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

[ToneDog]

I’m at the point where I’m hoping Shanahan is trying right now to pry the No. 2 pick in the draft from Anaheim and involving Matthews. We’re on a high wire here without a safety net.

I'd need a lot more than Fantilli to move Matthews. I'm listening if they add MacTavish and Drysdale.

 

[Petrus]

Unless I misheard, I think he said more than that on HNIC last night.

I missed that. I apologize if I came across as questioning your post.

You could be correct given how fluid the situation is.

 

[leafan11]

If Shanny knew firing Dubas wouldn’t allow them to sign Matthews then he wouldn’t have done it . On Kyper and Bourne Stellic mentioned how close Matthews family was with Lamoriello

 

[Petrus]

I'd need a lot more than Fantilli to move Matthews. I'm listening if they add MacTavish and Drysdale.

50% Retention on Matthews would garner a lot of buyers.

 

[ShaneFalco]

If Shanny knew firing Dubas wouldn’t allow them to sign Matthews then he wouldn’t have done it . On Kyper and Bourne Stellic mentioned how close Matthews family was with Lamoriello

If AM needs his special GM we're better off without him

 

[IPS]

If AM needs his special GM we're better off without him

That's the main thing I have with people calling the Dubas firing a mistake cause it impacts Matthews signing.

There's an underlying problem that's much more serious - our players should not care whatsoever who is the GM. That's not your place on the team to concern yourself with that. If Matthews is concerning himself with that - then it's time for him to go as well. He's paid very well to just get better at hockey and help the Leafs win, not worry about who's running the team.

But... said special GM was probably en route to getting him another insane overpayment so unfortunately it did matter to Matthews and it seems that's where is real allegiance is.

 

[thewave]

50% Retention on Matthews would garner a lot of buyers.

I never thought about that angle. Totally workable.

 

[Macman]

I'd need a lot more than Fantilli to move Matthews. I'm listening if they add MacTavish and Drysdale.

It would have be more than Fantilli for sure but I’m not sure how much. Matthews’s cap hit prevents most teams from being involved, I would think.

 

[ShaneFalco]

That's the main thing I have with people calling the Dubas firing a mistake cause it impacts Matthews signing.

There's an underlying problem that's much more serious - our players should not care whatsoever who is the GM. That's not your place on the team to concern yourself with that. If Matthews is concerning himself with that - then it's time for him to go as well. He's paid very well to just get better at hockey and help the Leafs win, not worry about who's running the team.

Playing for the Leafs should be an honor. Not an honor only when you get to choose management. FOH

 

[Gabriel426]

What message would they be sending if Shanny gave in to Dubas' after saying the job took a toll on me and my family and I don't know if I am all in and then last minute, demanding almost twice the money ?? Shanny playing hardball and punting Dubas sends a much better message IMO.

I agree.

Honestly, what the heck do you think the new GM and coach going to do that is different than Dubas and Keefe? The new guys are not going to come in and says, we are going to rebuild or retool, we don’t plan on making the playoffs as we want to develop our young guys and guys in prime with proper defensive structure of the game in order to be competitive in 3-5yrs?
The new guys will have literally the same message as Dubas and Keefe. We are here to win the Cup, you guys need to work harder than ever bc you now understand how tough it is to win the 1st round and how much tougher it is to win the 2nd round and it will only get tougher each round…..
Not like the new guys will ask AM to play wing or as a Dman.
All these stuff about AM might push back signings bc he is unsure the direction of the GM is either fearmongering by the medias or just an excuse for AM to leave.
The Leafs led by AM is a playoffs team and I have a strong feeling Leafs without AM with the p players coming back is also a playoffs team.
At the end of the day, what’s the difference?

 

[ORRFForever]

If AM needs his special GM we're better off without him

Matthews and Marner are so pampered.

The Leafs are putting the 3 on notice - if you like playing here, like playing with each other, and line having all the perks of being in a hockey Mecca, this will no longer be a one way street - where we dance to your tune.

Should have been before now.

 

[IPS]

Matthews and Marner are so pampered.

