Rumor: Kypreos says Matthews will be 13.5M (Haggling over term)

[Voight]

It’s probably because he wants the flexibility to leave if the fans get even more unbearable.

Matthews is untouched by the fans/media. No matter how he plays they will go after everyone else. This isn't Montreal.

Maybe the issue isn’t the fans, has he done anything to deserve the kind of money he is supposedly asking for?

He has yet to elevate his game the way any of the other elite player have in the playoffs. He hasn’t carried this team on his back. Dubas gave him a sweetheart deal and the organization paid him 90%+ up front yet he still isn’t willing to commit to 8 years when 99% of other franchise players have been willing too. Lastly if he wants to win then he should understand there are sacrifices to be made. I’m sure RBC, Bell or Rogers, or a million other companies on the TSX or from the US will be happy to have him as a spokesperson making a few extra million. Be a leader and take a little less so we can have a winner. Why our management group or the media is suggesting this guy get anything above 12.5/-2.6 is beyond me.

FWIW as is, hes the 3rd highest earning player when it comes to off-ice income. Only Sid & McJesus are ahead of him. So he already makes. killing as the spokesperson/poster boy for some big brands, mostly due to the fact hes Torontos franchise player.

 

[Nico Hischier]

Of course, but will Treliving think like you or will he give in to whatever Matthews wants? And if Matthews does walk July 1, 2024 which two UFAs (at that time) will be available for the Leafs to sign to replace him at 14-15 mil?

Nylander should be one of the guys the leafs keep in the 8 aav range not 10. Marner and Tavares make too much. It’s not a great situation for Toronto to be in but it’s still better than many other teams.

 

[Golden_Jet]

Eichel getting $10million/year set the floor for any Matthews/Marner contract extension.

No that was Tavares deal that did that, I’d say. Comparing themselves to their own teammate.
Plus Eichel got 8 years.

 

[TheKrebsCycle]

No that was Tavares deal that did that, I’d say. Comparing themselves to their own teammate.
Plus Eichel got 8 years.

The Eichel and Tavares contracts set the bar for Matthews and Marner contracts . Being clearly better than either hamstrung them huge . Additionally the cap not riding as expected compounded the issue

 

[LOFIN]

The Eichel and Tavares contracts set the bar for Matthews and Marner contracts . Being clearly better than either hamstrung them huge . Additionally the cap not riding as expected compounded the issue

The Eichel contract is completely irrelevant to the discussion. Tavares set the comparable for Matthews inside his team, and the Eichel contract had nothing to do with Marner. Funny how the rest of that RFA winger group signed for under 10mil, and no, Marner is was not and is not better than say Rantanen who signed for 9.25

 

[KrisLetAngry]

Nylander should be one of the guys the leafs keep in the 8 aav range not 10. Marner and Tavares make too much. It’s not a great situation for Toronto to be in but it’s still better than many other teams.

I can't see him take anything In the 8. Scoring has increased and he sees his teammates looking at major contracts at a very high AAV. He may be the cap casualty at the end of the year depending on Matthews ask.

The Eichel and Tavares contracts set the bar for Matthews and Marner contracts . Being clearly better than either hamstrung them huge . Additionally the cap not riding as expected compounded the issue

I think this was the main issue. Both players were like sooo... why would we not make a lot.

 

[Big Muddy]

Sure, most of the league probably hopes that the Leafs hand Matthews and the rest of the fab four a huge contract (well, Tavares already has his big overpayment). They've had a hard time adding depth, goaltending, etc, and Its resulted in paltry playoff success, so why not stick with that winning formula.

 

[TS Quint]

Matthews is untouched by the fans/media. No matter how he plays they will go after everyone else. This isn't Montreal.



FWIW as is, hes the 3rd highest earning player when it comes to off-ice income. Only Sid & McJesus are ahead of him. So he already makes. killing as the spokesperson/poster boy for some big brands, mostly due to the fact hes Torontos franchise player.

I think looking at Sid and McDavid it shows you don’t need Toronto to make it on that list. I’m not sure he wouldn’t make more as the good ole born and bred American boy superstar In the US. Playing for the Leafs might help a more mediocre player known in the GTA.

