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

[Sypher04]

No, @Mess is correct. MacKinnon is one of the top-3 centers on the planet, just won a Cup, and could easily have demanded 14 mil a year x 4. Were the Avs going to say, "No, you just helped win us a Cup, are our number one center, but we're not going to pay you that?" Of course not. Instead, he signed for 100k over McDavid and committed to 8 years to presumably finish his career as an Av. This was his way of "moving the contracts forward" for the rest of the players (by 100k) while also giving his team a nice discount and committing to them long-term with a team-friendly deal.

The fact that this will likely be the 2nd massive, short-term deal that Matthews has signed with the Leafs is a complete disgrace. And that it will likely be for 13.5 (compared to McDavid's 12.5 or MacKinnon's 12.6) is also a complete disgrace.

He’s not. I never said MacKinnon couldn’t have gotten more. What I said was that it’s ridiculous to claim he “begrudgingly” accepted a deal $100k over McDavid’s AAV for the benefit of the PA. If Matthews signed for 12.7 million today the narrative would be (and has been) it was critically important to him to get the highest AAV, which there is nothing specifically to support other than the sentiment of some reporters. $100k has no material impact on moving salaries forward, especially when the salary being eclipsed was set 5 years ago. It’s far more likely signed for 12.6 because he deserved to the highest and liked being so; not to do the PA a solid.

As for MacKinnon being top 3. McDavid and Draisaitl are probably 1-2, which makes Mac and Matthews 3-4, so not really note worthy if the goal was to compare to Matthews, which maybe it wasn’t.

We would all be ok with Mac's cap percentage x 8.

For sure. Although there have been plenty of people around here who have suggested he doesn’t deserve any raise at all.

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One of us will be eating crow, and I don't believe it will be me, as I'm expecting as is being reported Matthews will be signing a 3-5 years in term deal and become the highest paid player in the game likely starting with AAV at $13 mil or or higher,

Everyone in Leafs Nation will be thowing a party if Matthews signs a MacKinnon like deal for 8 years at $12.7 mil and bumps the NHLPA bar a little higher.

What crow will I be eating allegedly? I’m on record saying I fully expect his deal to be between 13-13.5M for 4 or 5 years.

agreed, I’d be fine giving him a slight bump. 13.5x8 is still fine with me

He loses me with the 3-5 years crap. Also it’s comical that people say it’s actually in favour of the team, it’s gotta be the first time someone has said that short term deals are good for the team. He’s gonna make 13 on a mid 80 to low 90 salary cap and then 15+ on a mid 90 to low 100 cap, so where do we benefit. And if his injuries are so concerning that short term deals are better, than it would be better to deal him because apparently the injuries only affect the term, not the AAV

We’ve have said there is a clear case that 5 years could be beneficial for the team, which is objectively true. I certainly haven’t argued there isn’t an 8 year case too.

As for your last point, moving someone with a full no movement clause isn’t really feasible unless they are willing and even in that event you’re probably pigeon holed to one or two teams. It’s not that Matthews’ wrist is so concerning it makes sense to blow up our core, it’s more that having the flexibility to re-evaluate in say 4 years has value in itself.

It’s also think it’s reasonable to expect when he’s due for his next deal (if he signed 5), that his cap percentage at 32-33 is going to be lower than it is for this extension. So probably not 15M. For what it’s worth I’ve personally said 3 isn’t great for us. Most of what I’m saying benefit wise has been based on getting to 5 years

What planet are you on? MacKinnon could have demanded, and gotten, much more. Can you imagine a player, who will have made a boatload of money over his career, actually leaving some money on the table in order to help his team out? SMH!!!

Never said MacKinnon couldn’t have gotten more. What I said was that it’s ridiculous to claim he “begrudgingly” accepted a deal $100k over McDavid’s AAV for the benefit of the PA. If Matthews signed for 12.7 million today the narrative would be (and has been) it was critically important to him to ge the highest AAV, which there is nothing specifically to support other than the sentiment of some reporters.

Yup, one of the best in the regular season, can’t argue that. The playoffs, that’s another story.

Yeah, we need more in playoffs. No one thinks otherwise.

