Very true, we already won our stanly cup with that 8th place finish, no point in paying to keep our main players...just have Johnny boy and a bunch of players making under 3 million a year. The fans will keep paying for tickets if we give them that!
I'd pay to keep a main player. For sure.
I don't consider Moulson a main player. $6MM on Moulson is money poorly spent - period. In a non-cap/non-budget world where you have unlimited money, maybe you can get away with it, but still not a smart move.
I think the Leafs overpaid Clarkson, for example. But at least he's a good player who is reliable/valuable whether he scores a lot of goals or not. The Leafs are up against the cap, have no #1 C and unmovable contracts (Liles) - still haven't won a cup.
If you want to protect "johnny boy" you don't surround him with two players that don't forecheck, backcheck and win puck battles (like Boyes/Moulson). You play him with a couple of warriors who will do the dirty work. Johnny will get his goals and points because he's done that his whole life, regardless of linemates.
And if you're worried about 30 goals, someone else will score them.
Parenteau, in two seasons with JT, averaged 61pts over 82 games.
Boyes averaged 60pts over 82 games last year.
I'm not worried about JT.
Tavares is a big boy. He's personable. He'll make new friends in his life after Moulson.
Smart spending is way more valuable than more spending. Whether Snow's forced into it or not (we all think he's been forced to underspend by Wang), you cannot argue that he's one of the smartest spenders in the NHL. Value/dollar contracts like Frans, AMac, JohnnyHockey, Hamonic, even Strait/Hickey. Look at what Okposo/Grabner and recently signed Bailey are making compared to some players around the league.
Criticize everything if you like but I think Snow's been an outstanding GM when it comes to spending/contracts and knowing when to lock-up a player and when to walk away.