Rumor: Nylander like Matthews unextended. Nothing to see here.

[Gary Nylund]

This is dumb as f***. He signed for fair value and totally failed to show up in the playoffs, and is now patting himself on the back for taking less to win. What's so impressive about that?

Well said. I thought he got pretty much fair value and while I guess you could argue that as a UFA he could have gotten more, that's still nowhere near enough to justify the "took less to win" narrative.

The thing with this group of 4 is, individually they probably could win. Insert one of them onto a Vegas/Colorado/Tampa (and still maintain cap compliance, swap someone in or out for this exercise), those teams still win cups because 90% of the roster plays the right way to win in the playoffs.

But together, none of the 4 play winning hockey. You can't have half of your cap space spent on those kinds of players, and they damn sure shouldn't be getting raises for that performance

Yup.

The contempt some here have for pro athletes is astounding. Franchise valuations keep soaring and yet people still seem to think the players are overpaid. A mid-tier franchise like Ottawa is worth near a billion and people whine about stars making 7 figures.

I don't care that they make 7 figures (8 in some cases), I only care about overpayments as it relates to cap space because overpayments make it harder for the team to win the cup.

 

[EGL22]

Night and day. He would be the model for being part of the solution vs being viewed as part of the problem. Many would recognize him as underpaid.

He also wouldn’t have been in the doghouse with Leaf fans and having to rebuild good will die to an acrimonious RFA negotiation.

I think Leaf Nation would love nothing more than to wholeheartedly embrace Mitch. He’s a talented, likeable Toronto kid.

What he does on the ice endears him. It’s what he does off the ice during contract discussions that puts people off.

And there are still Dubas lovers out there that still love him but hate on Marner for that contract.
Nobody held a gun to Dubas's head forcing him to give that contract.

 

[Bluebear]

I thought it was common knowledge that in the 3 main North American sports the Leafs, Lions and Tigers were the laughing stocks.

which one of the three MAIN north American sports leagues has a team named "Leafs"?

 

[Gary Nylund]

Wonder how different he’d be looked at if Dubas would have signed him to his initial 8 year ask?

Hindsight's a beautiful thing but his ask wasn't justified at the time.

Maybe he'll take less on his next contract, that would be a nice surprise and I guess you never know. I only hope that Marner's idea of "taking less to win" isn't 13 million a year.

 

[roon]

Trade him? He outplayed both Matthews and Marner in the playoffs. Marner is soft as a babies ass.

Throwing 13 mil at Auston Matthews and trading Nylander is just a huge mistake.

 

[Boxscore]

I think the only fair way to compare contract values is percentage of the cap based on the year it kicks in (versus CaFriendly’s number which is based on the year it is signed).

Using those figures (with the CapFriendly number in parentheses):

McDavid - 15.72% (16.67%)
MacKinnon - 15.1% (15.27%)

If we assume a cap of $87.5M for the 24-25 season:

Matthews at $12.7M - 14.51% (15.21%)
Matthews at $13M - 14.86% (15.57%)
Matthews at $13.5M - 15.43% (16.17%)
Matthews at $14M - 16.00% (16.67%)

For comparison, Matthews‘ current deal is 14.27% (14.64%).

But do Pastrnak, Hughes, Tkachuk, Rantanen, etc.

The Leafs, even Matthews, shouldn't be compared to players like McDavid, MacKinnon, Crosby, and their situations are much different as well. The Leafs have 3-4 players who all need to be paid, not 1 or 2. And if these kids realize the golden situation they are in, they will need to sacrifice money, period. If not, they should all go play on teams where they're the highest paid alpha and continuing losing in the playoffs. Or they could suck it up, take less, leave some money left over to add better players, and make some serious Cup runs.

We can't keep paying Matthews 14%, 15%, 16% of the cap, then Marner 13% or 14%, Nylander 11.5%, Tavares 13% etc. and still have money left over to ice a legit contender. It's simply impossible. They can insist they're worth it -- and they may be right -- but have it both ways. This is why short-term 4 or 5 year deals are horrific when it comes to star players -- they'll always keep raising their contract to make max cap %.

There needs to be a reset on this team and these players either need to accept this or they should be traded, end of story. This can no longer be about "what the market says I'm worth" -- it needs to start being about "what am I willing to leave on the table so I can stay in Toronto and hopefully win Stanley Cups."

 

[Gary Nylund]

And there are still Dubas lovers out there that still love him but hate on Marner for that contract.
Nobody held a gun to Dubas's head forcing him to give that contract.

Yup. I liked most of what Dubas did but that contract was IMHO completely insane and by far the biggest mistake Dubas made here.

 

[Stephen]

1*8.8

There you go.

1 year deal, come up same time as marner.

I like it. A knife fight to determine who stays a Leaf and who becomes a free agent.

 

[ULF_55]

I like it. A knife fight to determine who stays a Leaf and who becomes a free agent.

Who will take less to stay?

 

[notDatsyuk]

Lol. It's true. Before I could only stand behind a couple of Leaf players (one was Zack Hyman). Now there's only Morgan Reilly as being the last player to play inspirational hockey in the playoffs.

People are already writing Nylander's euligy, or lamenting TOR's management team not coming up with millions to give Nylander.

Who are our "core 4" anyway? Have they won any cups? Have they done anything in the playoffs to inspire fans?

"Core 4" varies.