 

[TheKrebsCycle]

The Eichel contract is completely irrelevant to the discussion. Tavares set the comparable for Matthews inside his team, and the Eichel contract had nothing to do with Marner. Funny how the rest of that RFA winger group signed for under 10mil, and no, Marner is was not and is not better than say Rantanen who signed for 9.25

I didn’t mention Rantanen in my comment whatsoever . But to say Eichel wasn’t used as a comparable Is just silly . You aren’t restricted to comparisons on your own team ; that’s not how contract negotiations work ….

 

[keglu]

Eichel getting $10million/year set the floor for any Matthews/Marner contract extension.

What would that be the case for Marmer contract and not Rantanen for example?

 

[Nstar to Wild]

What? I’m saying if you switched them it would be a bigger difference.

Matthews contract would be 6% less because the current contract accounts for the 6% raise.

McDavid’s contract would be 6% more than it is currently because it doesn’t account for the raise.

I agree that the Leafs should have signed Matthews after his second year, but they had a braindead GM at the time who thought it was better to wait for some reason.

When are you going to account that McDavid signed a 8 year contract?

 

[dirtydanglez]

What would that be the case for Marmer contract and not Rantanen for example?

rantanen is a very close comparable. just give marner 250-500k less.

 

[Voight]

I think looking at Sid and McDavid it shows you don’t need Toronto to make it on that list. I’m not sure he wouldn’t make more as the good ole born and bred American boy superstar In the US. Playing for the Leafs might help a more mediocre player known in the GTA.

It would really depend on what market and the circumstance.

McDavid is the unquestioned best player in his sport so that alone is going to present endorsement opportunities.

Sid had the advantage of being a super hyped kid coming into he league and many Canadan companies looking for a new face for their NHL marketing business interests. NHL also marketed the living crap out of him & Ovy so a lot of people knew ho he was even in the US.

Matthews has a much bigger profile being in Toronto vs probably anywhere else. Its the media & business capital of Canada and a international business centre. Theres a huge spotlight on whoever the Leafs best player is and a lot on eyes on said player.

 

[FMichael]

#34 eating up that cap...

 

[SeanMoneyHands]

This will make Jack EIchel's contract look like a bargain. Oh and he just won a cup.

Matthews better be guaranteeing bringing cups to Toronto.

 

[Tad Mikowsky]

What? I’m saying if you switched them it would be a bigger difference.

Matthews contract would be 6% less because the current contract accounts for the 6% raise.

McDavid’s contract would be 6% more than it is currently because it doesn’t account for the raise.

I agree that the Leafs should have signed Matthews after his second year, but they had a braindead GM at the time who thought it was better to wait for some reason.

You literally called him one of the best GMs days before he was let go.

 

[Divine]

You literally called him one of the best GMs days before he was let go.

I said that from an entertainment standpoint, not from a results standpoint (obviously).

Does that mean he can’t make mistakes? I thought he had a great trade deadline. I also thought he overpaid Matthews, Marner and Nylander - significantly limiting the Leafs future.

He also had no success and traded 3 1st rounders in the last 6 months between Pittsburgh and Toronto.

I like him because he’s not afraid to ‘go for it’ - his problem so far has been his moves have never yielded any results.

Based on results, he’s been a horrible GM.
Based on entertainment, he’s still one of the best GM’s in the NHL.

He just admitted today that he was trying to get Karlsson since he was in Toronto. Entertainment wise - looks great. Will it bear results? Maybe, his track record isn’t promising.

 

[Guttersniped]

What? I’m saying if you switched them it would be a bigger difference.

Matthews contract would be 6% less because the current contract accounts for the 6% raise.

McDavid’s contract would be 6% more than it is currently because it doesn’t account for the raise.

I agree that the Leafs should have signed Matthews after his second year, but they had a braindead GM at the time who thought it was better to wait for some reason.

When are you going to account that McDavid signed a 8 year contract?

Yes, the deal was only for 5 years because more term would have cost more money.



