Confirmed Signing with Link: [TOR] F Auston Matthews signs extension with the Maple Leafs (4 years, $13.25M AAV)

[leafs in five]

That's great. Is anyone going to remember Steven Stamkos as generational?

maybe? he was incredible

 

[shortfuze]

The fact that two players scored 60+ last year kinda shows that feat isn't generational, no?

How about being the best goal scorer since he’s come into the league? I’m not saying he’s a generational talent but he’s pretty close to being one as a scorer.

Nothing wrong with having discussions about it.

 

[Habs Halifax]

If the cap stagnates again then the NHL might as well give up on trying to be considered a professional league.

You can't blame the NHL and ignore Covid when the entire world was affected. The NHL will grow in parallel to the global entertainment market. Does something come along that comes out of nowhere that stagnates the growth again? Not sure but right now today, we don't see it. Are we due for a recession? Some people say yes.

 

[WetcoastOrca]

How about being the best goal scorer since he’s come into the league? I’m not saying he’s a generational talent but he’s pretty close to being one as a scorer.

Nothing wrong with having discussions about it.

Generational goal scorers are generally measured by their goal scoring titles. He’s had a great start for sure with two Rockets like Iginla and Stamkos. But generational goal scorers need to keep it up for a long time. He’s also got competition with McDavid who looks to have hit another level in terms of goal scoring. Far too early to bandy that term at this point.

 

[Voight]

An obvious down year? This was more of the norm for him. The outlier season was the one he scored 65 in. Didn't say he was a bum. But he certainly isn't deserving of a blank cheque or being the highest paid player in the league.

Lol no. He had a career low shooting %. Definitely not the norm.

The three preceding seasons his % was 16.2, 18.5, 17.2... 12.2 last year.

Not to mention he was hurt the majority of the year.

 

[shortfuze]

Generational goal scorers are generally measured by their goal scoring titles. He’s had a great start for sure with two Rockets like Iginla and Stamkos. But generational goal scorers need to keep it up for a long time. He’s also got competition with McDavid who looks to have hit another level in terms of goal scoring. Far too early to bandy that term at this point.

For sure. Longevity is huge in a career. Still needs to play a lot of games for it to happen. But when you’re number 1 since you came into the league (I think ovechkin is right behind him) nothing wrong with having discussions. We’ll see in the end.

 

[WetcoastOrca]

For sure. Longevity is huge in a career. Still needs to play a lot of games for it to happen. But when you’re number 1 since you came into the league (I think ovechkin is right behind him) nothing wrong with having discussions. We’ll see in the end.

The main reason he’s number one is that he had a stronger rookie year than the rest.
While impressive that’s not really the criteria for generational. You need to keep up a high level for a long time. The fact a much older Ovechkin is right behind him since he entered the league speaks about how remarkable the Great 8 truly is.
Ovechkin’s 9 Rocket awards and challenging Gretzky’s record that was once thought to be untouchable put him in a class all his own.

 

[Haatley]

So what you are actually saying is as long as it is someone else's pay they should take a pay cut but you are not willing to do the same thing. There are a lot of Canadians that make 30,000 a year and would really benefit from a 20% bump up to 36000 a year. It's funny how absolute socialism ( take less money to reward less talented) only applies to the "rich" or other people when it is used for athletes.

Why should any player take less money on a contract to reward another player who is less talented. If a player decides he will play for 10 million instead of 13 million because he is happy with that amount then good for that player. But no player should be criticised for getting a contact making as much as he can while he can.

Tom Brady's contract with the Buccaneers was 50 million over 2 years guaranteed plus 4.5 million in bonuses each year. It was then extended for one more year. Not really a good example of a guy taking a pay cut to win.

Take a look at Brady's contracts with the Pats. You literally picked 2 out of 24 seasons lol. Plus, QBs are being paid 50 million per season. Give your head a shake

 

[Frank Drebin]

maybe? he was incredible

the answer is not maybe, its no. No one considers Steven Stamkos as generational.

 

[leafs in five]

the answer is not maybe, its no. No one considers Steven Stamkos as generational.

right on, thanks

 

[BobClarkesfrontteeth]

Take a look at Brady's contracts with the Pats. You literally picked 2 out of 24 seasons lol. Plus, QBs are being paid 50 million per season. Give your head a shake

I picked his last 3 the most relevant. Like you said quarter backs are making 50 million plus are they taking less to win? Or is your particular brand of socialism apply only to Americans playing hockey?

