I’ve seen many superstars - Crosby, Stamkos, to name only a few - who have been held pointless in a playoff game. I totally agree that way too much money is being spent on the 4 forwards, but I believe out of the 4, Matthews deserves it. I’ve felt all along that the first major mistake was going after Tavares (don’t get me wrong, I really like him), but everyone knew Matthews was going to be our #1 centerman, so you DO NOT NEED 2 centers making around $22 million. And if that wasn’t bad enough, you’re paying a winger around $11 million, and sticking your head in the sand (or up your ass) in regards to your bluelins. Dubas was not the person we needed to be handling those negotiations (and I hold Shanny accountable as well), or building the team.
In saying all of this, I’m not blaming Tavares. He was a UFA, and deserved to get paid, it just shouldn’t have been us. And Matthews, as a #1 pick with his skill set and being a centerman, was going to get paid. The only qualm I have with that, is it should have been for a few more years.