 

[Nineteen67]

You don't blame him so to punish TML management for past failures, I get that, but to do that he punishes, his team mates today, and the fans.
We should never sign him fir more than 3 years and alwsys have ability to trade him in yr 3.
I a the opposite to you, f... him, this is about me watch The Leafs win a cup again after 56 yrs.
I do not care to punish myself because of Ballard, Gregory, McNamara, Brophy, Babcock, Quinn or MLSE,
AM, WN, MM have made it more difficult to reach the top by taking advantage of little Dubas with past agreements. The had no trade clauses and their agents hands on his genitals.
Time for a change again.

If management feels that way then they should trade him.
IMO, the chances of them competing for the Cup are very low with him or without him.
I understand why they’d ask for more $$$ to play Toronto than they would to play in other cities.

 

[Aashir Mallik]

We’ve have said there is a clear case that 5 years could be beneficial for the team, which is objectively true. I certainly haven’t argued there isn’t an 8 year case too.

As for your last point, moving someone with a full no movement clause isn’t really feasible unless they are willing and even in that event you’re probably pigeon holed to one or two teams. It’s not that Matthews’ wrist is so concerning it makes sense to blow up our core, it’s more that having the flexibility to re-evaluate in say 4 years has value in itself.

It’s also think it’s reasonable to expect when he’s due for his next deal (if he signed 5), that his cap percentage at 32-33 is going to be lower than it is for this extension. So probably not 15M. For what it’s worth I’ve personally said 3 isn’t great for us. Most of what I’m saying benefit wise has been based on getting to 5 years

I just don’t see how a 5 year deal is beneficial to us. All superstars sign less AAV on more term, while you may be overpaying for some less effective years, at the start you could be underpaying for great years.

Having him on 13x8 is much more reasonable because his last 3 years should bring down the AAV of the contract. If his value is somehow even 14.5 for the next 5 years, and he shouldn’t be as elite as a 32-35 year old, then his value would be 10-12, so on the 8 years it would be around 12.8-13.5. The argument of future cap rising really should be used with a grain of salt, firstly as we saw how that played out last time we signed the core 4, anything can happen so it’s not a guarantee, secondly other teams free agents have not been talked about using it so it’s not some standard in the nhl.

I just don’t see why we have to settle for 5-6 year deals when most other teams get 7-8

 

[Stephen]

I just don’t see how a 5 year deal is beneficial to us. All superstars sign less AAV on more term, while you may be overpaying for some less effective years, at the start you could be underpaying for great years.

Having him on 13x8 is much more reasonable because his last 3 years should bring down the AAV of the contract. If his value is somehow even 14.5 for the next 5 years, and he shouldn’t be as elite as a 32-35 year old, then his value would be 10-12, so on the 8 years it would be around 12.8-13.5. The argument of future cap rising really should be used with a grain of salt, firstly as we saw how that played out last time we signed the core 4, anything can happen so it’s not a guarantee, secondly other teams free agents have not been talked about using it so it’s not some standard in the nhl.

I just don’t see why we have to settle for 5-6 year deals when most other teams get 7-8

From what has been reported so far, it doesn't sound like Auston Matthews would be conceding cheaper AAV years in Year 6, 7 and 8 of a long term contract at all, so why apply standard player logic to a guy looking for something different? He wants shorter years to make more money in a future cap world.

The 5x to 6x year window is basically perfect for me. Takes Matthews to 2030 and his aged 33 year, which is where John Tavares is now. Allows both parties to take a deep breath and reappraise. If we've been on an unbelievable run and Matthews is still humming along at peak performance, throw another massive contract his way. If he's tapering off, give him an AAV that's suitable for 2030. If it's time to part ways, he can walk having put in 13-14 years with this franchise.

 

[Niagara Bill]

If management feels that way then they should trade him.
IMO, the chances of them competing for the Cup are very low with him or without him.
I understand why they’d ask for more $$$ to play Toronto than they would to play in other cities.

Please write Bettman and explain why our cap should be different than Florida. They cannot trade AM or MM. That is why the deal had to be done by June 30...now we are screwed...again dumb management.

 

[PromisedLand]

From what has been reported so far, it doesn't sound like Auston Matthews would be conceding cheaper AAV years in Year 6, 7 and 8 of a long term contract at all, so why apply standard player logic to a guy looking for something different? He wants shorter years to make more money in a future cap world.

The 5x to 6x year window is basically perfect for me. Takes Matthews to 2030 and his aged 33 year, which is where John Tavares is now. Allows both parties to take a deep breath and reappraise. If we've been on an unbelievable run and Matthews is still humming along at peak performance, throw another massive contract his way. If he's tapering off, give him an AAV that's suitable for 2030. If it's time to part ways, he can walk having put in 13-14 years with this franchise.

but the shorter term deal he is seeking now is more than Mack in terms of AAV that is going to kill any opportunity of quality depth we can get and that will most undoubtedly impact in the playoffs.