Dubas claimed their camp started at 8 years but he took it to 5 years to get the AAV down:

Dubas: I just think the nature of way deals are in hockey, the younger players, if you want the longer-term, you are also taking up more of their prime, so the AAV rises. Certainly, that [eight years] was the intention from the beginning on Auston’s side. They were focused on that. Just as we kind of worked through it together, having more discussions, we are trying to balance keeping this together while also contending and not having to delete parts from it. We are very thankful that they were willing to move from their desired term. Everyone wants to be here for as long as possible, but we were able to find an AAV that works for everybody. We were able to lock him in and also to maintain some flexibility as we move ahead. That’s how it sort of all came to be.

link

Even if he could have managed to find a way to somehow afford it, I don’t know if Dubas wanted the optics of paying Matthews more than McDavid.

McDavid‘a contract only started one season earlier and he swept the major NHL awards before signing it.

But that’s what sucked about the deal, it was too little term for that price. The cap unexpectedly freezing for most of the deal made it way more brutal.

 

[Divine]

Yes, the deal was only for 5 years because more term would have cost more money.



Dubas claimed their camp started at 8 years but he took it to 5 years to get the AAV down:



link

Even if he could have managed to find a way to somehow afford it, I don’t know if Dubas wanted the optics of paying Matthews more than McDavid.

McDavid‘a contract only started one season earlier and he swept the major NHL awards before signing it.

But that’s what sucked about the deal, it was too little term for that price. The cap unexpectedly freezing for most of the deal made it way more brutal.

So does this mean Matthews wants less money this time around?

If this speculation of Matthews wanting to sign a 3 year, 13.5M deal is true and you combine 3 X 13.5 with his current contract, that would have made it an 8 year, 12.34M deal under a higher cap. It's still less than McDavid, not 1M+ more.

That tweet is suggesting Matthews wanted 13.5M over 8.

If that's true, then for sure he's taking a discount relative to his previous ask with all the leverage or maybe he just started high as all contract negotiations did and Dubas didn't realize he could negotiate so he lowered the term, as it's not adding up anymore.

He wanted 13.5 X 8 as an RFA with no leverage allegedly, but now he wants 13.5M X 3 as a UFA with all the leverage after winning multiple Rockets, a Hart, and Ted Lindsay?

 

[Guttersniped]

So does this mean Matthews wants less money this time around?

If this speculation of Matthews wanting to sign a 3 year, 13.5M deal is true and you combine 3 X 13.5 with his current contract, that would have made it an 8 year, 12.34M deal under a higher cap. It's still less than McDavid, not 1M+ more.

That tweet is suggesting Matthews wanted 13.5M over 8.

If that's true, then for sure he's taking a discount relative to his previous ask with all the leverage or maybe he just started high as all contract negotiations did and Dubas didn't realize he could negotiate so he lowered the term, as it's not adding up anymore.

He wanted 13.5 X 8 as an RFA with no leverage allegedly, but now he wants 13.5M X 3 as a UFA with all the leverage after winning multiple Rockets, a Hart, and Ted Lindsay?

I don’t know what he wants now. When he signed people assumed the cap was going to shoot up and his camp used a very optimistic estimate as negotiating tool.

Beyond the usual small yearly increase, people were expecting a big bump from 2021-22 TV deal and Seattle’s 1st season in 2021-22. After Vegas’ 1st season in 17-18 the cap jumped from 75m to 79.5m.

Matthews signed in Feb 2019, Marner signed in Sept 2019 and then COVID started in early 2020. Their deals, along with Panarin’s and Bobrovsky’s, felt like they were from a different era after COVID immediately depressed salaries.

Barkov was the first player to break 10m after Marner and that happened two years after Mitch signed.

It took ~10 months for another player to do it again, when Huberdeau got 10.5m.

Yes, MacKinnon moved the ball forward with his 8 year/12.6m deal and Pasta 8 year/11.3m, but there’s only 4 players who’ve gotten 10m or more since COVID happened.

Matthews is going to ask to become the highest paid player but his ask has to reflect what these other top stars got. The top salary has only gone up 100k since Matthews last signed. The Cap is going to rise but it’s not going to immediately explode. He can’t suddenly expect 15m next year.

