FWIW I'm not sure Marner still being on his ELC actually does make him any more valuable these days.
The way the market is going the last few years, if the Leafs wait until his ELC is up to re-sign him, they might very well end up paying him over a million more AAV than Pastrnak will likely get for fairly similar production, depending on his progression.
Leafs take the deal and run.
Not a fan of the Leafs, but this would be an idiotic trade for the team.
Pasta is substantially better, but wants approx $8M per. (I expect Leaf fan complaints). Marner remains a ELC and likely Bridge deal afterwards that would still be at least 50% cheaper for the next 3-4 years.
Bruins can dump this overpriced player with another team and Leafs continue with the rebuild.
How does that make any sense??? It's a fact that he will be making significantly less than Pasta will be for two more years. After that sure Marner may get more money, but the two years of ELC more than make up for it. If you believe in Marner's abilities, his potential is extremely high. He's a line driving winger, something that is very rare. And he doesn't get to play with the best two-way forward in the game of hockey along with one of the best LWers in the game.
How does that make any sense??? It's a fact that he will be making significantly less than Pasta will be for two more years. After that sure Marner may get more money, but the two years of ELC more than make up for it. If you believe in Marner's abilities, his potential is extremely high. He's a line driving winger, something that is very rare. And he doesn't get to play with the best two-way forward in the game of hockey along with one of the best LWers in the game.
Oh right I forgot HFs golden rule: Only non-Leafs fans can have unbiased opinions no doubt.
I'll admit I've only seen him in games vs. Toronto which, again, is why I used the word seems, but this is just an example of a play that came to my mind.
The only way I see Marner taking a bridge deal is if regresses hard statistically. If he's a 3 time 60-70+ point player coming off his ELC he'll be on/around the level of a Kessel, Seguin, Toews, Kane, Stamkos, Tarasenko, Hall, Draisatl, Kopitar ,Drouin, Skinner, Scheifele, etc. who all skipped bridge deals and took long term deals at around 10% of the cap at the time.
If the Leafs decide to lock him, he'll likely earn about $4M-$6M per depends on the term, still significantly less than the $8M+ Pasta wants and I like him more than Marner.
Leafs keep with the rebuild, they'll be handing out lots of expensive in the coming years, they don't need to add players like Pasta when it's not needed.
If the Leafs decide to lock him, he'll likely earn about $4M-$6M per depends on the term, still significantly less than the $8M+ Pasta wants and I like him more than Marner.
Leafs keep with the rebuild, they'll be handing out lots of expensive in the coming years, they don't need to add players like Pasta when it's not needed.
You mean $4M-$6M on a 2-3 year bridge deal, right?
In two years, if he continues to progress, he'll be looking at an $8-10M long-term deal the way contracts are climbing...definitely not $4-$6M. Hell if he ends up near or above 30G next year he might be looking at that without even waiting until his ELC runs out.
Also, where are you getting that Pastrnak is looking for $8M+? Because there's been absolutely nothing that says that, and most Bruins sources have been speculating after the Draisaitl signing that he might be looking for something close to $7.5M. That means he'll probably come in somewhere between $7-$7.5M...not $8M+.