Joined: Apr. 2018
Posts: 1,365
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As a percentage of the cap hit, it's pretty comparable to what Crosby or Malkin signed when they signed their initial 5 year deals. It only buys 1 year of UFA, but I don't think it's awful.
But I am really against the recent trend of signing every 22 year old RFA to an 8 year deal. It's obvious that getting Matthews for 8 years would have been crippling for the Leafs for the next couple of years. The term makes sense to try to give the Leafs as much cap flexibility as they can.
If they win a Cup in the next 6 years it will be worth it