Quoting: nchest
Lol, Matthews is a two way centre who can put up 50 goals. He is a generational talent and Marner is a superstar, there is a difference. Marner got his points playing with another generational talent in Tavares. Matthews put up his points playing really with 3rd liners as he barely played with Nylander.
He likely doesn't sign for 2 years, but he is not better then Matthews
Both players are highly elite, and arguments could be made for either side because of all their positive attributes.
Matthews' goal scoring abilities are generational, but he's no where near being considered a 2-way centre - he can't even kill penalties and his defending skills and coverage abilities are mediocre at best. Matthews, though, does put up great numbers on his own which is very impressive.
Marner complements players extremely well, and in just three years has now gotten several players career highs in points and goals (Hyman, JVR, Tavares, Kadri, and Bozak). I've seen this narrative before (i.e., it's only cause he plays with Tavares) and my counter-argument would be that for the first time Marner got put on a line with someone who has the same level of hockey IQ that he has. They played off of each other extremely well and both hit career highs.
Two years would never happen - too much to risk if an injury occurs. It'll be somewhere between 5-6 years so he can have another massive contract opportunity in his prime. And Marner is totally entitled for wanting that, as Dubas set the precedent for the Matthews' deal by giving him 5 years at 11.6 million AAV. People shouldn't hate on Marner - be frustrated at Dubas for allowing RFAs to out-leverage him when he actually held all the power in the first place (i.e., no arb rights, etc.).
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