Rumor: Dater: MacKinnon Seeking to Be the NHL's Highest Paid Player

[kevsh]

Mackinnon being criminally underpaid for what will be 6 out of his 7 seasons on his current contract.

Yes, but he signed the contract. And it works both ways. Plenty of guys have gotten huge UFA deals and were criminally overpaid for most of it. For teams & players both, you win some, you lose some.

And I'm a huge fan of Nate but simply because he was underpaid - again, on a deal he agreed to - doesn't mean the Avs should compensate by rolling the Brinks truck up to his house now.

 

[Jumptheshark]

he has won the cup--he wants to get paid

 

[Skinnyjimmy08]

Pay him... i dont think he deserves to be paid THE most in the league, but he should be around it forsure

 

[TorontoTrades]

My guess he lands around 8x11 taking a bit of a cut for the team but still commanding good money.

 

[GeeoffBrown]

IMO he will sign for an amount that is symbolically more than McDavid

 

[HighLifeMan]

Yes, but he signed the contract. And it works both ways. Plenty of guys have gotten huge UFA deals and were criminally overpaid for most of it. For teams & players both, you win some, you lose some.

And I'm a huge fan of Nate but simply because he was underpaid - again, on a deal he agreed to - doesn't mean the Avs should compensate by rolling the Brinks truck up to his house now.

I think an ask in the 15M range would be backing up the brinks truck - I certainly don't think 13M a season is unreasonable especially given the circumstances of his last deal - which the organization got by far the better end of.

 

[The Kingslayer]

So Much for him saying a while back that he would take a pay cut to help Colorado stay within cap and build and balanced team

he never said he would he said he might take a discount and a discount might just mean 11 mill as opposed to a max deal. People who assumed he would take 8 million or something were nuts.

Bullshit. Obviously he's going to want to get paid, but "seeking to be the NHL's highest paid player"? Lol

If MacKinnon cares more about money than the big picture, then I'll throw my hands up in the air and admit I didn't see that coming.

EDIT: Apparently Dater has no facts. Don't spend your money.

The big picture is winning the cup im assuming. Hes got that now. Its a question of whether he wants more of those and he might be content with this one and take all the money he can get now while he can and MAYBE win another cup during that time. I wouldnt blame him one bit.

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

Pay him... i dont think he deserves to be paid THE most in the league, but he should be around it forsure

He'd be the first of the "new" elite tier guys to hit UFA(Mack, Matthews, Leon, and McDavid are the big 4 IMO) I thunk he absolutely should set the market and be the highest paid.


Mack gets 13M, Matthews follows suit with ~13.5M in a couple years and then McDavid sets the new limit again at $15M when the cap is around $90M in ~4 years time

 

[Dr Jan Itor]

~$2M per season isn't going to be the difference between the Avs winning 5 Cups in a row vs. never making it there again.

 

[chethejet]

I said a couple years back he is the best player in the NHL and he will get big bucks. My issue with him is his physical play is such a part of his game that it takes a toll on him. I recall a rumor Shero and the Pens and AVs were talking about trading that 1st round pick for Letang. Not sure that was the case but man I do that in a NY minute

 

[Voodoo Child]

He was putting up 10-11 mil production at 6.3 every year beyond the first of his deal, and he still makes that for another year.

He’s in that level of guys who you can’t really overpay, even with Covid and a flat cap if he was a UFA this year someone would offer him 13.5. No way he takes 9 or something, it’s at least 11.5.

You’ll lose some one or couple of guys but just give him his money, even if he wants 13.

 

[nowhereman]

That's a tough one. He deserves to get paid but do you really want to be paying a 28 year old 13+ million for 8 years? He'll be making that until he's 36 and usually only the very best of the all-time greats can hold their elite value throughout their mid-30s (see Sid and OV). That will make it very hard for Colorado to navigate going forward.

 

[JoeSakic13]

He deserves it, but I wouldn’t be shocked if this is Dater bull****ing a narrative.

 

[Mickey Marner]

If he were going to take a discount it would've been done already. Not sure he tops McDavid, but I think he's getting 12+.

 

[Roshi]

Maybe its not about having the highest cap hit, but the highest salary for the next year.

Dougie Hamilton is the highest paid alfa for next year (so far) with 12,6 mills. So pay mac 13 mills next couple years and balance the cap hit closer to 10-11 with the 8 years sounds about right.

