- Jan 22, 2007
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I don't disagree with you when it comes to Nurse. But Matthews is a whole different player and person in an entirely different situation. If you gauge his career so far, he's had a few very good years, 2 lights out superstar years, and a safe-to-say "down year" that was still good. This is not counting his rookie year at all.Nurse would have to be the dumbest person in hockey to not agree to an 8 year deal at the cap hit they gave him. He knew they were overpaying and he wouldnt get a contract like this again so it makes sense why he would agree to a max deal.
Not to mention he was coming off a career year that was unlikely to be replicated.
The problem with Matthews is entitlement, greed, and his obsession with "being the highest paid" and milking ever dollar possible from the Leafs. This is a warped mindset when you are the best player on a team that you supposedly love playing for.
Is it fair to pay Matthews just on his "down year" and very good years as it is to just pay him on his two elite years? No. There needs to be a fair compromise and meeting somewhere in between, which will still be a high-end deal for Matthews no matter what.
The problem is, he wants all the rewards in a new deal (highest AAV in history plus short-term) and he expects the Leafs to take all the risk and the hit. That's just not the way level-headed, mature players do business. This would be akin to McDavid signing 3 year deals every time so he can keep maxing out his cap % as the cap grows. Genuine superstars don't behave like this... unless they do not like their current team, city, or situation.
With Matthews, there's always been this underlying feeling of, "If he doesn't get everything he wants all the time, he's going to take his ball and bail." This is why most fans are petrified to even question or criticize him -- they are terrified their beloved superstar is going to leave. It's ridiculous. The Leafs aren't the Columbus Blue Jackets.