- May 3, 2021
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Shhh, don't tell them. They may hear you and stop getting in their own way.
Confirmed Signing with Link: [TOR] F Auston Matthews signs extension with the Maple Leafs (4 years, $13.25M AAV)
- Thread starter Makaveli
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Arthur Morgan
Registered User
yeah well the rest of you kinda team up against us for some reason as well. every fan base is the same
yeah you know this league is backwards. it's the players like Matthews that should get paid. the depth players are the ones that should take pay cuts. we dont pay to watch depth players in the NHL.
caps going up as well just the kicker is, its short term so that cap % will never get as low as it could at 8x
What in this thread gives you the impression that Matthews is underrated on HF?
Because basically everyone outside of Leafs fans don't believe he's a top 2-3 forward in the league like the majority of you do?
There is something to be said about not paying guys into their mid-late thirties. The Leafs have locked up the best goal scorer in the league for the entirety of his prime years.
Did the Leafs wanna pay Matthews 13 mill when he’s 35? I highly doubt.
Did the Leafs wanna pay Matthews 13 mill when he’s 35? I highly doubt.
kevsh
Registered User
- Nov 28, 2018
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Here's the problem though. In four years, at age 30, he's a UFA again unless the Leafs re-sign him (likely the Summer prior, when he's still 29. As in still very much in his prime).
Given the cap is likely to go up a few million between now and then, unless his play falls off dramatically he's lining himself him to make even more on his next deal, and he'll be in a position to ask for longer term. 6 years? 7 years?
With his full NMC, that means he can come back after year 3 of the deal and ask for another raise and longer term. If the Leafs don't give him what he wants he walks to free agency at age 30 (again, still in his prime) and the Leafs get nothing in return. Both MLSE and Matthews know they simply can't let that happen.
Make no mistake fellow HFBoards, the only thing Matthews "gives up" on this deal is the security of a longer term deal. Otherwise, he got what he wanted with another, likely even bigger payday when this new deal expires. Meanwhile the Leafs have virtually no leverage on his next contract.
AM34 took MLSE to the cleaners. And his gift to the team - you know the sacrifice he made to help them surround him with a winning roster? Maybe took a couple of hundred K off his ask ... in return for a shorter deal so he can get another huge payday next time around.
SeanMoneyHands
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- Apr 18, 2019
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Leafs best shot at the cup was last year with OReilly. It's really too bad they couldnt resign him because he brought an element that the team lacked and no longer has, now that hes gone.
But he made it public that he didn't want to resign....over locker room issues I think it was? Would rather have him as the #2C than Pajama boy Tavares.
But he made it public that he didn't want to resign....over locker room issues I think it was? Would rather have him as the #2C than Pajama boy Tavares.
TheDoldrums
Registered User
Basically everyone who really values analytics believes he's a top 2-3 forward in the league. All the nerds. They're not Leafs fans, they just follow the data.
Mr Positive
Cap Crunch Incoming
- Nov 20, 2013
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That is a consolation prize, but every team in the league would want to gamble with term on an elite player if they could.
Matthews would likely be worth that cap hit at 35 or LTIRed.
HockeyVirus
Woll stan.
- Nov 15, 2020
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Because 99% of these fans don't watch the games. They see Pasta score 60 and think oh well it's not a big deal without having watched those games and seeing how dominant Matthews was. Even honest Bruins fans will tell you Pasta is pretty one dimensional, he isn't close to a two way winger. Elite scorer on the PP and stuff, basically a modern Kessel.
Matthews was physically dominant, he was defensively elite. He brings so much more than offense, and still outscores basically everyone outside of last season.
Rabid Ranger
2 is better than one
HockeyVirus
Woll stan.
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Not saying I disagree with much of what you say here but why would the leafs immediately turn into a crappy team?....they still have everyone else and 13.25 cap space to spend.
I agree about Matthews but the leafs D is far from okay this year. Season hasnt started yet so Treliving has time to work on it but as it stands now, there is no way in hell that the leafs D can go 4 rounds and be effective.
Granted, Matthews is better than Horvat but $4,750,000 per season better? These same people who mocked the Isles signing of Horvat are now praising the signing of Matthews.
Golden_Jet
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- Sep 21, 2005
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Matthew’s is a Franchise centre , not generational.
Unless your one of those that thinks there is 6-10 generational players, all the time.
Making the word generational useless.
You know once in a generation.
Your a generational player, not generational at one aspect of hockey,
As that doesn’t exist.
I love that he is a Leaf. He’s a regular season star who becomes invisible when it really counts.
So you get 5 more years of bragging (October to April) then the lot of you will whine like puppies blaming Bettman, taxes, the weather, the referees or the US dollar for yet another failure.
What are we at now 56 years?
Rob Brown
Way She Goes
- Dec 17, 2009
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I dunno, you have people in this thread saying he's not a top 5 scorer in the league, despite being the top scorer since he joined the league.
Leaf Fans
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- Sep 29, 2017
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No, over not wanting to be in the spotlight.
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Find me those posts where people have claimed Matthews isn't a top 5 goal scorer in the league
666
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- Jun 27, 2005
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Us Leafs fans have some experience with this. First, while Tavares is still a PPG guy he's getting 50% of his points on the PP and is slowing down. Most Leafs fans would have preferred that contract to have ended by this season but we are stuck with 2 more years at $11M. So in that case the long contract was NOT to the Leafs advantage, however he was 28 at the time not 26 like Matthews will be on Sept 17.
The other experience we have with this is in Matthews' last contract. Everyone lost their shit when he only signed for 5 years at $11.643M. The reasoning was that more term would have cost more money and the Leafs had serious cap issues since signing Taveras. Everyone went nuts that it was only 5 years and Matthews would be gone by next season. At the time McDavid was signed for $12.5M and considering what happened in the last 4 years with Matthews getting a Hart and two Richards and a Person it could certainly be argued that Matthews could have been worth $12M+ but definitely was a good value at $11.6M. Well, now we know what we actually will end up paying for those 8 years and it works out to (11.640250*5 +13.25*3)/8 for an average of $12.24M. I don't think any Leafs fans should have an issue with paying Matthews $12.24M for those eight years especially since the cap was lower for the first five years.
Matthews will be 31 on Sept 17 of the year that his next-next deal starts. It's possible that we Tavares him but our history says that this will probably work out ok, we'll see.
Jared Dunn
Registered User
I just mean more of a middling team, the sum of the parts they replace Matthews with would still be a downgrade
Its just two different views. You dont know how he’d perform at age, say 33. If he’s still a top player you pay him as one. If the cap is indeed going up by quite a bit, it probably matters less. Auston is the one rolling the dice here. We’ve all seen how the Tavares contract has aged, so can you really not understand this other view that many fans have?
Auston was always going to become the top paid player in the league, its his turn up. Soon enough it will be someone else.
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