Those are 2 interesting comps. Benn is a 80-90 its Art Ross winner and captain of his team and Toews has 2 Cups, a Selke, a Conn Smythe and is also the captain of his team(also overpaid by about 1.5M).
I love Marchand as much as anyone and think he should come in at 7x7, which is still 30ish% less than those 2 guys, would that be a slap in the face, or insulting?
Do you pay Marchand 9-10M??
And you're the one that brought up Krejci's contract and that somehow being paid less than him was out of the question.
Yes I realize I brought up Krejci.
Yes those are interesting comps, I didn't say he should get Benn or Toews money. But you look at what they get, how can you even look at Marchand and offer him significantly less.
7 x 7 is the absolute bottom line IMO, that I can see Marchand accepting. It's a home-town discount if there ever was one.
I could throw out a pile of comparables, whether it be Benn, Toews, Bergeron, Krejci, Tarasenko, etc. etc. with a multitude of variables (i.e. when the contract was signed, what the cap was when it was signed, etc.), but all signs point to the AAV starting with no less than 7. Look at what Gaudreau is after, reports are it's in the 8 million range. I don't know if he gets it but that the marketplace the Bruins are operating in.
Personally I think he comes in at 7.5 AAV over 8 seasons if he wants market value. Far cry from 6.25 (about a 6 million difference, which is huge).