I just can't envision these guys maintaining their current level of production into their mid 30s. Personally, I prefer the wait and see approach.

 

[IPS]

I just can't envision these guys maintaining their current level of production into their mid 30s. Personally, I prefer the wait and see approach.

I don't see why they can't. The core has not been in many real playoff wars. There should be plenty left in the tank for them save for any long term issues with Matthews' wrist.

 

[PromisedLand]

Marner wants to stay, 100%

At what cost though? Being the highest paid winger in the league cost on his next deal?

Mackinnon also won a Stanley Cup and carried a 1.35 PPG with 88 points in 65 games the year before he signed...

I don't think anyone is suggesting Matthews doesn't deserve the money or should even be paid the highest on this round. The frustration is he wants the most favorable AAV, the shortest term, probably the best bonus structure, full protections and is hemming and hawing. He is on the verge of getting everything, but he's already got his sights set on the next, even bigger thing.

How come he's not like this with a scoring title every year? Or going deep in the playoffs.

This!

At a time when stars are looking for retirement contracts especially after they've won the cup, Mack decided to not go for the moon.

meanwhile, the players we have; have continued to be underwhelming in the playoffs while wanting the moon (again)!

Yea... no thanks. No more!!! Get reasonable, get in line!

 

[ACC1224]

At what cost though? Being the highest paid winger in the league cost on his next deal?

Not sure, it never came up and I doubt very much it's even thought of at this point.

 

[JKG33]

I think you missed the part where Winnipeg Ian said that there is absolutely no excuse for anyone who wants to be paid the highest AAV in the NHL to finish that low in the point totals, including injury.

That's exactly what he's saying, and citing finishing 22nd in points in a season that her was obviously injured in as his reasoning.

He believes Matthews should be paid like Kempe because "they score at a similar pace." If you want to hop in that boat, I wouldn't grab a paddle, I'd bring a bucket.

Dude, is finishing 17th in points unacceptable of someone who wants to be paid the highest AAV or not? You made the rules.

PS: McDavid's contract was also signed well before Matthews will be (and actually a positive for us), he's incredibly competitive, he does work incredibly hard in the offseason (crazy, he can still attend events and do that), and is taking less with us than he'd get as a FA next season (assuming the rumored number is true, we don't actually know yet).

There's nothing me first about these demands unless you're also willing to admit that McDavid and MacKinnon did the same (because they did). You have different rules for Matthews than you do everyone else.

I also take your silence to mean you've finally admitted that your argument about Kempe was absolutely insane.

Winnipeg Ian.. now there's a name I haven't heard in a long ass time. I'm almost kinda glad to have you back, at least you can provide an intelligent conversation the two guys liking your posts can't.

I didn't say Matthews should be paid like Kempe, I said he's not $8m better than him. And I stand by that. Is Matthews better than players in that tier? Yes, absolutely. Is he $6-8m better? Absolutely not. And I don't think he's $4m better than Aho either.

Why do MacKinnon and McDavid have different rules? Oh I dunno, how about because of this...

Mackinnon - 100 in 77GP
Rantanen - 87 in 70GP
McDavid - 75 in 49GP
Draisaitl - 77 in 49GP
Pastrnak - 79 in 77GP
.
.
.
Matthews - 44 in 50GP

(Players like Aho and Guentzal who are not even regular season comparables, are also well above Matthews. And AM doesn't even qualify for this list Active NHL Players - Playoff Points per Game Leaders )

Those aren't $13.5m AAV numbers no matter how much regular season hardware he has. So if you want to make Matthews the highest paid player in the league to collect a rocket richard trophy every year, and subsequently play 7 games in the playoffs be my guest. But thats not a player thats going to help you win when it counts relative to his cap hit. Hell, if if I could rub a lamp and a genie told me Matthews is guaranteed to win the rocket every year of his contract, I still wouldn't want him signed to it unless the playoff performances improve.

