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

[Sypher04]

Expect for 1 is a goalie and isn’t 1 a Dman ……..not 4 similar forwards. That’s the problem

Literally what I said I was agreeing with.

 

[myleafs]

The reality is that there are limitations whether the players like it or not.

Of the 20 players on a team you can't have more than 5 passengers

3 superstars 2 stars 1 avg goaltender 5 middling NHLers and 10 passengers doesn't win and never will

You know what really closed it for me, watching Stamkos slap him around, with his size and he should've at the very least snapped Stamkos head back with a jab, but no nothing. You'd think in a playoff game the adrenaline alone would make you react, but just bloodless, absolutely no fire at all.

At least Mitch tried to slap Tkachuk back

ummm did he though?

 

[authentic]

I agree. It’s more about constuction and our guys needing to play to their capabilities when it matters than it is their total cap

For comparison:

37 million
Barkov, Tkachuk, Bobrovsky, Ekblad

39.5 million
Matthews, Marner, Nylander, Tavares

Not an overly notable difference in cap between these quartets

Also notice two of those players are older than Matthews, Marner and Nylander and were seen as previous playoff failures and many seasons didn't even make the playoffs to begin with.

 

[myleafs]

34 being physical

 

[TheGreenTBer]

does this mean that no superstar should ever earn top dollar in the NHL?

If they aren't superstars in the playoffs, then no, they shouldn't earn top dollar.

 

[Sypher04]

If they aren't superstars in the playoffs, then no, they shouldn't earn top dollar.

Again, not how contracts work. You either pay them, which will be based on their individual/largely regular season accomplishments, or someone else will.

If you don’t like their playoff history you can trade them, but it won’t lessen the price they can command by any notable amount

 

[ToneDog]

If they aren't superstars in the playoffs, then no, they shouldn't earn top dollar.

At this point, I'd settle for star. I mean when the new GM starts talking about no more fly byes, it is pretty revealing. He does not have to tell you which players are doing the fly byes.

 

[pcruz]

A much higher standard than Mack you say? I took the numbers over the last 7 yrs for both players....since Matthews started......we wont get into the fact that Mack plays with fire and has won a cup.

Regular Season
Nate.. 491gms 225g 381a 606pts
Matthews 481gms 299g 243a 542 pts

Playoffs
Nate 77gms 44g 56a 100pts
Matthews 50gms 22g 22a 44pts


I might be wrong but didnt Marleau tell him to keep the incident to himself?

You won't get into the fact that Mack plays with fire and has won a cup, but you compare a players first 7 seasons to another player's last 7 seasons who hadn't been good for his first multiple seasons.

Sounds about right.

I think that finishing seasons of total goals scored as:

1, 1, 2, 2 in 7 seasons is pretty good. Especially considering he played a full 82 games once.

Hart winner.

Pearson winner.

Much better defensive player, leagues better in fact.

Yes, Matthews has been much better than Mack as individuals.

Nate won a cup, and that's the ultimate goal, but you don't put Bozak above Sundin on an all time list because he won a cup.

 

[myleafs]

You won't get into the fact that Mack plays with fire and has won a cup, but you compare a players first 7 seasons to another player's last 7 seasons who hadn't been good for his first multiple seasons.

Sounds about right.

I think that finishing seasons of total goals scored as:

1, 1, 2, 2 in 7 seasons is pretty good. Especially considering he played a full 82 games once.

Hart winner.

Pearson winner.

Much better defensive player, leagues better in fact.

Yes, Matthews has been much better than Mack as individuals.

Nate won a cup, and that's the ultimate goal, but you don't put Bozak above Sundin on an all time list because he won a cup.

your funny.....or your crazy

 

[Sypher04]

your funny.....or your crazy

Matthews IS a much better defensive player than MacKinnon. Not sure what you find unbelievable about that.

Matthews is I’d say younger and different m, but just as good as Nate. Not sure I’d go so far as declaring him much better. Definitely more individually decorated however

 

[authentic]

34 being physical

Imagine doing this once and it gets brought up forever as evidence that you're not physical



You don't have to be a goon or hit like Ovechkin to win the Stanley Cup, the way you guys talk about him you would think he played like Kessel or something (who also went on to be a huge part of a Stanley Cup win)

Matthews has 95 hits, 39 blocked shots and 37 takeaways in his last 25 playoff games... You can't just make stuff up because you don't like the guy

 

[Canadian Finn]

And there's nothing wrong with that. But when every deal you sign in a hard cap league is to maximize every possible penny made, and strictly on your terms, it becomes detrimental to team success and prohibits any chance of building a winner. The kid is 25 and made over $60 mil to date. And he could easily sign a new 8-year deal for $100 million with an annual cap hit of $12.6 mil so we can keep our other good players and add better depth as the cap eventually goes up. But will he?

I mean, after you make $160 million, when is enough enough? When you make that kind of money and don't prioritize winning, it's a massive red flag in terms of character imho.

there have already been massive red flags in terms of his character.

but for some reason [some] people like to ignore them.

 

[pcruz]

Matthews IS a much better defensive player than MacKinnon. Not sure what you find unbelievable about that.

Matthews is I’d say younger and different m, but just as good as Nate. Not sure I’d go so far as declaring him much better. Definitely more individually decorated however

Guess what metrics are weighed heaviest during contract negotiations....

Eichel at 10 skewed everything for everyone.

Tavares at 11 compounded it, but there is a distinction between RFA and UFA contracts.

