Would Matthews’ contract have been worth it if… (read OP)?

[dgibb10]

AAV is fine, term should have been more in leafs favour. They had no leverage on this deal because dubas did a terrible job on the first deal. Luckily for the leafs the cap stagnated or the fact that they didn't get full term on the 1st deal would have bit them in the ass even more, as with a higher cap Matthews would have been asking for 15 mill

 

[Regal]

AAV is fine, term should have been more in leafs favour. They had no leverage on this deal because dubas did a terrible job on the first deal. Luckily for the leafs the cap stagnated or the fact that they didn't get full term on the 1st deal would have bit them in the ass even more, as with a higher cap Matthews would have been asking for 15 mill

I’d argue it’s the opposite. Toronto signed their big deals under the assumption of a rising cap, but the flat cap hurt their ability to add depth. Matthews’ current deal is also based on the idea that the cap is now going to go up. Had the cap not been stagnant, his deal might have been higher but the cap also would have been higher and the cap hit percentage would probably be the same.

 

[dgibb10]

I’d argue it’s the opposite. Toronto signed their big deals under the assumption of a rising cap, but the flat cap hurt their ability to add depth. Matthews’ current deal is also based on the idea that the cap is now going to go up. Had the cap not been stagnant, his deal might have been higher but the cap also would have been higher and the cap hit percentage would probably be the same.

No because they didn't get full term. For example, it would have been something like 12.5x8 (mcdavid deal) vs 11.6x5+15x4

They tried to buy down the AAVs by sacrificing term, knowing that with a rising cap those next contract were going to be massive (they still overpaid on AAV, but that was just shitty negotiating by dubas). But, since the cap didn't go up, the 2nd contracts will be cheaper.

 

[34]

Best goal scorer in the World. Not an option, a fact.

 

[PuckG]

Fair contract. While he leaves a lot to be desired in the playoffs, the teams that go far tend to have all 4 lines show up on a consistent basis. The Leaf's failures are not solely on Matthews.

 

[The Podium]

Matthews performances, or lack there of, in the playoffs have been greatly exaggerated. He has 9 goals 20 points in 18 games over the past 2 seasons, 37 points in 37 games if you exclude his rookie and sophomore seasons and has been the Leafs best all around player for every playoff series.

He hasn’t had his standout performance yet, but he also hasn’t been bad.

 

[authentic]

Matthews performances, or lack there of, in the playoffs have been greatly exaggerated. He has 9 goals 20 points in 18 games over the past 2 seasons, 37 points in 37 games if you exclude his rookie and sophomore seasons and has been the Leafs best all around player for every playoff series.

He hasn’t had his standout performance yet, but he also hasn’t been bad.

Also has scored 4 goals twice and 5 twice, 4 out of 8 playoff series he has objectively been an elite scorer even including his rookie season, and atleast 3 of the other 4 series he played injured. Actually he played injured last year against Tampa and had 5 goals and 9 points in 6 games. Like you said his two-way game has also been excellent and he had more goals and points than anyone on Tampa in both series they played while outplaying Tampa’s best players defensively. People who say he never shows up are out to lunch.

 

[authentic]

Not to mention all of those series came against elite goaltenders, but the narrative is he mails it in and always gets shutdown somehow.

 

[Breakers]

He set himself up perfectly

His next 8 year banger will be backloaded with SB’s so he can’t be bought out

And he essentially played free agency as perfectly as humanly possible

 

[Sprague Cleghorn]

Another year, another excellent RS and poor playoffs. In a vacuum, I will admit he’s worth 10+ mil per year, but I wouldn’t want my team to be the one signing him. Paying a guy 13M to put up numbers in the playoffs equivalent to guys making 6M is a sure way to destroy your team’s chances at the Cup.

However, if all you care as a fan is watching fun winning hockey during the regular season, then yeah, he’s worth the contract.

 

[TS Quint]

IMO, GMs make decisions to build teams that will lead to SC glory, rather than just RS glory. If I was GM, my players selections would be based around choosing which guys can perform in the POs and at this point, Matthews just isn’t one of those guys I would choose unless he comes at a discount OR he finally puts his big boy pants on for the POs.

To you point about his contract being worth it even if Leafs suck ass, I would agree with you. If the Leafs were in that position, PO expectations are nil and Matthews can score however many RS goals to his heart content. But, we both know that this is not the expectations for the Leafs right now. If a team is going to spend 13.5M$ for a player that is gonna perform in the POs like a 5-7M$ player, is it really in the best interest for SC glory?

I agree with you but at the same time I'm not going to tell another fan to have fun. If they are happy with great regular seasons and no or little playoffs then they are already winning.

The pressure to win in Toronto is over rated. Most fans seem to be like this guy. They are happy with exciting superstars lighting up the league offensively in the regular season and the hope of next year in the playoffs. Good for them.

 

[TS Quint]

Also has scored 4 goals twice and 5 twice, 4 out of 8 playoff series he has objectively been an elite scorer even including his rookie season, and atleast 3 of the other 4 series he played injured. Actually he played injured last year against Tampa and had 5 goals and 9 points in 6 games. Like you said his two-way game has also been excellent and he had more goals and points than anyone on Tampa in both series they played while outplaying Tampa’s best players defensively. People who say he never shows up are out to lunch.

How did he do against Florida last year? When you make that much money you don't get to take a series off without criticism.

 

[Regal]

No because they didn't get full term. For example, it would have been something like 12.5x8 (mcdavid deal) vs 11.6x5+15x4

They tried to buy down the AAVs by sacrificing term, knowing that with a rising cap those next contract were going to be massive (they still overpaid on AAV, but that was just shitty negotiating by dubas). But, since the cap didn't go up, the 2nd contracts will be cheaper.

I know this is old but I still don’t agree here. The second deal being cheaper is irrelevant unless it’s cheaper relative to the cap, which I don’t believe is likely. All the flat cap did was make the first deal worse