McDavid and Draisaitl, two players better than Matthews who actually perform in the playoffs and aren't overpaid, are on a team that still can't get it done. So why do we think paying a worse player even more money is going magically win a cup? Unless you don't care about playoffs, in which case theres no point continuing this discussion.

 

[PromisedLand]

Not sure, it never came up and I doubt very much it's even thought of at this point.

Marner committed to just 6 years at 11 AAV; for 8 years he would have been above Panarin apparently; i.e. highest paid winger in the league. Before Pasta's recent deal Marner was the 2nd highest paid winger in the league.

Below is the cap hit as it stands right now in the league look at how many Leafs players show up in the top 15 and then ask yourself what will be Marner's next contract if the commitment is 8 years

 

[ACC1224]

Marner committed to just 6 years at 11 AAV; for 8 years he would have been above Panarin apparently; i.e. highest paid winger in the league. Before Pasta's recent deal Marner was the 2nd highest paid winger in the league.

Below is the cap hit as it stands right now in the league look at how many Leafs players show up in the top 15 and then ask yourself what will be Marner's next contract if the commitment is 8 years

View attachment 731712

It would have been 8.5 x 8 had Dubas not outsmarted himself.

Like Matthews it will be tough to gauge. Both are overpaid but neither deserves a pay cut.

 

[PromisedLand]

It would have been 8.5 x 8 had Dubas not outsmarted himself.

Like Matthews it will be tough to gauge. Both are overpaid but neither deserves a pay cut.

If neither deserves a paycut then one of them have to be moved. We have 7 years worth of evidence that together they are deadweight especially in the playoffs.

Its that simple as far as I am concerned.

Dubas ruined the Leafs that doesn't mean the new GM has to follow suit IMO

 

[therealkoho]

Thankfully the ego is gone and we now have a competent leader.

there is still one left to contend with, in that the 6th best player in the league should not be asking for "#1" money

 

[weems]

Wait a minute, is Matthews just a better Phil Kessel??



Also, nice little shot at JT at the end there...yikes.

I think alot of Leafs fans could get behind Morgan Rielly as captain.

 

[Rob Brown]

Wait a minute, is Matthews just a better Phil Kessel??



Also, nice little shot at JT at the end there...yikes.

'We decided to have this conversation therefore it's the reality that Tavares is a bad captain'

Bunch of idiots.

 

[therealkoho]

Wait a minute, is Matthews just a better Phil Kessel??



Also, nice little shot at JT at the end there...yikes.

I wouldn't say shot exactly, it's just the truth as they see it

I was never in favour of handing JT the C, I've always thought that Morgan was and is the right guy, JT is certainly one of the leaders on the team maybe even deserving of an A. I think it was part of the cost of signing him was that he got the C. There was a time when the team captain was a buffer between the management/coaching staff and the players, the captain also served as the guy who served as a mediator of sorts for any differences in the locker room.

Using the 14/15 BlackHawks as an example could you ever see someone like Brandon Saad go over Toews head to complain to Bowman about something Coach Q said to the team when he was ripping them a new arsehole for less than inspired play? Not in a million gauldarned years and it friggin happened in our dressing room. The player just ignored John and knocked on Dubas door.

Second scenario same Hawks team Bowman goes to Coach Q and tells him he needs to apologize to the players, not in the dressing room but in public to the media.

honest to god you have no idea how frigging angry I am that this happened to my Maple Leafs, one guy bigger than the team, it just can't happen and they want, no he is holding them up for 13.5m to satisfy his ego and probably alienate any good will he has in that room.

sorry about the rant

 

[andora]

I just can't envision these guys maintaining their current level of production into their mid 30s. Personally, I prefer the wait and see approach.

I don't see why they can't. The core has not been in many real playoff wars. There should be plenty left in the tank for them save for any long term issues with Matthews' wrist.

With how soft the game is trending i dont see why they cant..

