Matthews is getting min 12 million / Marner min 9 million both for 8 years

Numbers are still too high.
Kucherov sets the bar for a 3 year bridge at 4.77, so let's work off of that.
Matthews @ 5+5+5+12+12+12=51 51÷6=8.5
Marner @ 4.5+4.5+4.5+9+9+9=40.5 40.5÷6=6.75

Since Nylander already got 41.4M, let's add 5 million for Marner just for fun which brings him in at 7.58 and let's round Matthews up to 9M per. Those are realistic for 6 year deals.

Stick with the habs.

He isnt wrong, Mathews is gonna use Draistle and McDavid as comparisons and Marner will use Kucherov, both guys are gonna get paid a good amount and Leafs dknt do it some other team will with an offer sheet

You must be a delusional leafs fan or have no clue how salary cap works everything is based off of percentage of the cap at 83 million Matthews at 12 million only accounts for roughly 14.4% of cap McDavid when he signed his contract accounted for 16.6% of cap .. Matthews is a generational talent like Crosby and mcdavid so he’s going to get a huge contract you’re crazy to think otherwise

Gardiner isn't so important to Leaf that he disrupts the cap and means getting rid of two forwards.
LHD is where the Leafs do have depth a future. Gardiner is would nice to half but c'mon for seven more years?

Matthews at minimal is 8 x 12 and Marner minimal is 8 x 9.5 the Kucherov deal. Those figures are just to get the ball rolling.

Your argument begins and ends when you suggest Marner is in Kucherov's wheelhouse. He's not. And he won't come close on this contract.

If he gets over 90 points, he will be. Kucherov also took less money because of Floridas tax laws, not something Toronto can sell players on

Matthews is in the second tier of players along with Stamkos and Tavares. And I know all about the salary cap percentages, you just don't know how they come up with the numbers.

This thread was about 6 year contracts. Everyone overlooks that when they spout their opinions.

There are teams that spend for the sake of spending a la Edmonton and Buffalo and then there are contenders that understand value in their deals. Both players will get paid but the idea that Matthews is worth more than 11-12% of the cap is the same thinking that has Edmonton missing the playoffs and trading better players for cheaper contracts. It makes no sense and it's something that losers do.

Kucherov has a significantly larger body of work and more goal scoring to his credit. He took what Tampa could afford to pay their best player and he did so to stay on a team that is great.
Marner is good but he's in another class of player.

If the two forwards are Brown and Hyman, it's an easy trade. Would any team trade their #2 Dman for Brown and Hyman? No. So trading easily replaceable depth forwards is a no brainer.

Notice how much more the #1 line is scoring without Hyman? It's beautiful.

Kucherov took a bridge deal, that's the only difference. Marner will have put more points in his ELC then Kucherov did, so we will wait and see. This off season with RFAs will dictate a lot going forward, does the league go away from bridge contracts, do young players like rantanen, marner, Mathews and Liane all of sudden set the bar with big money coming out of ELCs, it's a wait and see game but with McDavid and Draistle going for long term big money contracts I can see more young players going that route

3 years from now we can have a clearer comparison between Kucherov and Marner. Pastrnak is a better comp right now and maybe Draisaitl as well.
There are some great players in their early twenties on some great contracts and there are a couple with some big numbers. I'm dying for this next generation to get signed so this debate can get put to bed.

I cant wait for it to be over but we may watching the downfall of the league. The next lockout might just be because these kids are getting so much money before thier even 25. Eventually there is going to be pitfalls for teams signing such big contracts so young, next couple years will dictate how the business aspect works its self out. League is more talented than ever though and it's just plain fun to watch.

Couldn't agree more. Hyman is a great forechecker and an important guy on this team, but he is replaceable. T. Moore looks to have the same hustle to me, with better hands - he just doesn't have the experience. So give him some expereince. Same goes for Grundstrom, Marchmant, etc. I think people sometimes forget that Hyman and Brown were kinda lost in the wilderness until they were given a shot in 2016. When its time to move on from some guys for Cap reasons (and only becasue of cap reasons), Babs will need to give other guys some opportunities, just like he did the when the leafs had like 8 rookies and made the palyoffs. I'm on the fence with Gardiner resigning - I think both he and the leafs want to make it happen - but I'd take Gards over Hyman and Brown anyday all day

I think it could create some tension within the players union as well. You gotta wonder how this all sits with the UFAs that have been around and put in their dues. I think something that gets missed with super RFAs taking big slices of the pie in a cap world is how the middle class of players gets squeezed. And how there isn't much to any security for middle class guys hitting their 30s and who can still play the game, but might get squeezed out because it makes more sense for a team to go with guys on Elcs in order to stay in cap compliance. The players union takes their position based on the vote from the membership. There are still more middle class members than the elite right now... but that is changing.

you are delusional if you think either player takes a bridge deal. Also, he signed that deal like 4 years ago when he was a 60 point guy, not a 100 point guy or almost a goal per game guy

We are looking at a very small percentage of players who are getting these deals.

Guys like Mackinnon and Scheifele who signed these deals early look like absolute steals right now. The 2 new franchises (Vegas and soon to be Seattle) are giving the owners some cash infusions and will spread out the players a tiny bit (an extra 160 millionish in salary a year if they spend to or near the cap).

Yes, the league needs to grow, yes some things need to change, but the first step was stopping the kovalchuk/parise/weber 13-17 year contracts and gaming the cap, the recapture penalties and 35+ contracts help too. What the major change, I think is that more and more players are playing at 18, 19 and 20 years old which allow them to put up numbers worthy of contracts that buy out their UFA years.

If the McDavids, Eichels, Marners, Matthews etc perform well (as they are), these deals will seem like bargains in 4-5 years, just like malkin, crosby etc.

I'd love for them both to get bridged but I don't think it will happen nor did I say it would. Everyone is fixated on 8 year deals whereas this thread was about a 6 year term with a lower AAV. 5 or 6 year deals are just as likely, perhaps more so than 8 year deals because of the cap situation.

Everyone points at Eichel and McDavid but forget that both of those teams had no one else to worry about and were both in terrible shape.

How often does anyone mention Lindholm? Hardly at all. He does his job, is a good depth player and more importantly, isn't playing out of his depth. Same now for the most part with Brown. Hyman causes debate because he is playing out of his depth and therefore people choose to defend his basic attributes as though he is the only player in the league that can hustle and forecheck. That stuff is as much a part of hockey as skating.

There are better players not only playing lower in the lineup on the Leafs, but also on the farm and these guys are 2-3M cheaper.

When the backend is the team's weakness, is letting Gardiner walk without a replacement or upgrade even an option?

Agreed. Babs can drive me nuts sometimes because it seems like he's playing favorites. Hard to argue with the results but it doesn't take much to realize Hyman (and Brown) is a favourite son. The coming cap crunch is going to force soome decisions based on the merits of team strength vs weakness. The leafs are flush up front, and I agree that there is depth on the Marlies that could step in for the $2M + Brown /Hyman if given the opportunity. Plus, the leafs are going to need to fill out the roster with Elcs in order to make the cap work moving forward.

Losing Gard will hurt given the d corps makeup. Lots of people think that Dermott can fill in for Gards, and I think he could, but then who fills in for Dermott on the third pairing, which depsite last night's perfomance has been a relative strength. I'd like to see Dert eventually move to Mo's rightside, Gards/z stay in place (lots of people have pointed out now that they are actually a good pair and used in a match up role) and then fill out the 3rd pairing with a combo of Rosen/Borgman with Oz until Sandin/Lilly are ready. If that works, then the unicorn RD problem might be solved in house