Martin Skoula
Registered User
- Oct 18, 2017
- 11,769
- 16,588
100% agreed that Matthews contract is now what every RFA wants...top money AND less term. Can't blame Marner for wanting it when he just outproduced Matthews in REAL points and PPG as well as outproduced Tavares to boot.
Any dumb GM could have made Matthews the #2 paid player in the league and get bent over in term. That's what Dubas did. It should have been an easy negotiation: on an 8 year deal, you get less than McDavid, more than Eichel. But if you only want 5 years, then no, you don't become the 2nd highest paid player in the league.
Matthews is clearly being paid for what the Leafs hope he becomes. Meanwhile, Marner and his agent are sitting there saying Marner has a 94 point season in his pocket, Matthews a 73. Marner also just posted a better PPG than Matthews ever has. Marner HAS done, what Matthews is expected to do. So of course he wants the same treatment....big money and short term.
After all...if the Matthews contract is good, then why not sign Marner to that same type of good contract too? Big money and 5 years. Oh that's right....because everyone that is not biased can see that giving Matthews 5 years is an awful decision. There is a reason why other teams fans don't want this as the new norm...because it sucks. Think Avs fans want Rant signed for 5 years....or 8? Of course not. Because it's paying them big money now AND bigger in 5 years, not 8, when they become a UFA. Or they possibly lose that player 3 years earlier.
1 player not signed for 7 or 8 years that is top 20 in cap hit: Matthews. Time will tell if the other top RFA follow suit and the Matthews contract is to blame. Or if other GM's stick to their guns of negotiating and make RFA's choose one or the other...big money, or less term...not both. Anybody can give out big money and no term to a RFA...as we have seen.
Can you name some other first RFA contracts for top players that were 8 years besides McDavid, Eichel, and Draisaitl?