The numbers don't point to either Marner or Matthews being overpaid at all. Some people just can't accept that the wider sample and context means way more within contract negotiations than the peak raw point total somebody hits in their final year (or after signing). We've had a number of players take less than they could get elsewhere, to play here over the years. More than Carolina.
I don't see any reason to think that Nylander would demand max money in Toronto, where he's spent his whole career, has roots, friends, a great situation, etc., and then turn around and give some random team he has zero connections to a discount, just because they have worse top-end players.
You're recalling incorrectly. My argument regarding Matthews hasn't been about goals or being a center. In fact, the importance and value of those aspects tends to get wildly exaggerated - likely because people see trends and misunderstand the cause of the trends. Centers tend to be better players that drive their lines, and on average, they tend to be more defensively responsible. They also have the potential to add small amounts of value in something like faceoffs, but Aho sucked at faceoffs. Goalscorers tend to be good primary point producers, which is much more relevant than goals alone. Aho wasn't even that different of a goal-scorer anyway through their ELCs, for the record. He did have the 2nd most empty net goals in the league though.