The Leafs are putting the 3 on notice - if you like playing here, like playing with each other, and line having all the perks of being in a hockey Mecca, this will no longer be a one way street - where we dance to your tune.

Should have been before now.

They might actually get held accountable for the first time ever. Watching them choke in the playoffs only for Dubas to come on the podium and defend them for choking was honest to god an insult to the fans. No accountability whatsoever with Dubas - and no honesty either. Huckster politician to the core, will piss on your head and tell you it's raining instead of telling you the truth.

Even if it is bad for the team atleast I get to laugh at a guy like Dubas getting shorted out of ~$20M.

 

[ORRFForever]

I agree.

Honestly, what the heck do you think the new GM and coach going to do that is different than Dubas and Keefe? The new guys are not going to come in and says, we are going to rebuild or retool, we don’t plan on making the playoffs as we want to develop our young guys and guys in prime with proper defensive structure of the game in order to be competitive in 3-5yrs?
The new guys will have literally the same message as Dubas and Keefe. We are here to win the Cup, you guys need to work harder than ever bc you now understand how tough it is to win the 1st round and how much tougher it is to win the 2nd round and it will only get tougher each round…..
Not like the new guys will ask AM to play wing or as a Dman.
All these stuff about AM might push back signings bc he is unsure the direction of the GM is either fearmongering by the medias or just an excuse for AM to leave.
The Leafs led by AM is a playoffs team and I have a strong feeling Leafs without AM with the p players coming back is also a playoffs team.
At the end of the day, what’s the difference?

It may convince them to take a bit of a discount to stay with the team. The Leafs are tired of sucking up to these three while they reap the benefits of playing in Toronto. No more one way streets.

As I said above, if they want to play with each other, accept less than elite money. Otherwise, you may end up in Arizona playing with a bunch of players named "Who".

They might actually get held accountable for the first time ever. Watching them choke in the playoffs only for Dubas to come on the podium and defend them for choking was honest to god an insult to the fans. No accountability whatsoever with Dubas - and no honesty either. Huckster politician to the core, will piss on your head and tell you it's raining instead of telling you the truth.

Even if it is bad for the team atleast I get to laugh at a guy like Dubas getting shorted out of ~$20M.

Dubas's biggest error was not playing hard ball with the kids when he had a chance. Matthews contract was atrocious.

 

[usernamezrhardtodo]

I can't believe what people are saying here. I am not caving because a player puts a gun to my head. If that's what any of these players (Matthews/Marner/Nylander) are planning, they need to go. I'd trade them for nothing in fact if that's the team culture right now. If Matthews refuses to deal before his NMC, it wouldn't even be a consideration if it was me. Bye.

It's not like Matthews is stuck here forever if he signs a new deal. If he signs and a year or 2 down the road it looks like a shit show...he just waives his NMC to certain teams and goes his merry way. But to me, if he wants to wait until July 1st...then I can't take the chance that Karma is going to come back and bite the team for the JT debacle. If AM wants too much or too short a term...then you know he is just in it for the money.

Btw...I wouldn't mind a shorter term if only because his wrist issues seem to be chronic. If McDavid all of a sudden had knee issues...people would be worried about him...it's no different with AM and the wrist. Maybe AM can only pot 40'ish goals a year moving forward because of his wrist. Does that scream $13-14M to you long term? it doesn't to me.

 

[usernamezrhardtodo]

It’s like Dubas built a contractual time bomb to lock out Matthews Nylander and Marner all at the same time as his contract was out, to ensure Toronto had minimal leverage whomever was in charge. The specificity of the timing is what seems calculated.

Well, if that is indeed the case...Shanny was right there beside him approving of the deals. So in a sense...Shanny is ultimately responsible for this mess and needs to fix it.

Marner's NMC kicking in on the 2nd last year of his contract is especially a puzzling one.

How in anyway is it a good idea to line up your best players' NMC directly beside eachother when one of them is in their last year?

These contractual time bombs - I swear to god it was all by design by Dubie, and orchestrated by that Wasserman media group that BOTH Matthews and Dubas work for. That slimy ass agency has been trying to get every dollar out of Toronto for awhile now.