Would Matthews have gotten the same contract or better elsewhere as an offersheet? Absolutely.

Would we be any better off?
No.

A player who scores 40 as a teenaged rookie is just going to be sought after. That the same player is big and displays big improvements every year in all aspects of his game, makes him more sought after.

Only Leafs fans have gotten to the point where they don't appreciate it anymore.

Not you specifically @Sypher04, this is just to use your thought as a point to elaborate from.

 

[pcruz]

Also notice two of those players are older than Matthews, Marner and Nylander and were seen as previous playoff failures and many seasons didn't even make the playoffs to begin with.

Just to elaborate on this thought:

Barkov has been absolutely atrocious these playoffs outside of the power play.

One could argue he silenced Matthews, but the stats show that he was caved in on the head to heads. Auston just couldn't finish past the goalie or the post.

Bob has been an absolute disaster for his entire playoff career until the latter stages of round 1 this year when he took some Hasek polyjuice potion and went bananas.

That looks to be over.

Tkachuk was drafted at the same time as Matthews and came into these playoffs with all of...........15 points!

Ekblad doesn't have much playoff history other than getting swept last year and is a former 1st overall pick.

Over their careers (long term thinking) the Toronto players have drastically outperformed the Florida players and they have won the exact same amount - nothing.


Why some pine for that is baffling.

 

[Trapper]

lol so then no one would have committed to Eichel or Tkachuk before this year because playoffs was off that list. Ive never seen Kane play with an edge and he owns a conne smythe and deserved his $10m contract. You can't just make things up to give out contracts to people who LOOK like they play a certain way. But that's why we keep chasing cup winners out of Toronto and will continue to do so. Its a tale as old as Larry Murphy

We committed to everyone. Drafted Matthews,Marner,Nylander,boom , boom,boom then went out and committed to Tavares on top of that before we even new what we had. So yeah, lol sure.

 

[ShaneFalco]

Imagine doing this once and it gets brought up forever as evidence that you're not physical



You don't have to be a goon or hit like Ovechkin to win the Stanley Cup, the way you guys talk about him you would think he played like Kessel or something (who also went on to be a huge part of a Stanley Cup win)

Matthews has 95 hits, 39 blocked shots and 37 takeaways in his last 25 playoff games... You can't just make stuff up because you don't like the guy

I was being facetious but the team just doesn't push back enough
They don't stand up for eachother. Where was anyone to help their best player ? But also - AM, grow a pair

 

[notdoneyet]

The pundits are saying matthews wants to be the highest paid player in the league and will want a 3 year deal with nmc.,

I say if he wants any part if that his ass would be on a bus out of town

He has done nothing to deserve a raise. If his wrist is that bad that his sot has become less lethal you have to have second thoughts

 

[Leaf Fans]

34 being physical

That is Matthews laughing off Ben Chariot's physicality. This is 34 being physical:

 

[therealkoho]

34 being physical

f*** man at least look at the guy

 

[Nineteen67]

.

Imagine doing this once and it gets brought up forever as evidence that you're not physical



You don't have to be a goon or hit like Ovechkin to win the Stanley Cup, the way you guys talk about him you would think he played like Kessel or something (who also went on to be a huge part of a Stanley Cup win)

Matthews has 95 hits, 39 blocked shots and 37 takeaways in his last 25 playoff games... You can't just make stuff up because you don't like the guy

actually it was twice, but the bigger issue is they just let it happen. That’s just a symptom of the disease. Every NHL player on every team knows theyre weak and they go after it.

The new GM will try to change that attitude.

 

[Throw More Waffles]

Again, not how contracts work. You either pay them, which will be based on their individual/largely regular season accomplishments, or someone else will.

If you don’t like their playoff history you can trade them, but it won’t lessen the price they can command by any notable amount

I think if Matthews had the same regular season stats but was also a playoff stalwart who carried the team on his back winning multiple multiple rounds, everyone here would be saying "f*** it, just give him a blank cheque". And I think mlse would be thinking the same thing.

 

[therealkoho]

Again, not how contracts work. You either pay them, which will be based on their individual/largely regular season accomplishments, or someone else will.

If you don’t like their playoff history you can trade them, but it won’t lessen the price they can command by any notable amount

So then come seasons end and the team is headed for the first round, you wouldn't have a problem if some of them just said, "sorry no pay no play?"

Of course I am being facetious, or am I?

I think if Matthews had the same regular season stats but was also a playoff stalwart who carried the team on his back winning multiple multiple rounds, everyone here would be saying "f*** it, just give him a blank cheque". And I think mlse would be thinking the same thing.

Exactly

 

[Sypher04]

So then come seasons end and the team is headed for the first round, you wouldn't have a problem if some of them just said, "sorry no pay no play?"

Of course I am being facetious, or am I?


Exactly

I’m not saying I like how salaries are generally determined, but it is how they are.

And no I wouldn’t be okay with the players saying “no pay no play”. They know the gig they signed up for. I don’t really see an equivalence with what you suggested and my post so I will take it as jest

 

[ShaneFalco]

I think if Matthews had the same regular season stats but was also a playoff stalwart who carried the team on his back winning multiple multiple rounds, everyone here would be saying "f*** it, just give him a blank cheque". And I think mlse would be thinking the same thing.

Even if he put the team on his back

 

[Hellcat]

Is Matty going to be the next own rental? .... they dont sign him that is the end of Shanny.