 

[Siludin]

Yes, but he signed the contract. And it works both ways. Plenty of guys have gotten huge UFA deals and were criminally overpaid for most of it. For teams & players both, you win some, you lose some.

And I'm a huge fan of Nate but simply because he was underpaid - again, on a deal he agreed to - doesn't mean the Avs should compensate by rolling the Brinks truck up to his house now.

The thing is that MacKinnon signed that contract with Sakic, at a time where Sakic needed guys to be taking discounts. MacKinnon's negotiation this time around will speak a lot to players and agents around to league as to Sakic's loyalty and willingness to reward players.
BUT Sakic has until the end of the season. I'm sure Colorado will go deep again and how MacKinnon follows up this season will dictate whether he gets that "highest-paid player" title.

 

[T REX]

People saying let him walk...buwahahahahaha

PAY the man.

He EARNED IT.

$12 mill easily.

 

[TomppaKoo]

People saying let him walk...buwahahahahaha

PAY the man.

He EARNED IT.

$12 mill easily.

Avs are going for another cup run (4th in a row). Let MacK show how much he wants it during contract year and negoiate after that. He is not worth 12+ million atm and no team would pay him that.

 

[Poppy Whoa Sonnet]

IMO he will sign for an amount that is symbolically more than McDavid

That's what I was thinking, something front loaded where he becomes the highest paid player in the league the first year (currently that's Seguin with 13 million in salary give or take escrow adjustment), but his AAV keeps his cap hit around 10-12.

Edit: Looks like the highest paid player in 2023-24 for now is Dougie Hamilton at 12.6 m and then Seth Jones at 12.5m so MacKinnon getting more than them next year is pretty doable while keeping his cap hit in the 10-12 range.

Thank You - CapFriendly - NHL Salary Caps

Thank you for the amazing 9 years

www.capfriendly.com

 

[McJedi]

That doesnt make him the highest paid player in the nhl. so look over at mcdavid's contract...and start from there.

First off. Dater is a disgrace of a reporter and works for his own 4th rate website because he was fired from his reporter job for harassment and substance abuse. He’s not legit in any way.

His NHL sources are the same as Eklund’s.

Secondly, Sakic doesn’t negotiate that way. He’s very systematic. He’ll pay Mack what he can afford. Mack may walk but that will be hard coming off back to back Stanley Cups.

He’ll resign something like 8 x $11mm.

 

[Linds]

11.2987m x 8 years

Avs got lucky that MacKinnon took so much longer to become an elite player than other young superstars in the league. Now that luck has run out and they'll quickly revert back to mediocrity.

Can't wait to bump this every couple of weeks

~$2M per season isn't going to be the difference between the Avs winning 5 Cups in a row vs. never making it there again.

Wild will be lucky to make the playoffs for the next 3 years

 

[theVladiator]

Yes, but he signed the contract. And it works both ways. Plenty of guys have gotten huge UFA deals and were criminally overpaid for most of it. For teams & players both, you win some, you lose some.

And I'm a huge fan of Nate but simply because he was underpaid - again, on a deal he agreed to - doesn't mean the Avs should compensate by rolling the Brinks truck up to his house now.

I do not think anyone is implying that the Avs somehow owe him and must compensate him for the huge bargain they have enjoyed. However, MacKinnon may be willing to accept less of a hometown discount on his next one because of that.

 

[Spilot23]

Does this guy ever call anything correctly? Whenever I see his name pop up in threads, all the responses give me the impression that people think the only thing he should be plugged into is the electric chair, rather than the Avalanche.

The only thing we know for sure is if he misses a scoop it means he was stuck in an elevator.

 

[Curufinwe]

Pay him... i dont think he deserves to be paid THE most in the league, but he should be around it forsure

He absolutely does considering the current highest paid player signed his contract back in 2017 when the cap was only $75m. It's currently $82.5m, and is expected to get a big bump in 2024-25 after the players have paid back their escrow debt.

Salary cap could go up in 2024-25, just in time for Maple Leafs and Canucks

The expected salary cap increase for the 2024-25 season could prove to be good timing for the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Vancouver Canucks.

www.sportsnet.ca

MacKinnon's next contract will run from 2023 all the way until 2031 when the cap could well be $100m+. If he only signed for $11m or $12m now that would be giving Colorado a huge discount, especially considering inflation.

 

[Zach716]

He is not worth 12+ million atm and no team would pay him that.

Why isn't he worth it?