It looks like Dubas gave them all NMC as soon as they were eligible by league rules. That's why it all happens at the same time. Don't forget...Dubas told us that RFA's were going to be the new UFA's and be treated as such...by MLSE only it seems...not the rest of the league.

 

[usernamezrhardtodo]

I don’t think we should project too much into it. Just built around what Friedman said that it was unlikely a deal would be signed by July 1. Don’t know if that’s because of a perceived timeline delay because of an unknown GM or because of intentionally looking for pressure points. In any case, the range of motivations for that are pretty wide.

I often wonder why some negotiations take a long time and others a short one. Is it one side starts off low balling or high balling and it takes months to get to a deal? Is it a case of every day they call each other and ask if they are willing to move? Is it agents trying to justify their percentage by making it seem so difficult?

I would really like to know how the sausage is made when it comes to deals.

 

[TimeZone]

He can’t technically sign an extension before July 1.

He doesn't expect Matthews to agree to an extension by July 1.

But he did say "sign" on air.

 

[jaric1862]

This team feels like the titanic heading for an iceberg

 

[therealkoho]

If I was AM..I'd run out the clock on the NMC and ask for the moon. Why not? You want me to walk for nothing? Dubas is easy.

You'd have to assume this throws a wrench in how he proceeds. Ams agent had a bad day. LOL

Not how it works

The Leafs will ask him what he wants and if you dont like it, or if he hems and haws and won't say then he becomes the first deal on draft day. Arizona for Crouse and a bunch of other things like something called prospects and/or draft picks.

Then you talk with Will and get an idea of where he wants to be, Toronto or someplace else.

 

[Yall are crazy]

You have to get him to take less. MacKinnon deal or lower. If he truly wants to be here and win he cannot eat that much of the cap.

What I will say is, I believe more than ever that the core wants to stay here. Even mitch’s comments a few days ago about the core all has years left and they want to stay. I truly believe they want to, but I’m not sure I believe it’s the best thing for long term success.

Well luckily for you, that probably changed now

Playing for the Leafs should be an honor. Not an honor only when you get to choose management. FOH

Yes. It's an honor to play for a franchise that hasn't won a cup in 54 years and has a fickle ass fanbase

 

[therealkoho]

Do you think he will get supermax? 16.7 mil . That's too step in the NHL

I think he will go for 14.5

Well that's probably pretty good, and if so he can go and get it some place else.

He's not worth that kind of money, especially when you don't have a talented support staff around him, which you won't have if he eats up that much of the cap.

 

[Gabriel426]

This team feels like the titanic heading for an iceberg

Then what the heck do you call the Coyotes and the Habs? The lost city of Atlantis? Lol

 

[Mess]

This team feels like the titanic heading for an iceberg

If got news for you.... The Leafs Titanic hit the iceberg long ago, when they named Dubas as GM, and then he signed JT to $11 mil and put they Leafs into Cap Hell and non Cup competitiveness and the team been taking on water ever since and sinking.

Matthews and Marner have $11 mil contracts because JT got one and Leafs invested 1/2 their cap into only 4 forwards. The team has been shuffling deck chairs (depth players on cheap contracts) on a sinking ship trying to keep it a float ever since.

The Captain Dubas has already gone done with the ship, and has his firstmate Spezza alongside.

Were entering the life boat phase as to who will be salvaged and saved moving forward, and who will be tossed overboard into icy waters next.

 

[Gabriel426]

If the guys want to stay together, then win. It is as simple as that. Win in the playoffs.

I think at the end, both AM and Willie will resign, AM will be the first player to make 13mil bc that’s not even 1.5mil increase to his current salary. Willie will be somewhere around 9mil as he is no where near Tkachuk who signed last summer for 9.5mil or Johnny Hockey at 9.6mil.

If not, let’s trade them and be a playoffs team like previous years

 

[ShaneFalco]

Well luckily for you, that probably changed now


Yes. It's an honor to play for a franchise that hasn't won a cup in 54 years and has a fickle ass fanbase

Awwww the fans are meanies
And yes, it should be an honor