 

[Haatley]

I picked his last 3 the most relevant. Like you said quarter backs are making 50 million plus are they taking less to win? Or is your particular brand of socialism apply only to Americans playing hockey?

Brady took less to win. And he did. 7 times. He wasn't even a top 10 highest paid QB. So yes. He always took less to win.

Do you watch football even?

 

[TS Quint]

Dreger and Pagnotta claimed 13 million

Sharks fall short in John Tavares sweepstakes, what’s next?

John Tavares is reportedly set to sign a seven-year contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

www.mercurynews.com

John Tavares Signs 7-Year, $77 Million Contract with Maple Leafs

The Toronto Maple Leafs and center John Tavares reached an agreement Sunday on a seven-year contract worth $77 million...

syndication.bleacherreport.com

Whatever justifies that contract to Leafs fans.

 

[Hockey Outsider]

Big AAV but the cap is going to grow and taxes are high in Toronto. It's the cost of doing business when you have a top 5 player in the game. He's getting about 14-15% of the cap once it grows for 24/25. I'm expecting the cap to be around the $88M-$90M range.

Matthews (again) structured his contract so he's (essentially) paying tax at Arizona's much lower rate. That saves him more than $1M USD per year.

This isn't directed at you, but I've seen some people say that Matthews "needed" a high salary due to Ontario's high tax rates, but that isn't the case because of how the deal's been structured.

 

[Habs Halifax]

Matthews (again) structured his contract so he's (essentially) paying tax at Arizona's much lower rate. That saves him more than $1M USD per year.

This isn't directed at you, but I've seen some people say that Matthews "needed" a high salary due to Ontario's high tax rates, but that isn't the case because of how the deal's been structured.

It could be as simple as his agent using that tax narrative for leverage when it's not there. We as fans can't pretend to be accountants... unless you do this for a living? I don't, I'm in engineering.

I do wish the Leafs the best. I'm a Habs fan but I want the cup back to Canada. Hopefully the cap does rise and you can add around the core like it was the plan back when Tavares, Matthews, Marner, Nylander were signed.

 

[Beukeboom Fan]

That is never how these long term deals work out though. What usually happens is that you add on years to the deal to lower the AAV. Teams add those extra years, not thinking the AAV will be ‘fair value’, but because they are acting in a short-term mindset and leaving the problem for years down the road.

Years that will usually leave you with an anchor of a contract, a buyout, retaining salary in a trade to move the contract or moving assets and having to retain salary. These teams don’t often work out for the teams on the back end.

With the cap expected to rise ‘dramatically’ over the next 2-5 years, these deals also don’t work out for the player either. The players might not have caught in yet but I’m sure the agents will.

I expect to see more deals like this in the near future for super star level players. Until the cap normalizes at least.

While I agree in general - I expect that AM is going to be looking for the max term deal when he's 30 and gets to take advantage of the back years of the contract where he's getting paid more than his production warrants. If he the 8 years deal now - he's a UFA when he's 34 and outside his prime, and less likely to be able to get that long term deal. If he signed the 8 year deal now - maybe the last 1-2 years might be an issue. If he signs at 30, the last 3-4 years are all at risk IMO.

 

[Mr Positive]

While I agree in general - I expect that AM is going to be looking for the max term deal when he's 30 and gets to take advantage of the back years of the contract where he's getting paid more than his production warrants. If he the 8 years deal now - he's a UFA when he's 34 and outside his prime, and less likely to be able to get that long term deal. If he signed the 8 year deal now - maybe the last 1-2 years might be an issue. If he signs at 30, the last 3-4 years are all at risk IMO.

If his last deal takes him to 38/39 I'd imagine the last few years are just collecting cheques on LTIR. Maybe a good way to keep the AAV down

 

[JoelWarlord]

Your comment on TOR fans "preoccupied" with EDM/VAN is wild.

Vancouver might vary, but don't try and tell me that Leafs fans in the aggregate aren't extremely wrapped up in the Oilers (of course I'm not talking about casuals here). Canadian hockey media pits them against each other nonstop, and both fanbases are thrilled to oblige especially when the Oilers seem to enjoy signing everyone the Leafs let walk as free agents. And when after Matthews won the Hart there was a ton of talk about him being a 1B to McDavid or even approaching the same level of play.

Why would we care so heavily about them? They're not in the same division, and how many times do they play them a year?

This is why I find it so confusing, but it's something I've experienced a lot with virtually every non-casual Leafs fan I interact with across any generation/age/social circle. For whatever reason they just absolutely love to revel in anything bad that happens with the Canucks.

