one of these is not like the others...

last year mackinnon wouldnt even be mentioned in the same sentence as these players, but after the 2017-2018 season i had to ask

i know mackinnon is older, but does his contract ($6.3 million for 6 more years) make him more valuable than the others (who will likely make $10+ million per year)?

I would build around Nathan MacKinnon - he will be the best value contract out of the four options and will allow me to allocate the difference in funds relative to the other options to make my team stronger and well-rounded.

I also would go with MacKinnon.

Firstly, while Laine is the best scorer of all options, I would rather have a star centerman than a winger. Elite centerman who play a complete 200 foot game are hard to come by. Down to 3 options.

Let's face it: there's no way you can lock up Matthews or Eichel or any other star long-term for under $7M. Eichel's extension is kicking in at $10M, and while I don't believe there's much if any difference between Matthews and Eichel, he will probably end up with around $11-12M. Overpaid? Depends on how you look at it; that's what it takes to lock up your star guy. So when you already have a guy in the Hart trophy conversation, who's taken his team from total, dead-last embarrassment to the playoffs picture in only a season, at only $6.3M, it's safe to say MacKinnon is your best bet.

My second option, were I to have one, would be Eichel, simply because he would cost a little bit less than Matthews, while delivering around the same if not better results.

Value wise absolutely Mackinnon. Now based off of who plays the best game and who makes the team the best I would go Matthews

To me, this choice is obvious. Nate Mack is having a great rebound season, and it's almost always better to build a franchise around a Centerman than a Winger or D-man.

Nate Mack is on the better contract, allowing me to allocate my money to wingers and D-men to assist Nate.