Matthews signs 5 year contract, $11.634mil AAV

[CarltonTheBear]

If/when we lose people this offseason it's not because Matthews got $1mil more than what we wanted. It's because Marleau and Zaitsev make probably double what they should be earning.

 

[Bates]

I have to say, I?m very disappointed in a lot of you. This is why we, as a fan base are so often mocked.

The team locked up, a centre, that is no worse than the 5th best player in the league and we?re complaining about how much and how long he signed for and we?re having mock drafts of other players in the league.

For f?s sake enjoy the good times. This won?t last forever. Seriously get your heads out of your asses people.

Well done. I think some "fans" would find the negative if the Leafs won the cup ffs. Enjoy the ride people.

It took 7 games!!!

 

[TimKerr]

If/when we lose people this offseason it's not because Matthews got $1mil more than what we wanted. It's because Marleau and Zaitsev make probably double what they should be earning.

EXACTLY!!!!! As an outsider looking in, it?s pretty obvious that stupid Marelau contract is what put the team in a cap crunch.  But somehow Lou skated away scot free and Dubas is roasted as a bad negotiator

 

[Kin]

Of course I am, but getting him signed was inevitable and I think they overpaid and under-termed on it just as I feel they overpaid Nylander.

Again, think that all you want but that's still not really a criticism. It's just saying you would have liked a better result. Any time the Leafs sign a player we'd all like it to be as advantageous as possible to the team but absent saying specifically what should have been done to yield a better result it's less criticism than it is complaining.

 

[gunnar36]

A guy like kapanen? Are you kidding me?

Why would I be kidding? He is one of the core young assets on this team.

 

[Joe S.]

A guy like kapanen? Are you kidding me?

Why would I be kidding? He is one of the core young assets on this team.

No he isn?t. He?s a nice to have, in no way is he a core player. That?s like calling Sergei berezin a core player.

 

[hockeyfan1]

I have to say, I?m very disappointed in a lot of you. This is why we, as a fan base are so often mocked.

The team locked up, a centre, that is no worse than the 5th best player in the league and we?re complaining about how much and how long he signed for and we?re having mock drafts of other players in the league.

For f?s sake enjoy the good times. This won?t last forever. Seriously get your heads out of your asses people.

Well said.

 

[hockeyfan1]

The best is getting better...

Source:  @jonasseigal

 

[Fanatic]

From the great guys at CapFriendly:

I know you had emailed about this so I wanted to send you a quick email in order to close the loop.

Initially, it was reported that Matthews salary in 2021-22 was $10.450,000 ($750,000 Base + $9,700,000 Signing Bonus). However, we?ve confirmed that his Signing Bonus in 2021-22 is actually $9,720,000, and that extra unreported $20,000 is what was causing the issue.

If you take a look now, you?ll see that we now show Matthews AAV as being $11,634,000

 

[Strangelove]

I have to say, I?m very disappointed in a lot of you. This is why we, as a fan base are so often mocked.

The team locked up, a centre, that is no worse than the 5th best player in the league and we?re complaining about how much and how long he signed for and we?re having mock drafts of other players in the league.

For f?s sake enjoy the good times. This won?t last forever. Seriously get your heads out of your asses people.

I don't think anyone is unhappy that he signed and I'm pretty sure everyone is stoked that the team is doing well. Many are just questioning whether the deal could/should have been better.

I agree with Carleton that the biggest problem(s) right now, as far as fitting all the important pieces under the cap, are the Marleau/Zaitsev deals. If Dubas could somehow manage to offload Zaitsev's contract, that would be a huge help.

 

[Highlander]

I have to say, I?m very disappointed in a lot of you. This is why we, as a fan base are so often mocked.

The team locked up, a centre, that is no worse than the 5th best player in the league and we?re complaining about how much and how long he signed for and we?re having mock drafts of other players in the league.

For f?s sake enjoy the good times. This won?t last forever. Seriously get your heads out of your asses people.

Well said Joe S, you hit it out of the park.  Seriously what the frik do I really care about, watching the Leafs playing great hockey. They are for the most part and getting better.  Yes I want to see one more Cup at least before I hit the happy hunting ground, but in all honesty I and the rest of us have absolutely no control over what happens with management so why worry about what we can't control.  I understand its all banter and blah blah blah but it really means absolutely zero. I would rather mindlessly tune it out and just watch the games.  I don't remember when I was younger paying any attention to anything except the on ice product.

