OK with this lineup, how does Matthews, Marner, Kapanen and others get signed under cap in 2019/20?, especially when he have a carryover Perf Bonuses in 2018/19.

Ever hear of a salary cap?

A $10m sized contract can fit on the leafs even with perf. bonuses...but only if they have a solid understanding of what Matthews and Marners' numbers will be along with where the salary cap is going. If Marner is close to 6.5-7 and Matthews is close to 10, I think it works...if those guys are closer to 9 and 12...it doesn't. And doing so means the Leafs are essentially moving forward with their current crop of d-men (or finding similarly priced replacements)....which I'm not opposed to if it means we're going Matthews-Tavares-Kadri up the middle...but it's just part of the strategy discussion

something called the salary cap which the league introduced in 05 I belive. and why would tavares play behind matthews???? he's a number 1 center.

The fact that only 1 minor change has been made to our defence corp is heavily concerning. Frederick Gauthier will not be our permanent 4th line center. He is just too slow to keep up with the system that the Leafs have in place. If not Miro Aaltonen internally, I suspect they would look for a UFA option like Riley Nash, Derek Ryan or Chris Wagner or try to trade for one.

So are:
Crosby-Malkin
McDavid-Draisaitl
Kuznetzov-Backstrom

give it time and Maybe Eichel-Mittelstadt too.

As long as he's getting paid, I imagine JT will be looking for a team he can win with. I'm not saying that's the Leafs...but I don't think he'd look at teams like Toronto, San Jose, Nashville, etc. and refuse to sign there because they have a #1C in place already.

san jose has cap space. nashville and toronto don't. and i think playoff success in past years would also matter. also, crosby and mcdavid are generational talents. so jt playing behind them shouldnt be an issue. but if he plays on leafs, for sure he'd want 20 plus mins a night along with the 1c role

Everything matters...but none of us can pretend we know how JT prioritizes them.

Money
Chance to win
Playing close to home (can be a positive or negative)
Loyalty to current team
Attractiveness of the city
Role on the team
Coach/Management

I just think it's short sighted to assume he'd avoid signing with a team that has an established #1c. It's possible that being the top dog is important to him...it's also possible he would be excited to join a team where that burden is shared and more scoring opportunities may come as a result.

If it's me, if the money is the same...I'd rather play 18min a night on a championship caliber team than 22min a night for a lottery team where the entire offensive burden falls on my shoulders.

totally agree. but i just dont see him coming to toronto. my sleeper team is new jersey. even san jose.

I just posted something to this effect on another thread...but I think his mind is made up about Toronto one way or the other.

Either he's dreamed of playing in Toronto his whole life...his friends constantly encouraging him to sign here...and he's ready to sign July 1st given they give him a competitive offer....or...all the off-ice distractions of playing among friends and family, demaning tickets, criticizing your play, demanding your time/appearances, etc...makes you never want to come here no matter what.

I wouldn't be surprised in the least if he went to San Jose, Jersey...even Colorado could be a good fit.