Matthews/Marner playoff performances are enough to suggest that without quality depth they cannot do much to take Leafs to the next level; and without much cap left the opportunity to add quality depth is non-existent

 

[Nineteen67]

Please write Bettman and explain why our cap should be different than Florida. They cannot trade AM or MM. That is why the deal had to be done by June 30...now we are screwed...again dumb management.

Why can’t they trade them. If he’s not signing, have him submit a list and make a sign and trade deal. They couldn’t do that before July 1 so there was no chance they would trade him then.

Toronto‘s cap shouldn’t be different. The Toronto tax has nothing to do with Bettman.

 

[LeafSteel]

From what has been reported so far, it doesn't sound like Auston Matthews would be conceding cheaper AAV years in Year 6, 7 and 8 of a long term contract at all, so why apply standard player logic to a guy looking for something different? He wants shorter years to make more money in a future cap world.

The 5x to 6x year window is basically perfect for me. Takes Matthews to 2030 and his aged 33 year, which is where John Tavares is now. Allows both parties to take a deep breath and reappraise. If we've been on an unbelievable run and Matthews is still humming along at peak performance, throw another massive contract his way. If he's tapering off, give him an AAV that's suitable for 2030. If it's time to part ways, he can walk having put in 13-14 years with this franchise.

Right now, it’s starting to feel like a win in any of these contract negotiations included not only term and $ amount, but also no more NTC’s and NMC’s.

Just being able to have the option to trade them at some point, you know, like normal players are traded, would feel like such a huge win.

God, Dubas gave them the moon as RFA’s….

 

[Menzinger]

There's way too much praise going on for MacKinnon and his contract going on in this thread. The fact is, he's never (seriously) been considered to be the best player in the league at any point in his career. He's never won a Hart, Selke, Rocket or Conn Smythe.

Still ended up with the highest paid contract in cap history in terms of aav. The same arguments used against Matthews should apply to him. His deal absolutely was not team friendly, no matter how one wants to look at it.

I just don’t see how a 5 year deal is beneficial to us. All superstars sign less AAV on more term, while you may be overpaying for some less effective years, at the start you could be underpaying for great years.

Having him on 13x8 is much more reasonable because his last 3 years should bring down the AAV of the contract. If his value is somehow even 14.5 for the next 5 years, and he shouldn’t be as elite as a 32-35 year old, then his value would be 10-12, so on the 8 years it would be around 12.8-13.5. The argument of future cap rising really should be used with a grain of salt, firstly as we saw how that played out last time we signed the core 4, anything can happen so it’s not a guarantee, secondly other teams free agents have not been talked about using it so it’s not some standard in the nhl.

I just don’t see why we have to settle for 5-6 year deals when most other teams get 7-8

Personally I don't think it matters too much one way or the other. A 5 year contract signed today means he's on the team for the next six seasons. That's more than enough for the team to try and do something. Imo there's too much emphasis on the "symbolism" of an 8 year deal

 

[29Potvin]

I can’t think of any NFL,MLS,MLB,NBA player that would be considered the best player in that league that is currently the highest paid
Pat Mahomes is currently the 7th highest paid QB three of the player sighed higher have not won a playoff game or major award
AM34 will be the highest paid player for 1 season and Dri will surpass him.
Let’s not act if players in any major sport look at the best player in the league and say ”I can’t make more than him he’s the best in the league“

 

[The Shrike]

Why can’t they trade them. If he’s not signing, have him submit a list and make a sign and trade deal. They couldn’t do that before July 1 so there was no chance they would trade him then.

Toronto‘s cap shouldn’t be different. The Toronto tax has nothing to do with Bettman.

No, and given the small market U.S. teams that it creates a competitive advantage for are also the ones that give him the BOG vote cushion to keep him employed I doubt he'll go out of his way to correct the situation.

 

[Nineteen67]

No, and given the small market U.S. teams that it creates a competitive advantage for are also the ones that give him the BOG vote cushion to keep him employed I doubt he'll go out of his way to correct the situation.

MLSE loves the salary cap

 

[The Shrike]

MLSE loves the salary cap

Profit > on ice success, just like Ballard and Stavros.

