News Article: Auston Matthews - August 1st., Contract Crickets

[AllDay28]

Then the only thing he cares about is “being the highest cap hit in the league” these guys just don’t get it.

Imagine telling people not to make more money to appease you. Next time you're at work tell them you want a pay cut.

 

[WillNy29]

Unless the ask is beyond reasonable it's an easy re-sign. He's the only irreplaceable player on the roster.

We spent about 10 years cheering a team with only Grabo and Bozak as top six.centres. no disrespect to those guys (especially Grabo) but I never want to go through that again.



Not to nitpick terms, but that's just speculation on his part.

seems like a lot of leaf fans have memory loss or in fact do want to go through that again

 

[HandshakeLineRespect]

He's a UF

He is isn’t. That’s why the Tavares thing does not apply.

The Tavares situation applies exactly. Hes entering his UFA year buddy its the same thing.

 

[CapspaceKiller]

If its mid-term again, then 13x5. I'm good with, basically get the majority of his prime years.

 

[HandshakeLineRespect]

He's a UFA?

If you cant understand the situation in front of the leafs is exactly the same as Tavares and Isles, im at a loss of words

 

[TheTotalPackage]

This is yet another reason why I hated the deal Dubas signed him to. Only 5 years.

The guy is 25 years old, in the prime of his career, one of the top scorers in the league if not the top, a top 3/5 player -- and we have to be shitting bricks as fans if we are going to lose our franchise player the longer a deal doesn't get signed this summer (if it gets to that point).

 

[ToneDog]

5x15? or 13 x 8 ?

No thank you.

 

[Menzinger]

The Tavares situation applies exactly. Hes entering his UFA year buddy its the same thing.

Not exactly. Matthews can't sign an extension yet as per league rules. If Matthews starts the next season without a new contract it would be a similar situation

 

[Beaumaris]

Of course he wants to resign in Toronto,”easy money”
Cash in on him this summer.Overrated.

 

[Petrus]

The Tavares situation applies exactly. Hes entering his UFA year buddy its the same thing.

This situation is one year before UFA. Tavares made his decision to move after his contract expired.

If Matthews does not sign or have an agreement before July 1 2023 then we have a Tavares situation.

By all accounts it looks like all stakeholders want to get this done before July 1, 2023.

 

[Stephen]

Then the only thing he cares about is “being the highest cap hit in the league” these guys just don’t get it.

Do you think Elliott Friedman got this information between Friday nights loss and this mornings press conference though? Or it’s pre existing assumptions?

 

[GoonieFace]

Paying a perennial playoff bust $13-$15 mil/year, what can go wrong

 

[keonsbitterness]

Not a penny over 12

He'll easily get more than that even if his demands aren't extreme..

 

[Trapper]

Of course he wants to resign in Toronto,”easy money”
Cash in on him this summer.Overrated.

Starring the Toronto Maple Leafs

 

[CapspaceKiller]

What do you people honestly think he'll get on the open market in the summer of 2024? He's becoming the most paid player in the league regardless, because Dubas f***ed up his first contract.

He'll be offered 14/15per probably by 75% of the league.

 

[Twine Tickler]

This is such a tough situation. He's a generational talent. He really should be dominating in the playoffs. Absolutely no reason why he shouldn't be imposing his will and winning games for us in the post season. Aside from the game 4 epic comeback on the Lightning, he failed to take over a single game in the post season.

I love him as a player, and I honestly think there are only a handful of players in the league that are better than him, but I just don't know if he is worth the % of our cap that is relative to that top end NHL talents. Sure his regular season achievements have been outstanding, and I genuinely think he is the greatest Maple Leaf of all time, but you gotta do more in april/may for me to want to allocate 17-20% of our cap to.

I am not trying to suggest he isn't worth the money his camp is likely pushing for, but at the end of the day we need that value to show in the playoffs. Thats ultimately all I care about.

I genuinely don't know where to go from here. It just feels foolish to think anything will change in the future. I love him as a player, but if the value isnt there on an extension, it almost certainly will be in a trade. We have to consider all of the options at this point TBH. Never thought I'd ever say that

 

[Stephen]

What do you people honestly think he'll get on the open market in the summer of 2024? He's becoming the most paid player in the league regardless, because Dubas f***ed up his first contract.