 

[Joe S.]

I don't think anyone is unhappy that he signed and I'm pretty sure everyone is stoked that the team is doing well. Many are just questioning whether the deal could/should have been better.

Posts in this thread would indicate otherwise.

 

[Zee]

I don't think anyone is unhappy that he signed and I'm pretty sure everyone is stoked that the team is doing well. Many are just questioning whether the deal could/should have been better.

Posts in this thread would indicate otherwise.

Like where? People are complaining that the cap hit was too high for the term. I get the "you don't worry about overpaying your stars" argument but why is Matthews worth 11.6 when you only buy 1 year of UFA? His deal is actually expiring before McDavid and Eichel, it doesn't make sense in that regard.

5 year term should have been under 11, say 10.6M so they have another million to work with. Had this deal been 6 years x 11.6 I think it's fine because you keep Tavares and Matthews together for 7 full playoff runs including this season.

 

[OldTimeHockey]

I don't think anyone is unhappy that he signed and I'm pretty sure everyone is stoked that the team is doing well. Many are just questioning whether the deal could/should have been better.

Posts in this thread would indicate otherwise.

Like where? People are complaining that the cap hit was too high for the term. I get the "you don't worry about overpaying your stars" argument but why is Matthews worth 11.6 when you only buy 1 year of UFA? His deal is actually expiring before McDavid and Eichel, it doesn't make sense in that regard.

5 year term should have been under 11, say 10.6M so they have another million to work with. Had this deal been 6 years x 11.6 I think it's fine because you keep Tavares and Matthews together for 7 full playoff runs including this season.

What is your reasoning behind the 10.6? Also, why the obsession with Eichel?  He had two mediocre seasons(his term, not mine) and then extended for $10 million/season. He's playing well this year, but that's not when he was given 10 million a year. In fact, prior to this season, he's never even been at a ppg. Hindsight is nice and all, but it's not exactly a bargaining tool to get a lower salary.

 

[Zee]

I don't think anyone is unhappy that he signed and I'm pretty sure everyone is stoked that the team is doing well. Many are just questioning whether the deal could/should have been better.

Posts in this thread would indicate otherwise.

Like where? People are complaining that the cap hit was too high for the term. I get the "you don't worry about overpaying your stars" argument but why is Matthews worth 11.6 when you only buy 1 year of UFA? His deal is actually expiring before McDavid and Eichel, it doesn't make sense in that regard.

5 year term should have been under 11, say 10.6M so they have another million to work with. Had this deal been 6 years x 11.6 I think it's fine because you keep Tavares and Matthews together for 7 full playoff runs including this season.

What is your reasoning behind the 10.6? Also, why the obsession with Eichel?  He had two mediocre seasons(his term, not mine) and then extended for $10 million/season. He's playing well this year, but that's not when he was given 10 million a year. In fact, prior to this season, he's never even been at a ppg. Hindsight is a nice and all, but it's not exactly a bargaining tool to get a lower salary.

My reasoning is 11.6 and over 14% of the cap is too high a price to pay while getting only 1 UFA year.  Had he signed for 10.6, he's still ahead of Eichel in both salary and cap %.  Say what you want about Eichel, but he's on a value deal now, and he's given up 4 UFA years.  Matthews only gave up 1.  That alone should have let the Leafs save on the cap hit.  It may not seem like a big difference, but it has a trickle down effect, especially with Marner.

 

[mr grieves]

This isn't Matthews-specific, really, but I don't see a better thread for the observation, so here will do.

It's interesting how much history trend-setting the Leafs have been making doing with their big contracts over the last year:

• Tavares -- among the first drafted & developed elite players to leave his team, which some (Jonas and Mirtle) speculate might change the way elite talent looks at contracts (less for term and security, more for chances to win)
• Nylander -- longest RFA holdout in the cap era, which plenty have pointed to as a signing that might presage a bunch of similarly talented RFAs holding out after their entry level deals (the list is long)
• Matthews -- the top-line number is notable, though only McDavid/Eichel-esque, which isn't really news. The bonus structure is notable too, but unlikely to set a trend since few teams have the Leafs revenue streams to afford that. But the reversion to the relatively short-term deals that we saw after the first lockout is notable: hasn't happened in a while, and a lot of players who can command big money might be moving toward this term deal.