 

[Boxscore]

He’s not. I never said MacKinnon couldn’t have gotten more. What I said was that it’s ridiculous to claim he “begrudgingly” accepted a deal $100k over McDavid’s AAV for the benefit of the PA.

I see what you're saying. And, this narrative could never be proven. However, I think we can use some deductive reasoning to form our opinions, based on what we have seen from MacKinnon and Matthews in the past, and also from what we know about the NHLPA and how they operate.

1. We're biased Leafs fans here but let's be completely honest. MacKinnon has displayed a level of professionalism, dedication, intensity, leadership, and selflessness that Matthews simply hasn't. This needs to be factored into the equation.

2. MacKinnon clearly could have leveraged more out of the Avs, which you admit yourself. But he didn't. Why is that? Because he realizes doing so would likely ruin his chances of ever winning a Cup again due to the Avs being forced to move other contributors because of a strict and rather stagnant cap. MacKinnon is the same guy who took less than he could before, and publicly went on record as saying he would again. And he backed up his words with his actions.

3. The NHLPA has a history of "encouraging" their top players to push the salaries up when they have the chance. There was some smoke around Shattenkirk signing an obviously below value deal with the Rangers as a UFA. Supposedly the NHLPA was not a fan of that deal and ones like it. This is why ex-players like Mike Johnson are on-air publicly campaigning for Matthews to make (according to him) "14 or 15 million on a short deal." He also stated, "Auston Matthews owes the Leafs nothing." This is the mentality of the NHLPA, ex-players, and some current players, unfortunately. The thing is, players with backbone like MacKinnon *could possibly* have done their part by moving the highest paid label forward (doing the NHLPA a solid) while also giving their club a team-friendly discount. And, while we'll never know for sure, MacKinnon seems like the type that would do such a thing, based on his previous actions. This is just my opinion but I do think MacKinnon actually would have "settled" on 12.25 x 8 on this deal but didn't want to deal with the "you're hurting the rest of the players" nonsense from the PA... so he pulled a Switzerland.

4. Auston Matthews does not deserve the benefit of the doubt here considering, by all indications, this is going to be the second short-term deal he's signed for massive money with the Leafs... something that is mostly unheard of with the top megastars in the NHL. While superstars like MacKinnon are willing to take less while committing long-term, Matthews has been prone to doing the exact opposite. His last deal was huge and short-term, and this is shaping up to be no different.

My gut tells me that MacKinnon was striving for a win-win, and did in fact, "raise the bar for the PA" so he didn't need to deal with the headaches. I've come to this conclusion because he settled on only 100k more than McDavid makes on a deal signed years ago. To me, this was his way of saying, "I moved the contracts forward" without being greedy. And, let's say he didn't... let's say he went into this negotiation with a "I want to be the highest paid player in the world" mindset... he only ended up taking 100k more than the 2nd highest paid. The fact that Matthews is rumored to make 13.5 over 4 or 5 years is appalling to me in a hard cap league, quite honestly. He knows the situation the Leafs are in and is taking advantage.

 

[hamzarocks]

There's way too much praise going on for MacKinnon and his contract going on in this thread. The fact is, he's never (seriously) been considered to be the best player in the league at any point in his career. He's never won a Hart, Selke, Rocket or Conn Smythe.

Still ended up with the highest paid contract in cap history in terms of aav. The same arguments used against Matthews should apply to him. His deal absolutely was not team friendly, no matter how one wants to look at it.



Personally I don't think it matters too much one way or the other. A 5 year contract signed today means he's on the team for the next six seasons. That's more than enough for the team to try and do something. Imo there's too much emphasis on the "symbolism" of an 8 year deal

Mackinnon has multiple 2nd place finishes for the hart

2018 he probably was the best player that year

He was on pace for I think 105 pts while Mcdavid won the ross with 108. Rantane broke out that year playing with him

He was a hart and lindsay finalist. Hall got the hart as he had a bigger gao b/w his next best teammate but Mack was deserving for sure

Mackinnon has had 6 years of being a top 5 player. His consistency is what makes his deal a really good one. Even at the time if his signing he had 5 years where he was a top 5 player in the league and has been great in the playoffs.

Kuc, Drai, Mack all are at ~1.35-1.38 ppg since 2018 which is tier 2 behind Mcdavid who is at 1.59

He's been oretty clearly a guy who's in the race for 2nd best player in the league over a lengthy time period

 

[Boxscore]

There's way too much praise going on for MacKinnon and his contract going on in this thread. The fact is, he's never (seriously) been considered to be the best player in the league at any point in his career. He's never won a Hart, Selke, Rocket or Conn Smythe.

