Willy Part XVI - The Zurich Summit

[Trapper]

He wont get more money. It would set a bad precedent, just sit out and wait for more coin. Nope he missed his best deal already, it only gets worse now.

If the Leafs are firm with 6/6.3, they aren't going to cave.
No doubt they have the cap planned out moving forward.
Which means the agent either takes the deal or not. If not, then we need a new solution. At some point this needs to be resolved.

 

[Gary Nylund]

At this point I wouldnt mind a resolution either way so this team can move forward.

Kappy will clearly benefit from his absence and likely comes at a cheaper cost.

If Nylander sits, he is only hurting himself, and rights will be moved in the off-season.

This approach by Dubas is clearly the appropriate one to resolve our cap crunch.

He's hurting the team too. It's possible even that he's the difference between us winning or not winning the cup in which case it's probably the team who get hurt the most

Right now best case scenario for both team and player to take this right to Dec 1st. Nylander could get a higher AAV, and the Leafs would get a lower cap hit in seasons 2 through 7. Just structure the contract so his salary this year is league minimum and the rest as signing bonus. Let's say the Leafs were offering 7 x $6.25 million to sign before puck drop on the season; they could offer him 7 x $6.55 on Dec 1st and still have a lower cap hit in years 2-7, but take a bigger hit this season. Nylander, if paid the league minimum (but with a substantial signing bonus), will only lose roughly $200k or so in salary.

I honestly believe that right now it's a loophole they will both exploit, to the benefit of team and player. Nylander will get at least $2 million more over the life of the contract by doing this, and the Leafs will actually get a bit less cap hit too.

I don't believe this was the original plan, but once they went by the first couple of games, it really doesn't make sense financially from either side to settle. And it's not like the Leafs are hurting right now.

It's an interesting theory. From one angle it makes complete sense but there is a negative side here as well that isn't insignificant IMO. It means that the commotion surrounding this goes on for another 6 weeks which is a pretty big price to pay. It actually goes on longer because by the time Nylander gets back, a huge portion of the fan base will have turned on him and might be booing him etc., I wonder if the gain in cap is space really worth all that?

 

[ZEBROA]

The ones who want a D for Willy and want him to play better defence, and to stop shy away from contact. Put Willy as an offensive D. Willy development and team need solved.

 

[BoredBrandonPridham]

You guys are not paying attention. His agent is not leading this charade and neither is Nylander. It's his father doing it. His father won't allow the agent to budge an inch.

It's not a matter of paying attention. It's a matter of not making things up.

 

[kb]

He's hurting the team too. It's possible even that he's the difference between us winning or not winning the cup in which case it's probably the team who get hurt the most



It's an interesting theory. From one angle it makes complete sense but there is a negative side here as well that isn't insignificant IMO. It means that the commotion surrounding this goes on for another 6 weeks which is a pretty big price to pay. It actually goes on longer because by the time Nylander gets back, a huge portion of the fan base will have turned on him and might be booing him etc., I wonder if the gain in cap is space really worth all that?

My belief is, once he started missing games, did it matter how many he missed? I don't think it was the intent at the outset, but right now it's best to let it be. That's probably why Nylander is still in Sweden. lol

The team and players will just welcome him back with open arms, and all will be forgotten. The ones who boo will be the casual fans who know nothing about negotiations, and are simply butthurt.

 

[Gary Nylund]

My belief is, once he started missing games, did it matter how many he missed? I don't think it was the intent at the outset, but right now it's best to let it be. That's probably why Nylander is still in Sweden. lol

The team and players will just welcome him back with open arms, and all will be forgotten. The ones who boo will be the casual fans who know nothing about negotiations, and are simply ********.

So just about 4 million fans then.

 

[Confucius]

If the Leafs are firm with 6/6.3, they aren't going to cave.
No doubt they have the cap planned out moving forward.
Which means the agent either takes the deal or not. If not, then we need a new solution. At some point this needs to be resolved.

Time is on the Leafs side, their absolute best move now is to do nothing.

 

[Confucius]

I don't think this is the case. As I pointed out earlier here, let's say the Leafs are hard and firm at a $6.25 AAV on a 7 year deal. If they take it to Dec 1st, the Leafs and Nylander can accomplish the exact same thing by signing him to a 7 year, $6.55 million AAV. The cap hit this year would be in excess of $9 million, which the Leafs have the room to absorb, but the cap hit next year and beyond would actually be less than $6.25 million. Simply structure the contract as league minimum ($650K) this year, and the rest as signing bonus. That way he loses about $200K this season, but he gets $2.1 million dollars more over the life of the contract (minus that $200k or so).

This is actually brilliant. Which is why I believe there is zero sense of urgency now from either side to get this done - as it truly appears. They probably already have the terms drawn up, and are just counting down the days.

I believe there is more at stake here than just the cap hit. If Leafs offered 6.25 they aren't going to reward Willy with a 6.5 Deal in December, even though the cap hit stays the same as 6.2. That 9 million this year may well prevent the Leafs from making deadline deals to add a player.