He'll be offered 14/15per probably by 75% of the league.

Who has $15 million free cap, and a ready to win roster as an appealing landing pad in a flat cap Bettman Dystopia?

And where are the Leafs going to get a Matthews substitute who is in a proven Drai, Mackinnon, McDavid class with playoff pedigree?

The most straight forward solution is we will keep it together with Matthews and keep hammering away at trying to win.

 

[GoonieFace]

Who has $15 million free cap, and a ready to win roster as an appealing landing pad in a flat cap Bettman Dystopia?

And where are the Leafs going to get a Matthews substitute who is in a proven Drai, Mackinnon, McDavid class with playoff pedigree?

The most straight forward solution is we will keep it together with Matthews and keep hammering away at trying to win.

This isn’t the NBA, you don’t need a Matthews type player at that money, especially since he hasn’t proven squat in the playoffs. I would rather spread the wealth and have a balanced team.

 

[Throw More Waffles]

He also reported that the no tax states absolutely play a role in team successes and contracts. But you didn’t say that

Well, the video I watched in a twitter link didn't talk about taxes. It only talked about Matthews.

But I'll give you credit for sticking to your guns. The rest of your "Dubas Defenders" group have abandoned the whole taxes argument now that our star players are becoming ufa's and hold all the leverage. Did you miss all of those threads?

When they and other posters and media brought up Nylander and Matthews comparables for extensions, I was VERY quick to play all of your ilks games back at them. Extra millions due to tax differences. Extra millions for "zone entries". Extra millions for "Toronto media pressure". Extra millions because their 5v5 /60 stats are better (still are).

Know what happened? Your group reneged on all of that. Dekes specifically said that he was (lol) "misinformed" about the tax issues during the rfa negotiations and he's learned a lot since then.

So I'll ask you now Legion34. When we take Matthews and Nylanders comparables contracts, do we need to add millions and millions of extra contract dollars for tax differences, zone entries, media pressure, etc? Or are you going to join the rest of your group and abandon all of that?

 

[keonsbitterness]

Who has $15 million free cap, and a ready to win roster as an appealing landing pad in a flat cap Bettman Dystopia?

And where are the Leafs going to get a Matthews substitute who is in a proven Drai, Mackinnon, McDavid class with playoff pedigree?

The most straight forward solution is we will keep it together with Matthews and keep hammering away at trying to win.

It's the safest path forward, and allows MLSE to continue selling star power and a (realistic or not) chance at a Cup. Trading Matthews could produce a domino effect leading to a total rebuild if nothing but picks and prospects come our way, and the possibility of being a non-playoff team for the better part of a decade. Would MLSE opt for that?

 

[Ziggdiezan]

You can't let him walk for nothing but he also hasn't proven anything in the buisness end of the season to prove he should be the highest paid player in the league. He also seems to pickup nagging injuries frequently.

Very tricky spot to be in

 

[HamiltonNHL]

My intention is to be (in Toronto),"

then get a deal done in the next few weeks.

100% trade before July 1, 2023 if no deal done.

Dubas needs to give him a date. Go past that date you are TRADED.

 

[trellaine201]

All I know is whatever way they deal with this they better decide sooner than later also known as June 28 IMO

 

[Stephen]

It's the safest path forward, and allows MLSE to continue selling star power and a (realistic or not) chance at a Cup. Trading Matthews could produce a domino effect leading to a total rebuild if nothing but picks and prospects come our way, and the possibility of being a non-playoff team for the better part of a decade. Would MLSE opt for that?

Matthews at the center of the program still allows for a completely different team to be built around him. Once Tavares is gone it’s off to the races and you can build a very different team.

Triggering a rebuild in the mid 2020s doesn’t really make the most sense. We’re just resetting to 2014-2016 with a new group of kids who may or may not relearn all the lessons.

Matthews gone but Marner and Nylander and Tavares still here makes no sense. Then you might as well do option 2.

 

[Stephen]

This isn’t the NBA, you don’t need a Matthews type player at that money, especially since he hasn’t proven squat in the playoffs. I would rather spread the wealth and have a balanced team.

I agree. But I don’t want to mandate change and dump Matthews when Tavares is the big hockey problem.