Still ended up with the highest paid contract in cap history in terms of aav. The same arguments used against Matthews should apply to him. His deal absolutely was not team friendly, no matter how one wants to look at it.

Let's compare MacKinnon vs. Matthews looking at just the last 5 years. Regular season and playoffs.

Auston Matthews
Regular Season: 410 points in 337 GP = 1.2 PPG
Playoffs: 37 points in 37 GP = 1 PPG
Regular Season GPG = 0.67 (55 over 82 GP)
Playoffs GPG = 0.46 (38 over 82 GP)
Trophy Case: Calder, Hart, Rocket x2
Top-10 Hart Finishes: 3
Top-5 Hart Finishes: 2
Cups: 0
AS Games: 4
2022-23 PPG = 1.15
2021-22 PPG = 1.45
2020-21 PPG = 1.3
2019-20 PPG = 1.14
2018-19 PPG = 1
Playoff Rounds Won (last 5 years): 1

Nathan MacKinnon
Regular Season: 456 points in 335 GP = 1.4 PPG
Playoffs: 84 points in 54 GP = 1.3 PPG
Regular Season GPG = 0.52 (42 over 82 GP)
Playoffs GPG = 0.58 (47 over 82 GP)
Trophy Case: Calder
Top-10 Hart Finishes: 5
Top-5 Hart Finishes: 3
Cups: 1
AS Games: 5
2022-23 PPG = 1.6
2021-22 PPG = 1.35
2020-21 PPG = 1.35
2019-20 PPG = 1.35
2018-19 PPG = 1.2
Playoff Rounds Won (last 5 years): 7

These players are absolutely as comparable as it gets, with MacKinnon having an edge, all things considered. The only area in which Matthews is superior to MacKinnon is regular season goal scoring. In the playoffs, not only does Matthews overall points take a big dip, but his goals take a large dip. In the playoffs, MacKinnon has more goals-per-game than Matthews.

Matthews does have the edge in individual trophies, but MacKinnon edges Matthews in Top-5 Hart finishes 3 vs. 2. And, of course, MacKinnon has won the Stanley Cup. So it's not like either player is throwing out a resume like Connor McDavid.

I think it's safe to say that out of the two, Matthews is a better regular season goal scorer but MacKinnon is a better overall point producer -- in both the regular season and playoffs -- and is a better goal scorer when the games ramp up in the playoffs. MacKinnon also wins the intangibles match-up, as his fire, dedication, intensity, and leadership are levels above Matthews.

However, strip the intangibles if you like (which I personally wouldn't...) and use their productivity during the regular season and playoffs. There's no way to conclude that Auston Matthews is a better player than Nate MacKinnon. Nor does Matthews deserve more money than MacKinnon. When you factor in that MacKinnon has been a dream with contracts and has just committed to 8 years, it makes the Matthews drama even more grotesque.

All that said, due to the fact that Dubas overpaid and undertermed Matthews once already, there's no reversing course completely. Not with a selfish diva like Matthews. However, the absolute top-end measuring stick should be signing Matthews to a contract equal to Nate MacKinnon -- 12.6 x 8. That will still be 800k raise per year (on an already-inflated contract) for an 8-year commitment. Matthews has the 66 mil he already made, would make another 100 million on a 12.6 x 8 deal, then still be able to sign another 2-3 year "twilight contract" at age 35 for likely another 20-30 million, assuming the cap increases.

There's no way to realistically justify, "MacKinnon is overpaid" while also advocating that Matthews should make even more lmao. MacKinnon absolutely took less money in this deal to help the Avs, and it's fair for Leafs fans to expect and want Matthews to do the same.

 

[usernamezrhardtodo]

Let's compare MacKinnon vs. Matthews looking at just the last 5 years. Regular season and playoffs.