I wonder what, if any, interesting trend the Marner deal sets. Seems unlikely we're heading toward either a max-term, high-dollar deal or a conventional bridge deal.

 

[Zee]

This isn't Matthews-specific, really, but I don't see a better thread for the observation, so here will do.

It's interesting how much history trend-setting the Leafs have been making doing with their big contracts over the last year:

• Tavares -- among the first drafted & developed elite players to leave his team, which some (Jonas and Mirtle) speculate might change the way elite talent looks at contracts (less for term and security, more for chances to win)
  Nylander -- longest RFA holdout in the cap era, which plenty have pointed to as a signing that might presage a bunch of similarly talented RFAs holding out after their entry level deals (the list is long)
  Matthews -- the top-line number is notable, though only McDavid/Eichel-esque, which isn't really news. The bonus structure is notable too, but unlikely to set a trend since few teams have the Leafs revenue streams to afford that. But the reversion to the relatively short-term deals that we saw after the first lockout is notable: hasn't happened in a while, and a lot of players who can command big money might be moving toward this term deal.

I wonder what, if any, interesting trend the Marner deal sets. Seems unlikely we're heading toward either a max-term, high-dollar deal or a conventional bridge deal.

With the exception of Tavares, who took less to sign with the Leafs, it seems like Dubas is fine paying market value for his star players and not getting any sort of "discount" as players on other teams have done in the past.  We look at the Nylander deal, he waits a full 2 months to sign it, and it comes in at 6.9, which is right about what everyone thought his value was.  It's a good deal for Nylander, especially when you consider all the bonus money paid.  Matthews, while 11.6 is a good cap number for him, doesn't give up any significant amount of UFA years, so again, it's a good deal for the player and not the team.  I can't see Marner being any different. He'll expect to be paid accordingly, and not give any sort of break whatsoever, be that on cap hit, or UFA years.

Look, I'm happy these guys are Leafs, but I'd like management to be able to do what other teams have done and get some sort of a  break while signing players. Otherwise it puts the Leafs at a disadvantage going forward.  If the Leafs are the only team in the league that can't seem to convince players to take less (or give up more UFA years), then the Leafs are absolutely at a disadvantage.  You would think the fact the Leafs are able to pay upwards of 95% of the contract in bonus money, making it lockout proof would be another advantage they could use to get the cap hit or term more in their favour, but again, it seems this makes no difference. 

 

[Kin]

The above post just proves how skewed the concept of value is in the league. There's no legitimate metric by which Tavares "deserves" 11 million or to be the second highest paid player in the league but because he was on the open market and took higher offers then his contract, which does not reflect his production, is somehow a discount.

Meanwhile, Matthews, who has outproduced Tavares at every step of the way during his time in the league, signs for slightly more than Tavares but somehow that's not a fair reflection of his value because...well, we don't know what offers he may have received on any market, even the limited RFA market, because he didn't let it get that far.

There is no fair and applicable standard to which these contracts are being measured. It's just childish whining because they think someone elses ice cream cone looks better.

 

[TimKerr]

This isn't Matthews-specific, really, but I don't see a better thread for the observation, so here will do.

It's interesting how much history trend-setting the Leafs have been making doing with their big contracts over the last year:

• Tavares -- among the first drafted & developed elite players to leave his team, which some (Jonas and Mirtle) speculate might change the way elite talent looks at contracts (less for term and security, more for chances to win)
  Nylander -- longest RFA holdout in the cap era, which plenty have pointed to as a signing that might presage a bunch of similarly talented RFAs holding out after their entry level deals (the list is long)
  Matthews -- the top-line number is notable, though only McDavid/Eichel-esque, which isn't really news. The bonus structure is notable too, but unlikely to set a trend since few teams have the Leafs revenue streams to afford that. But the reversion to the relatively short-term deals that we saw after the first lockout is notable: hasn't happened in a while, and a lot of players who can command big money might be moving toward this term deal.

I wonder what, if any, interesting trend the Marner deal sets. Seems unlikely we're heading toward either a max-term, high-dollar deal or a conventional bridge deal.