I assume it's mostly a Canadian media thing where hot take artists liked to point to Vancouver as a team that was built more "properly" than the Leafs after the bubble playoffs because they had a big name goalie and at the time had guys like Horvat who the national media loves, etc.

I meet all kinds of Habs fans in Toronto and all they do is talk about the Leafs. They know more about TOR, then their own (so-called) team.

Do they know more about Toronto than Montreal, or do they just continue watching the playoffs without their team involved unlike Toronto fans after elimination?

 

[Strangle]

While I agree in general - I expect that AM is going to be looking for the max term deal when he's 30 and gets to take advantage of the back years of the contract where he's getting paid more than his production warrants. If he the 8 years deal now - he's a UFA when he's 34 and outside his prime, and less likely to be able to get that long term deal. If he signed the 8 year deal now - maybe the last 1-2 years might be an issue. If he signs at 30, the last 3-4 years are all at risk IMO.

That’s only if you’re a Leafs doomer who thinks he’s going to sign an 8-year $15m+ deal, which I

(much to @Golden_Jet ’s dismay exaggerated to a $150m deal - it’s only actually a $120m deal, so f*** me right? Right @Golden_Jet ?)

think is absolutely laughably ridiculous. There’s no way you want a 34-38yo Matthews with a $15m+ cap hit.

But hfboards trolls gonna troll

 

[Ianturnedbull]

Vancouver might vary, but don't try and tell me that Leafs fans in the aggregate aren't extremely wrapped up in the Oilers (of course I'm not talking about casuals here). Canadian hockey media pits them against each other nonstop, and both fanbases are thrilled to oblige especially when the Oilers seem to enjoy signing everyone the Leafs let walk as free agents. And when after Matthews won the Hart there was a ton of talk about him being a 1B to McDavid or even approaching the same level of play.

This is why I find it so confusing, but it's something I've experienced a lot with virtually every non-casual Leafs fan I interact with across any generation/age/social circle. For whatever reason they just absolutely love to revel in anything bad that happens with the Canucks.

I assume it's mostly a Canadian media thing where hot take artists liked to point to Vancouver as a team that was built more "properly" than the Leafs after the bubble playoffs because they had a big name goalie and at the time had guys like Horvat who the national media loves, etc.


Do they know more about Toronto than Montreal, or do they just continue watching the playoffs without their team involved unlike Toronto fans after elimination?

"I don't tune-in to the NHL awards. That is not my idea of interesting or entertainment"

-Leafs Fan (who's over the age of 17)

 

[Hodge]

Wild to see Matthews, Marner and Nylander constantly get so much hate when it's obviously Tavares and Rielly who are the biggest drags on the Leafs relative to their cap hits.

 

[shortfuze]

The main reason he’s number one is that he had a stronger rookie year than the rest.
While impressive that’s not really the criteria for generational. You need to keep up a high level for a long time. The fact a much older Ovechkin is right behind him since he entered the league speaks about how remarkable the Great 8 truly is.
Ovechkin’s 9 Rocket awards and challenging Gretzky’s record that was once thought to be untouchable put him in a class all his own.

Can’t disagree with that. Ovechkin is going to be the greatest goal scorer of all time. However having ovechkin very close to Matthews in goal scoring right now doesn’t diminish how good of a goal scorer Matthews is. There can be 2 different things.

 

[WetcoastOrca]

Can’t disagree with that. Ovechkin is going to be the greatest goal scorer of all time. However having ovechkin very close to Matthews in goal scoring right now doesn’t diminish how good of a goal scorer Matthews is. There can be 2 different things.

Absolutely. We will have to see if he ends up closer to Stamkos or Ovechkin.

 

[shortfuze]

He's not a generational player not even close. Generational players come along once a generation. He isn't even currently top 5. You can make a debate that he is but its a debate. That's not generational.

There are 2 currently in the league Crosby and McDavid. It happens roughly once every 10 years.

You can be a generational goal scorer.

 

[Byron Bitz]

The main reason he’s number one is that he had a stronger rookie year than the rest.
While impressive that’s not really the criteria for generational. You need to keep up a high level for a long time. The fact a much older Ovechkin is right behind him since he entered the league speaks about how remarkable the Great 8 truly is.
Ovechkin’s 9 Rocket awards and challenging Gretzky’s record that was once thought to be untouchable put him in a class all his own.

Matthews 5 on 5 goal scoring is off the charts and much better than Ovechkin’s. Ovy has an incredible one timer on the PP which is great but I prefer the guy who scores goals in so many different ways 5 on 5. You can see in this clip how diverse Matthews skill set is.