Quoting: Bcarlo25
Yaaaa marner at under 9 is wishful thinking. Under 7? Laughable
If there's a choice between Nylander at $6.75 and Marner at $7. Dubas would know he should keep Nylander. Anything beyond $500k more for Marner than Nylander, and Dubas knows he needs to refuse
The last time the Leafs paid someone like Crosby, it was Kessel at $8x8. He was a tier below, so it was a mistake.
There's just a cliff between the elite, and very good players in the league. Elite players can double the output of a very good player, so it's reasonable to pay them double the money.
Edmonton sees that now, not with McDavid, but by paying anybody -- Draisatl in this case -- in that no man's land range of $7 to $10 million.
Anything above about $7 and you need to be among the best in the league at your role, which means the best on your team, but there's 2 guys on the Leafs that will always be better than Marner.
I'm not saying it's impossible, but I will be shocked if Marner gets 8 from Dubas. I'll even be surprised if he gets more than 7 tbh.