Pick any 2 players in history - you can sign them to 8yr 20M$ AAV. Do you do it?

[1dreamof1cup]

Toronto by far is the best positioned for this scenario. Because it doesn't stop here. Matthew's trade value is insanely high. They can flip him for Lafreniere (ELC) + 1st round pick, or more, easily.
Marner can get a good return too. Both Tavares and Nylander as well.

So it's all those pieces you acquire by trading them away + Gretzky/Orr. Great way to build a dynasty

Other teams probably don't have the high end pieces to acquire someone like Lafreniere as easily.

Big yikes, no way. Lafreniere wont score as many goals as Matthews but he'll def produce more points in his career. Matthews who is only signed for 5 more years at 11.5M doesnt get u Lafreniere on his elc.

 

[bobholly39]

Big yikes, no way. Lafreniere wont score as many goals as Matthews but he'll def produce more points in his career. Matthews who is only signed for 5 more years at 11.5M doesnt get u Lafreniere on his elc.

Do you honestly think the Leafs couldn't call whichever team wins #1 overall and say "hey - we want Lafreniere, we'll give you Matthews 1 for 1" and that any which team would say yes? He's simply worth more. Go ahead and create a poll and see what others think if you disagree.

Not to go too far off on a tangent - even if you don't think his value is quite that high - it's still high. If you can't get Lafreniere, you get Byfield or whoever else. The point is all of Matthews/Marner/Tavares/Nylander would fetch strong trade returns, some much more than others. So along with Gretzky/Orr - you can stock up on a bunch of ELC prospects or 1st round picks

 

[Dache]

I can’t see how so many people are saying yes. With 2 players taking 40 of your 81.5 mil cap, that means 20 players make a total of 41.5 mil including any call ups for injuries. So even if you add a Gretzky/Orr, Lemieux, Hasek combo there is no one else on your team unless you’re somehow assuming that you will sign a bunch of other players to steal contracts which I don’t think is a fair exercise

 

[amnesiac]

Lemieux and Orr. Those guys could win on their own and would be unstoppable together.

I guess it depends how you interpret it. "On their own" to me means the two of them "on their own". He didnt say individually.

 

[Hierso]

I feel like there will be a huge issue of depth if you use close to 50% of the cap on 2 players.

 

[DingDongCharlie]

Gretzky and Lemieux

 

[heretik27]

Just doing some quick math on capfriendly, Jets have 66M tied up in 14 players moving forward (9F, 4D, 1G)
(F) Wheeler, Connor, Scheifele, Laine, Ehlers, Perreault, Lowry, Copp, and Little (on IR, unsure if he returns I haven't read anything on his status in a while)
(D) Morrissey, Pionk, Dahlstrom, Poolman
(G) Hellebuyck
RFA's: Niku, Roslovic, Harkins, Appleton - None of these guys are going to command a big raise. There's a few others in the system that could possibly compete for a roster spot although I haven't kept up on our prospects this year, people have been saying good things about Samberg on the board.

Add Gretzky and Orr to that team and if Little doesn't return you're pretty close to the cap already. If Little retires, you'd then look towards dealing Perreault for picks to save cap space, and only after that would I look towards trading someone like Wheeler/Connor/Ehlers to address cap space and depth with Laine likely getting paid the following year one of the core would have to be dealt at some point.

 

[Stuzchuk]

is this doable in NHL20... ? I'd simulate 8 years to see the results w/o playing (both players at 99 overall)

personally I wouldnt do it... I prefer depth to one big line (IE: STL Blues)

 

[Gurglesons]

Crosby and Malkin have essentially made 20 mil for the back to back.

 

[LongWayDown37]

I might do it for Gretzky and Hasek. Basically, you could have the ‘99 Sabres intact except with Gretzky on it.

 

[Dache]

Do you honestly think the Leafs couldn't call whichever team wins #1 overall and say "hey - we want Lafreniere, we'll give you Matthews 1 for 1" and that any which team would say yes? He's simply worth more. Go ahead and create a poll and see what others think if you disagree.

Not to go too far off on a tangent - even if you don't think his value is quite that high - it's still high. If you can't get Lafreniere, you get Byfield or whoever else. The point is all of Matthews/Marner/Tavares/Nylander would fetch strong trade returns, some much more than others. So along with Gretzky/Orr - you can stock up on a bunch of ELC prospects or 1st round picks

I think it’s more complicated than who is worth more. Cause I’d agree Matthews is worth more, but you’re also looking to move 11.6m with 0 salary coming back. That’s incredibly hard for any team to do especially now.

 

[snipes]

Gretzky and Orr all day long. Figure out a way to make the rest work around them.

 

[bobholly39]

I think it’s more complicated than who is worth more. Cause I’d agree Matthews is worth more, but you’re also looking to move 11.6m with 0 salary coming back. That’s incredibly hard for any team to do especially now.

Maybe there's a team or two who don't do it - but in general, all teams do it and find a way to make the $$ work.
Again though - it's going off topic. The point is I think Toronto is in the best possible spot for this hypothetical - because they can flip Matthews for top value very easily - whether that value is Lafreniere or something else is moot. Same for their other 3 forwards.

 

[Thenameless]

Any two of Orr, Gretzky, and Lemieux. The thing that we have to remember is that other good players gravitate toward greatness, especially if they haven't yet won the big one. We have Bourque joining the Avalanche. We have Robitaille and Hull (even though he'd already won with the Stars) joining the Red Wings. We have Iginla joining the Penguins. In the latter case, it doesn't always work out, but the point is superstars and strong teams attract other good players willing to play for a discount in order to win a championship. It happens in all the major sports. Your roster would naturally fill out nicely even with a salary cap, if you were starting with two of the best players that ever lived.

 

[Dache]

Maybe there's a team or two who don't do it - but in general, all teams do it and find a way to make the $$ work.
Again though - it's going off topic. The point is I think Toronto is in the best possible spot for this hypothetical - because they can flip Matthews for top value very easily - whether that value is Lafreniere or something else is moot. Same for their other 3 forwards.

Again, agree to disagree a bit I guess. “Top value very easily” without any money coming back? I’m not do sure. They would obviously be able to move them without much coming back, but you won’t get what you could get when no money can come back. Plus I may be mistaken but does Tavares not have a NTC?

 

[Martin Skoula]

Again, agree to disagree a bit I guess. “Top value very easily” without any money coming back? I’m not do sure. They would obviously be able to move them without much coming back, but you won’t get what you could get when no money can come back. Plus I may be mistaken but does Tavares not have a NTC?

Didn't we hear about how Arizona was 100% going to offersheet him for 15 mil all year before he signed? Teams were clearly willing to give up multiple firsts to give Matthews and Marner massive contracts with no salary going the other way.

 

[Dache]

Didn't we hear about how Arizona was 100% going to offersheet him for 15 mil all year before he signed? Teams were clearly willing to give up multiple firsts to give Matthews and Marner massive contracts with no salary going the other way.

First that was never once confirmed, secondly that was before everyone knew there would be no cap increases for 3 years at least, and thirdly that was 2+ years ago, things have changed financially for many teams since then.