Four main forwards: Marner, Matthews, Nylander, and Tavares.
Four highest paid: Marner, Matthews, Rielly, and Tavares.
Four best: Marner, Matthews, Nylander, and Rielly.

Alphabetical order.

 

[leafsfan5]

I love Nylander and would like to keep him, but I’m so tired of people using even strength production as their main argument

Guess what, scoring on the powerplay results in 1 goal. Scoring at even strength results in 1 goal. They both result in one goal.

We’ve literally lost countless series due to an anemic powerplay yet people consistently discount it when discussing players. I’ll take a powerplay merchant like Kucherov any day

 

[geo25]

Losing Dubas was NOT a step backwards.
He is the reason we are in this mess.
His stain will remain for the next 2 drafts as well as he mortgaged us well into the future.

Correction....it was Shanny + lackey Dubas

 

[Mr Knies Guy]

This is dumb as f***. He signed for fair value and totally failed to show up in the playoffs, and is now patting himself on the back for taking less to win. What's so impressive about that?

He obviously thinks/knows he could have gotten more on open market. If it comes out that Willy or Matthews sign and make a similar statement, or something comes from Friedge or CJ that he took less, then I'll give them their due.

But so far the only numbers we're hearing are somewhere between 9.5-10.5 and Nylander is not 1.7m better than Meier. Plenty on this board were wishing we could fit him in at the deadline because of his decent physical presence, especially in comparison to our soft stars.

Hell, I'd absolutely take Meier over Nylander at the same cap hit for his better size alone and physical presence alone. I couldn't care less that Nylander is a better playmaker and skater with better defensive microstats (though Meier is no defensive slouch himself). Nylanders also got a micro-set when things get tough and is 2nd only to Marner in terms of complete lack of physical presence, all that to go along with his mega ego, so I'd say good riddance.

That said, I wish it was Marner in this situation because he's the one Leaf I want launched more than anyone, greater even than Kerfoot or Holl.

 

[ToneDog]

I like it. A pillow fight to determine who stays a Leaf and who becomes a free agent.

Fixed it for you.

 

[Stephen]

Who will take less to stay?

No. Who we like better.

 

[Trapper]

I love Nylander and would like to keep him, but I’m so tired of people using even strength production as their main argument

Guess what, scoring on the powerplay results in 1 goal. Scoring at even strength results in 1 goal. They both result in one goal.

We’ve literally lost countless series due to an anemic powerplay yet people consistently discount it when discussing players. I’ll take a powerplay merchant like Kucherov any day

If JVR signs a cheap contract he was a net front PP demon.

 

[leafan11]

Why not go to Nylander agent and give him permission to talk to other teams to see if any will give him the 9 plus he’s looking for.

 

[geo25]

Trade them ALL.
I honestly can’t stand these guys.

So true. Cant stand them & they aren't winners....they're winers. They can all go...

Why not go to Nylander agent and give him permission to talk to other teams to see if any will give him the 9 plus he’s looking for.

Smart idea....should have done it already...

 

[ULF_55]

No. Who we like better.

Who is we?

The coach, whoever it is in 2025?

If it's still Keefe, he'll have to ask Paul if it's okay.

 

[geo25]

I dont think our guys knows how to cultivate so what we will probably end up having is a crop that eventually just wilts and dies on the vine

Great analogy...well thought out!

 

[Marshy]

Anyone else find the Jonas Siegel article on the Athletic on the Matthews/Nylander contract talks totally embarrassing? Spinning 14 million as a discount for AM. Comical.

 

[keonsbitterness]

I thought it was common knowledge that in the 3 main North American sports the Leafs, Lions and Tigers were the laughing stocks.

Amazing how you ignore that the NBA has blown MLB right out of the water almost as much as the NFL has.

View attachment 724244
This is the reason we’re on this mess.

The theory was that A) we would have won a Cup or two by now, and then B) we have to live with the last two years of his deal. At least we get to do B!

Sounds like you belong on a commune or something brother. In our society the free market decides what is valuable. NHL TV rights, tickets, etc. are all very valuable. The money is going into the system regardless, I like seeing the players get their fair share rather than ownership reaping all the benefits.

If you're taking a stand against capitalism I would suggest there are more pressing and relevant examples of injustice in the world than NHL stars making millions.

Death to soccer players, basketball players, baseball players, cricket players, and NFL QBs!

I need to go print some signs.

 

[geo25]

Here here to Mo as well. This team is 100% the most selfish entitled group we have ever had. Its not even close.

I remember that team as well. Today's bunch turn my stomach....

I say we trade Willie this year. If they crap the bed next year than we trade Marner. Before all that get rid of Shanny.

Yep, Shanny goes 1st....

 

[keonsbitterness]

Trade him? He outplayed both Matthews and Marner in the playoffs. Marner is soft as a babies ass.

Throwing 13 mil at Auston Matthews and trading Nylander is just a huge mistake.

So what's your limit for Nylander?

Anyone else find the Jonas Siegel article on the Athletic on the Maythews/Nylander contract talks totally embarrassing? Spinning 14 million as a discount for AM. Comical.

He doesn't get out much.

 

[The Iceman]

Trade him? He outplayed both Matthews and Marner in the playoffs. Marner is soft as a babies ass.

Throwing 13 mil at Auston Matthews and trading Nylander is just a huge mistake.

Based on what did he outplay them?
Eye test??