 

[tuckerintensity]

Winnipeg Ian.. now there's a name I haven't heard in a long ass time. I'm almost kinda glad to have you back, at least you can provide an intelligent conversation the two guys liking your posts can't.

I'm not sure I'm glad I'm here yet.

I didn't say Matthews should be paid like Kempe, I said he's not $8m better than him. And I stand by that. Is Matthews better than players in that tier? Yes, absolutely. Is he $6-8m better? Absolutely not. And I don't think he's $4m better than Aho either.

I mean, then neither is MacKinnon or McDavid. These players (including Matthews) are in a different stratosphere than Aho.

Why do MacKinnon and McDavid have different rules? Oh I dunno, how about because of this...

Mackinnon - 100 in 77GP
Rantanen - 87 in 70GP
McDavid - 75 in 49GP
Draisaitl - 77 in 49GP
Pastrnak - 79 in 77GP
.
.
.
Matthews - 44 in 50GP

(Players like Aho and Guentzal who are not even regular season comparables, are also well above Matthews. And AM doesn't even qualify for this list Active NHL Players - Playoff Points per Game Leaders )

MacKinnon - 1.14
Matthews - 1.11

Those aren't $13.5m AAV numbers no matter how much regular season hardware he has. So if you want to make Matthews the highest paid player in the league to collect a rocket richard trophy every year, and subsequently play 7 games in the playoffs be my guest. But thats not a player thats going to help you win when it counts relative to his cap hit. Hell, if if I could rub a lamp and a genie told me Matthews is guaranteed to win the rocket every year of his contract, I still wouldn't want him signed to it unless the playoff performances improve.

First, his playoff performances have improved, see the stat above. No one wants to talk about that, but it's true. If Treliving has done the things that make us a Cup finalist and signs Matthews for 13.5 x 5, the overall narrative as we know it now is that of the Muppets, it's Gonzo.

I know you and Stephen don't want to admit it, but salaries are based of regular season stats (because only 14.4% of players actually ever win the Cup). So let's look at four players.

Player A - 0 40 goal seasons, 0 100 point seasons, 1 major award, once top 5 in Hart (no wins).
Player B - 2 40 goal seasons, 1 100 point seasons, 2 major awards, 4 top 5 Hart (no wins).
Player C - 3 40 goal seasons, 6 100 point seasons, 13 major awards, 7 top 5 in Hart (3 wins).
Player D - 5 40 goal seasons, 1 100 point season, 5 major awards, 2 top 5 in Hart (1 win).

Stats alone bro, though we can all easily see McDavid here, because that's what contract negotiations are based on. What's the hierarchy? I think we can all agree C, D, B, A, (though I doubt some will admit it because they know who is who). What do you think the order of salary is? Mr. C should be well in front, but he's not, he's not even in front.

McDavid and Draisaitl, two players better than Matthews who actually perform in the playoffs and aren't overpaid, are on a team that still can't get it done. So why do we think paying a worse player even more money is going magically win a cup? Unless you don't care about playoffs, in which case theres no point continuing this discussion.

McDavid is better than everyone, by far. No one is disputing that. But you know what he doesn't make? The highest AAV in the league. Draisaitl isn't, but he can sign an extension next off-season, do you think he's going to be seeking less than 13? He's not. Do you think he's going to get more than Matthews? I do. And McDavid is going to get more than both the year after that.

So wait, what’s the rationale for the Leafs paying Auston Matthews 1st overall money if he’s ranked 22nd in league scoring this year if Mackinnon was invalidated with his injuries and Stanley Cup win?

You'll either have to read up or ask JKG, I've no idea why he wants to base anyone's salary off of one year, let alone one that they were injured in.

 

[JT AM da real deal]

Shorter term for Matty is likely better play for team .. dude has weight gain issues and like last year we saw it took him forever to get back to playing weight .. i think at some point he will balloon and a long term deal is gonna look brutal

 

[notbias]

Winnipeg Ian.. now there's a name I haven't heard in a long ass time. I'm almost kinda glad to have you back, at least you can provide an intelligent conversation the two guys liking your posts can't.