Auston Matthews
Regular Season: 410 points in 337 GP = 1.2 PPG
Playoffs: 37 points in 37 GP = 1 PPG
Regular Season GPG = 0.67 (55 over 82 GP)
Playoffs GPG = 0.46 (38 over 82 GP)
Trophy Case: Calder, Hart, Rocket x2
Top-10 Hart Finishes: 3
Top-5 Hart Finishes: 2
Cups: 0
AS Games: 4
2022-23 PPG = 1.15
2021-22 PPG = 1.45
2020-21 PPG = 1.3
2019-20 PPG = 1.14
2018-19 PPG = 1
Playoff Rounds Won (last 5 years): 1

Nathan MacKinnon
Regular Season: 456 points in 335 GP = 1.4 PPG
Playoffs: 84 points in 54 GP = 1.3 PPG
Regular Season GPG = 0.52 (42 over 82 GP)
Playoffs GPG = 0.58 (47 over 82 GP)
Trophy Case: Calder
Top-10 Hart Finishes: 5
Top-5 Hart Finishes: 3
Cups: 1
AS Games: 5
2022-23 PPG = 1.6
2021-22 PPG = 1.35
2020-21 PPG = 1.35
2019-20 PPG = 1.35
2018-19 PPG = 1.2
Playoff Rounds Won (last 5 years): 7

These players are absolutely as comparable as it gets, with MacKinnon having an edge, all things considered. The only area in which Matthews is superior to MacKinnon is regular season goal scoring. In the playoffs, not only does Matthews overall points take a big dip, but his goals take a large dip. In the playoffs, MacKinnon has more goals-per-game than Matthews.

Matthews does have the edge in individual trophies, but MacKinnon edges Matthews in Top-5 Hart finishes 3 vs. 2. And, of course, MacKinnon has won the Stanley Cup. So it's not like either player is throwing out a resume like Connor McDavid.

I think it's safe to say that out of the two, Matthews is a better regular season goal scorer but MacKinnon is a better overall point producer -- in both the regular season and playoffs -- and is a better goal scorer when the games ramp up in the playoffs. MacKinnon also wins the intangibles match-up, as his fire, dedication, intensity, and leadership are levels above Matthews.

However, strip the intangibles if you like (which I personally wouldn't...) and use their productivity during the regular season and playoffs. There's no way to conclude that Auston Matthews is a better player than Nate MacKinnon. Nor does Matthews deserve more money than MacKinnon. When you factor in that MacKinnon has been a dream with contracts and has just committed to 8 years, it makes the Matthews drama even more grotesque.

All that said, due to the fact that Dubas overpaid and undertermed Matthews once already, there's no reversing course completely. Not with a selfish diva like Matthews. However, the absolute top-end measuring stick should be signing Matthews to a contract equal to Nate MacKinnon -- 12.6 x 8. That will still be 800k raise per year (on an already-inflated contract) for an 8-year commitment. Matthews has the 66 mil he already made, would make another 100 million on a 12.6 x 8 deal, then still be able to sign another 2-3 year "twilight contract" at age 35 for likely another 20-30 million, assuming the cap increases.

There's no way to realistically justify, "MacKinnon is overpaid" while also advocating that Matthews should make even more lmao. MacKinnon absolutely took less money in this deal to help the Avs, and it's fair for Leafs fans to expect and want Matthews to do the same.

I'd like to have you as my lawyer if I ever needed one. I don't see how someone can not see the points you are making as both valid and factual.

 

[Stephen]

CJ on the Chris Johnston Show did not seem too concerned, seems like a relaxed negotiating process from the sound of things. NHLers enjoying summer and the wedding season and whatnot. Would look towards the start of camp in September as the time when it's likely to get done.

 

[Seras]

Every person/player should always get as much as they possibly can, only an idiot would take less.

The cap, roster, etc... None of that shit is the fault or responsibility of any individual person/player.

Most people in this thread would move halfway across the world for an additional 50k per year, asking someone to leave millions on the table because teamwork or camaraderie is easy to say since you would not be the one leaving the millions behind.

 

[Boxscore]

Every person/player should always get as much as they possibly can, only an idiot would take less.

The cap, roster, etc... None of that shit is the fault or responsibility of any individual person/player.

Most people in this thread would move halfway across the world for an additional 50k per year, asking someone to leave millions on the table because teamwork or camaraderie is easy to say since you would not be the one leaving the millions behind.

Comparing everyday working professionals to National Hockey League players is foolish.

The average police officer makes 65k a year. The average teacher, 75k. The average nurse, 88k. For people like this, an extra 50k a year could be the difference between living paycheck-to-paycheck or not.