With the exception of Tavares, who took less to sign with the Leafs, it seems like Dubas is fine paying market value for his star players and not getting any sort of "discount" as players on other teams have done in the past.  We look at the Nylander deal, he waits a full 2 months to sign it, and it comes in at 6.9, which is right about what everyone thought his value was.  It's a good deal for Nylander, especially when you consider all the bonus money paid.  Matthews, while 11.6 is a good cap number for him, doesn't give up any significant amount of UFA years, so again, it's a good deal for the player and not the team.  I can't see Marner being any different. He'll expect to be paid accordingly, and not give any sort of break whatsoever, be that on cap hit, or UFA years.

Look, I'm happy these guys are Leafs, but I'd like management to be able to do what other teams have done and get some sort of a  break while signing players. Otherwise it puts the Leafs at a disadvantage going forward.  If the Leafs are the only team in the league that can't seem to convince players to take less (or give up more UFA years), then the Leafs are absolutely at a disadvantage.  You would think the fact the Leafs are able to pay upwards of 95% of the contract in bonus money, making it lockout proof would be another advantage they could use to get the cap hit or term more in their favour, but again, it seems this makes no difference.

So just to be clear when Eichel signed his contract, it was probably higher than he was worth but now that he has had a great season, his contract is considered a value contract by you. So next year if Nylander gets 30 goals, do you get to call his contract a value contract as well or did the Leafs still overpay?

And again, to CTB's point, if Zaitsev and Marleau aren't on the books with those ridiculous contracts, then no one bats an eye at the Nylander/Matthews/Marner signings.

 

[Zee]

This isn't Matthews-specific, really, but I don't see a better thread for the observation, so here will do.

It's interesting how much history trend-setting the Leafs have been making doing with their big contracts over the last year:

• Tavares -- among the first drafted & developed elite players to leave his team, which some (Jonas and Mirtle) speculate might change the way elite talent looks at contracts (less for term and security, more for chances to win)
  Nylander -- longest RFA holdout in the cap era, which plenty have pointed to as a signing that might presage a bunch of similarly talented RFAs holding out after their entry level deals (the list is long)
  Matthews -- the top-line number is notable, though only McDavid/Eichel-esque, which isn't really news. The bonus structure is notable too, but unlikely to set a trend since few teams have the Leafs revenue streams to afford that. But the reversion to the relatively short-term deals that we saw after the first lockout is notable: hasn't happened in a while, and a lot of players who can command big money might be moving toward this term deal.

I wonder what, if any, interesting trend the Marner deal sets. Seems unlikely we're heading toward either a max-term, high-dollar deal or a conventional bridge deal.

With the exception of Tavares, who took less to sign with the Leafs, it seems like Dubas is fine paying market value for his star players and not getting any sort of "discount" as players on other teams have done in the past.  We look at the Nylander deal, he waits a full 2 months to sign it, and it comes in at 6.9, which is right about what everyone thought his value was.  It's a good deal for Nylander, especially when you consider all the bonus money paid.  Matthews, while 11.6 is a good cap number for him, doesn't give up any significant amount of UFA years, so again, it's a good deal for the player and not the team.  I can't see Marner being any different. He'll expect to be paid accordingly, and not give any sort of break whatsoever, be that on cap hit, or UFA years.

Look, I'm happy these guys are Leafs, but I'd like management to be able to do what other teams have done and get some sort of a  break while signing players. Otherwise it puts the Leafs at a disadvantage going forward.  If the Leafs are the only team in the league that can't seem to convince players to take less (or give up more UFA years), then the Leafs are absolutely at a disadvantage.  You would think the fact the Leafs are able to pay upwards of 95% of the contract in bonus money, making it lockout proof would be another advantage they could use to get the cap hit or term more in their favour, but again, it seems this makes no difference.

So just to be clear when Eichel signed his contract, it was probably higher than he was worth but now that he has had a great season, his contract is considered a value contract by you. So next year if Nylander gets 30 goals, do you get to call his contract a value contract as well or did the Leafs still overpay?

And again, to CTB's point, if Zaitsev and Marleau aren't on the books with those ridiculous contracts, then no one bats an eye at the Nylander/Matthews/Marner signings.

Eichel was nearly a point a game in his 2nd season, I don't think it was overvalued for him based on where he was projecting.  Also, he signed for 8, that cap hit % goes down significantly each year as the cap rises.  Sabres win because of those 4 UFA years Eichel committed to them.