 

[Seanaconda]

I heard he wants to take a team discount to win and sign for $8.34M per season, source = myself

Negotiations taking so long because the Leafs want to pay him more ?

Nylander should be one of the guys the leafs keep in the 8 aav range not 10. Marner and Tavares make too much. It’s not a great situation for Toronto to be in but it’s still better than many other teams.

Why would Nylander do that . He's the only one that has been taking discounts

 

[Divine]

I don’t know what he wants now. When he signed people assumed the cap was going to shoot up and his camp used a very optimistic estimate as negotiating tool.

Beyond the usual small yearly increase, people were expecting a big bump from 2021-22 TV deal and Seattle’s 1st season in 2021-22. After Vegas’ 1st season in 17-18 the cap jumped from 75m to 79.5m.

Matthews signed in Feb 2019, Marner signed in Sept 2019 and then COVID started in early 2020. Their deals, along with Panarin’s and Bobrovsky’s, felt like they were from a different era after COVID immediately depressed salaries.

Barkov was the first player to break 10m after Marner and that happened two years after Mitch signed.

It took ~10 months for another player to do it again, when Huberdeau got 10.5m.

Yes, MacKinnon moved the ball forward with his 8 year/12.6m deal and Pasta 8 year/11.3m, but there’s only 4 players who’ve gotten 10m or more since COVID happened.

Matthews is going to ask to become the highest paid player but his ask has to reflect what these other top stars got. The top salary has only gone up 100k since Matthews last signed. The Cap is going to rise but it’s not going to immediately explode. He can’t suddenly expect 15m next year.

Covid did not 'depress salaries'. The cap only went up since Covid, at the worst of it, it stayed still. You're acting like the cap went down.

All Covid did was stop salaries from rising as fast because the cap barely went up (but it went up nonetheless).

Salaries being 'depressed' seems like a weak argument an owner might make. How the hell is the salary cap only going up, but salaries are going down. There's 0 logic behind it.

Also, there wasn't that many 10M players signed because there's not that many 10M+ players in the league. Not because Covid lowered salaries or something. Those top players are now going to be re-signed. I imagine McDavid, Draisaitl, Matthews and Marner push up the cap again.

I repeat, the cap today is the highest it's ever been in NHL history - why on earth would salaries be down?

If we're claiming Matthews was asking 13.5M X 8 and now, with more accolades, he's happy with 13.5M X 3 - shorter term is usually more expensive for the team, then it's a discount relative to his last ask.

Either Dubas was a terrible negotiator, or Matthews has decided to take a discount relative to his past based on the argument you were making. Stop with the 'depressed salaries on a cap that only went up' nonsense.

 

[Sypher04]

This will make Jack EIchel's contract look like a bargain. Oh and he just won a cup.

Matthews better be guaranteeing bringing cups to Toronto.

Well, seeing as Eichel is in year 6 of an 8 year contract I would certainly think so.

No one can garauntee cups. The fact Eichel just won one isn’t relevant to the discussion because a) his contract was signed well before he won and b) cups are a team accomplishment and generally not a significant factor in individual player contract valuations.

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

He should just embrace the Heel role that he has created and ask for 15.
Being a villain suits him better since clearly he can't be a hero

 

[Big Muddy]

I didn’t mention Rantanen in my comment whatsoever . But to say Eichel wasn’t used as a comparable Is just silly . You aren’t restricted to comparisons on your own team ; that’s not how contract negotiations work ….

It's only natural for employees of any company to compare their salaries and worth to other employees. This is relevant and true for any company & its employees, including professional hockey teams. It's human nature and to deny this is pure denial.

I think some of the nation just struggle to find a way to rationalize Matthews current (and future) contract which can easily be argued as an overpayment based on term (i.e., term was too short for that dollar figure). And, other nation members are also trying to find a way of explaining & rationalizing the signing of Tavares as well. Oh well, GMs don't always think things through and make mistakes.

And, while we are on the topic of making excuses, if Matthews gets a $13.5 million type of contract, yes he will be expected to be the most dominant playoff performer and make the big, key contributions at the most important times. It seems like some nation members have already started to make excuses perhaps in anticipation that he won't perform at a level commensurate to his huge salary.