I didn't say Matthews should be paid like Kempe, I said he's not $8m better than him. And I stand by that. Is Matthews better than players in that tier? Yes, absolutely. Is he $6-8m better? Absolutely not. And I don't think he's $4m better than Aho either.

Why do MacKinnon and McDavid have different rules? Oh I dunno, how about because of this...

Mackinnon - 100 in 77GP
Rantanen - 87 in 70GP
McDavid - 75 in 49GP
Draisaitl - 77 in 49GP
Pastrnak - 79 in 77GP
.
.
.
Matthews - 44 in 50GP

(Players like Aho and Guentzal who are not even regular season comparables, are also well above Matthews. And AM doesn't even qualify for this list Active NHL Players - Playoff Points per Game Leaders )

Those aren't $13.5m AAV numbers no matter how much regular season hardware he has. So if you want to make Matthews the highest paid player in the league to collect a rocket richard trophy every year, and subsequently play 7 games in the playoffs be my guest. But thats not a player thats going to help you win when it counts relative to his cap hit. Hell, if if I could rub a lamp and a genie told me Matthews is guaranteed to win the rocket every year of his contract, I still wouldn't want him signed to it unless the playoff performances improve.

McDavid and Draisaitl, two players better than Matthews who actually perform in the playoffs and aren't overpaid, are on a team that still can't get it done. So why do we think paying a worse player even more money is going magically win a cup? Unless you don't care about playoffs, in which case theres no point continuing this discussion.

Marner is way ahead of Tkachuk on this, I am assuming you're fine with him making a lot more than the 9.5 Tkachuk makes?

For how much people harp on Matthews/Marner being playoff no shows, it is crazy that amongst active players with 20+ games, Matthews is 19th and Marner is 16th in PPG...

some many more terrible players than Marner/Matthews... Tkachuk, Barkov, ROR, Kuznetsov, Stamkos, Pavelski, Robertson, Panarin, Stone, Barzal, PLD, Connor, Laine, Hyman... the list goes on.

If you actually look at it, it becomes much clearer that yes, we should hold them to a higher standard, but they are closer to the top than the bottom of the pile.

 

[DutchHockeyGuy]

The more I think about it, the more I believe a 'show me' year is the best solution for all involved. The Leafs will get a player playing for the biggest contract in history who will want as many teams as possible bidding for his services. The Leafs will be able to see whether his poor injury plagued year was an exception or something that will be repeated.

His wrist, his back and his weight are major worries. If Matthew's cannot regain his amazing shot, let some other team make him the highest paid player in history.

I do believe he is a leader by the way. In the sense that he and Marner set the standard. It is their team and the team results mirror their characters. So far that means not very good when the going gets tough and marvelous when things come easy. That could change if they mature further, but I hoped that would have happened a few years ago.

 

[ACC1224]

Perhaps it's been mentioned in the previous 206 pages but does anyone know where Matthews is? Arizona?

 

[Mess]

Perhaps it's been mentioned in the previous 206 pages but does anyone know where Matthews is? Arizona?

Auston Matthews is at his offseason base too, but this is his 7,500-square-foot home at the foot of Camelback Mountain in Arizona.

How Auston Matthews Spent $63 MILLION​

 

[ACC1224]

View attachment 731752
Auston Matthews is at his offseason base too, but this is his 7,500-square-foot home at the foot of Camelback Mountain in Arizona.

How Auston Matthews Spent $63 MILLION​

He spent all his money on a house?

 

[rocketman588]

He spent all his money on a house?

Guess we know why he wants 14 mil a year now...

Getting a house that's worth more then your multi year contract when you also have to rent/buy in one of the most expensive markets in north America doesn't seem like it's the key to success. But I'm also not a millionaire