When it comes to NHL players the caliber of Auston Matthews, the difference between 12.5 million per year or 13.5 million per year (depending on term) could be the difference between winning a Cup or not in a hard cap league. Because of this, many superstars take less overall to put their team, and themselves, in a better position to have success. Do you expect anyone to take your point seriously when you're equating an average, middle class worker to a player who already made 66 million and will make no less than 100 million more on a "team-friendly" long-term deal? Let's be real here... talking like Auston Matthews won't be able to afford a meal if he gives the Leafs a hometown discount lmao.

I'm sure Nate MacKinnon will be struggling now that he committed to the Avs for 12.6 million x 8 years. Can't make this stuff up.

But, if you insist on comparing NHL players in a hard cap league to every day workers, let's do this...

You are the top salesperson in your company. You bust it, working 55 hours a week. You make 240k and you're due for a raise. Your company informs you that, because of industry policy, the most your industry can legally spend on payroll is 500k. And, since you are their ace, they give you the ultimatum: Take a raise and be paid 300k, but in order to do that, they will need to fire your assistant and two paid interns who each spend 40 hours a week making it much easier for you to do your job. They are willing to pay you the extra 60k but you will now need to work an extra 20 hours a week, making your own proposals, presentations, and doing your own grunt work. You'll make more but lose all the benefits of added support while incurring a ton more stress and risk of failure.

Only a greedy, narcissistic fool would take the extra 60k in that situation. And we're talking 240k, not 12.6 million.

 

[Sundinisagod]

I can’t think of any NFL,MLS,MLB,NBA player that would be considered the best player in that league that is currently the highest paid
Pat Mahomes is currently the 7th highest paid QB three of the player sighed higher have not won a playoff game or major award
AM34 will be the highest paid player for 1 season and Dri will surpass him.
Let’s not act if players in any major sport look at the best player in the league and say ”I can’t make more than him he’s the best in the league“

I'll bet you Draisaitl takes less than Matthews.

 

[Boxscore]

I'll bet you Draisaitl takes less than Matthews.

And likely Marner as well. I can see it now...

Matthews signs for 13.5 x 4 then next season has a very good year and scores 54g / 41a / 95 points. Marner ends up besting him with 100 points on the dot and finishes 9th in Selke voting, then demands 13.6 x 5. The Leafs can't possibly cave and Marner is traded to a team starved for talent that pays him what he wants.

Meanwhile, MacKinnon scores 47g / 67a / 114 points and is happily locked-in to 12.6 for the next 8 years.

 

[Sundinisagod]

And likely Marner as well. I can see it now...

Matthews signs for 13.5 x 4 then next season has a very good year and scores 54g / 41a / 95 points. Marner ends up besting him with 100 points on the dot and finishes 9th in Selke voting, then demands 13.6 x 5. The Leafs can't possibly cave and Marner is traded to a team starved for talent that pays him what he wants.

Meanwhile, MacKinnon scores 47g / 67a / 114 points and is happily locked-in to 12.6 for the next 8 years.

I admire your optimism. I think it plays out slightly worse. Matthews gets 13.5 x 3 Marner not much less, and Nylander walks via ufa.

 

[Boxscore]

I admire your optimism. I think it plays out slightly worse. Matthews gets 13.5 x 3 Marner not much less, and Nylander walks via ufa.

Honestly, if the Leafs pay Matthews 13.5 x 3, they deserve to fail miserably until Matthews, along with Shanahan and Treliving, are booed out of the city. I do agree that Marner will want his but I think he'll be the one traded... unless Matthews gets paid so much they can't possibly afford Nylander even with a hometown discount... and he gets jettisoned first. Then Marner the mercenary will certainly be asking for Matthews money here or someplace else.

 

[TMLBlueandWhite]

No wonder Matthews needs more money.

Those jackets look expensive. I wonder what the "L" stands for anyway. Not Leafs, I can tell you that much.

Not winner either.

I can think of only one thing an "L" like that stands for. Either he doesn't see the irony. Or Matthews is literally advertising the fact that he's a loser.

Good Lord, what is this world coming to?

Matthews is a loser and he knows it. But the Leafs are gonna be forced to pay him like a winner. Because even if they don't win with him, they're guaranteed not to win without him.

So they better pay this fashionista whatever he wants.

You know, if Matthews really wanted to appeal to the fan base, he'd be posing with a gun while wearing a hunters outfit. Nothing screams manly man more than covering yourself in deer piss and shooting Bambi. A bullet for Thumper too while you're at it.

Post the pictures on social media after so the whole world knows who not to mess with.