Edit: I find it hard to believe Willy is sitting out now over 3oo grand

 

[moon111]

Zurich is probably a great place for Nylander to be right now. Chances are, he can go places without people asking him when he's going to sign. Matthews probably has hooked him up and Nylander might be able to practice with the ZSC Lions.

 

[kb]

So just about 4 million fans then.

Pretty much. But the media is already geared up to run our kids out of town. Build them up, then tear them to shreds.

 

[kb]

I believe there is more at stake here than just the cap hit. If Leafs offered 6.25 they aren't going to reward Willy with a 6.5 Deal in December, even though the cap hit stays the same as 6.2. That 9 million this year may well prevent the Leafs from making deadline deals to add a player.

Edit: I find it hard to believe Willy is sitting out now over 3oo grand

Why not? Unlike fans, the Leafs aren't worried about punishing him for being a very bad boy. All they are about is the numbers on the cap hit.

And no, it won't hinder their ability to pick up players at the deadline. At all.

EDIT: $300 grand times 7 years? Hell yes they would!

 

[ShaneFalco]

Stand firm Dubas and let some offers come in.

 

[Confucius]

Why not? Unlike fans, the Leafs aren't worried about punishing him for being a very bad boy. All they are about is the numbers on the cap hit.

And no, it won't hinder their ability to pick up players at the deadline. At all.

I don't want to punish him. Just stating that now it appears Mathews and maybe even Marner will get more than Leafs thought. I believe a long term deal is not even an option anymore. Hey I like Willy but he's made a bad decision. that's all.

 

[Trapper]

Stand firm Dubas and let some offers come in.

I'd like to know who is calling and what the offers are for sure.

 

[Chungo2]

For all the cap circumvention talk, wasn't there a rule that stopped teams from front loading contacts and each year had to be within a percentage of the aav. Might be wrong though

 

[Pookie]

It is 100% on Willy. We did not Draft and pay his Dad these last 4 years.

Why most on here want to blame everyone but Willy is a joke. He is an adult.

Do you have any facts yet or still just going on feelings?

Just wondering if I should be paying attention to your posts or not.

Thanks in advance for the context.

 

[Dynamite Kid]

The team is in the driver's seat on this one. Ride it out and see how things play out. Right now we are winning without him, and that is important. He needs to feel like we don't need him, but want him. The choice is his really. Even if another team sends an offer, we win. If it's within our budget we match, if it's not, we let him leave and receive compensation. We trade only if it benefits us. He is hurting nobody but himself at the moment. Are we better with him? I would say yes. Do we need him to win? Obviously we don't.

 

[kb]

I don't want to punish him. Just stating that now it appears Mathews and maybe even Marner will get more than Leafs thought. I believe a long term deal is not even an option anymore. Hey I like Willy but he's made a bad decision. that's all.

Here's the thing. Willy sitting out until Dec 1st gives them more room depending on how they play it. They may just be exploiting a loophole that may get closed off on the next CBA. Remember who is the assistant GM, and who is handling the ###'s on this. Let's trust them to get this right.

 

[Pookie]

I don't think there is a direct from Stockholm to YYZ.

Nope.

Directs usually are London, Paris, Zurich, Frankfurt, Munich and Copenhagen

 

[Trapper]

I don't want to punish him. Just stating that now it appears Mathews and maybe even Marner will get more than Leafs thought. I believe a long term deal is not even an option anymore. Hey I like Willy but he's made a bad decision. that's all.

This is important as well.
I wonder where management had all 3 pegged cap wise?
Now things could change. If you overpay for one just to get it done, you've just increased the overpay for the others.

 

[The Podium]

In the Athletic, Mirtle said his sources have been saying it’s headed for a bridge deal.

 

[Trapper]

For all the cap circumvention talk, wasn't there a rule that stopped teams from front loading contacts and each year had to be within a percentage of the aav. Might be wrong though

Another lock out is coming due to the fact of the heavy bonus up front contract.
Players like McDavid, Tavares, Price and others getting 15 million up front, paid out on July 1st is a sticking point for the new negotiations.
I can see this shutting things down next time. Some teams who have to monitor finances closely can't pay those big up front dollars for the contract.

 

[Confucius]

Why not? Unlike fans, the Leafs aren't worried about punishing him for being a very bad boy. All they are about is the numbers on the cap hit.

And no, it won't hinder their ability to pick up players at the deadline. At all.

EDIT: $300 grand times 7 years? Hell yes they would!

48 million vs 50 million, it wouldn't matter to me. But I am a big spender. lol

 

[Warden of the North]

Why dont leafs managment just give him a time line. We are doing fine without him and if he doesnt smarten up and sign the contract than they can sit for the year. And focus on marner and matthews contracts. This is getting stupid now.

Everyone already knows the timeline. Its Dec 1st

 

[bluumax]

Just reading about the Athanasiou situation, he went to Swtzerland to train with Lugano during negotiations so maybe we are seeing the same from Willie here?