The one thing about a cap world is, cap space has value. So even if a guy walks, you're getting that 11M off the books which is a great asset in itself.
No shot he should get paid more than Matthews, I don't care if he's having a down-season.
If Marner wants 13M, I want a long term commitment. 13x8 , not another 3-5 year deal so he can keep taking the max cap hit. Having our franchise C locked up to that contract is a lot more important, given he scored nearly 70 goals and was great defensively.
I'm guessing Marner's gonna try and ask for something like 13.5M x 5 years, I would consider just letting him walk at that point tbh. Elite talent but we need guys who are team first + we have an elite RW in Nylander. Use that money to balance out the roster, so that way if the 50M powerplay isn't working, you got money/depth spread around that can chip in.
Right now we do or die with our top 4 forwards, when they're on they're on, but when they're not we get embarrassed. There's no consistency in production.
Tavares is gonna take a sweetheart deal, rumor was 7M, I'm hoping it's not true. 5-6 is more fair value for what he provides.