10 mil per should be maximum on 8yr deal. Not bridge deal.. "you moron"!!

Marner won't sign a long term. He would just sign a 3 year deal to go to UFA after the 2 year

All people who don't think like me are "moron" said by a very smart guy

horrible contract

The point is that the Leafs could overpay at $10M a year and STILL be fine cap wise. I could have published this with a 2yr $7M contract for Marner and the Leafs would then have $3M cap space.

That's not how the NHL works. To be a UFA players need to be either 27 years old, or have 7 years NHL experience. Also a player cannot sign a 3 year contract and leave after 2 years.

Edit: Unless you mean he would only sign a 3 year deal with the Leafs in order be become a UFA. Why would he do that?

You missed the point completely. The point is that the Leafs could overpay Marner on a bridge deal and still be fine cap wise (assuming that Marner wants to make $11M+).

That's not what I said. A 4 year currently takes him to 7 NHL years but the Leafs would give him minimum 5 so in this scenario he just signs a 2 year then a 3 year which is the same as if he just signed a 5 year only in this scenario salaries rise and he puts up 115 points each season and now he's actually worth 11.5 - 12 and you have to pay him

If a team came in right under the 4 first rounder threshold, at 4 years taking him STRAIGHT to UFA instead of being a RFA when cap goes up, he signs that in a heartbeat. What makes more sense for MARNER? sign a 2 year deal still be an RFA 2 years away from UFA when his numbers might go down. Sign a deal taking me straight to UFA. seems pretty obvious to this moron...

Why would the Leafs agree to that? After the short term deal the Leafs would sign Marner to a long term deal and that that point the cap will be high enough that they will have the room to sign him for $11.5-12M per season. They wont allow RFA-Marner to become UFA-Marner without a long-term deal.

Now you might tell me "the Leafs won't have the room to sign him to a $12M contract." Yet, I have shown above that they could sign him to a $10M deal even with the CURRENT cap situation. Think of the room they will have when the cap goes up.

It seems obvious to you because you don't have a functioning brain.

(1) If becoming a UFA is the most important thing for Marner he doesn't need to leave the Leafs to do so. It would be better for him to stay on the offensively stacked Leafs and get his numbers up before free agency. (inb4 you tell me Marner would sign a 4yr deal with another team over the Leafs if they offer him slightly more money.)

(2) Which team has the money to offer him just under $11M per season? Now ask yourself if Marner's stats will be better with that team or playing with John Tavares on the offensively-stacked Leafs. So when he does become a UFA with that team, will his stats be better or worse than they would be with the Leafs.

(3) Which team would give up 1st round draft picks knowing that the guy will become a UFA after? Find a team that has $11M in cap space and is 4 years away from a Cup.

(4) Marner makes a lot of money from sponsorship deals. During the playoffs I couldn't turn on the TV without him trying to sell me an iPhone or some form of insurance. Very few cities offer the same sponsorship opportunities. This does matter.

(5) Marner grew up in the GTA and was a Leafs fan. Do you really think he is going to leave the team when they have a legitimate chance to win? (inb4 you tell me playing for your favourite team doesn't mean anything)

It makes no financial sense to sign him to 12x3 in 2 years just so can offer him 10x2 now. Marner will sign for 10.5x5-11x5 now so why waste an extra 1-1.5 M in cap space down the road instead of biting the bullet now

1) He would sign the offersheet and the Leafs would match 10.5x4 because without Marner the Leafs won't win a Cup because they can't replace him for this year and Marner knows that.

2) The Islanders do. They (his stats) will probably be similar as he will be playing with Matthew Barzal. Barzal got more assists than Tavares anyways and he was playing with Lee and Eberle. Tavares also benefitted from Marner which helped his goals spiking up another 10 from last season. Lee and Eberle are good but a Lee-Barzal-Marner line would be better.

3) In this scenario it is 10.5x4 so it isn't 4 1sts but say you bumped it up another 2 mil. The Islanders may be able to win a Cup with Marner and another few pieces added so they might do it. They went to round 2 this year. Marner may put them over the edge or very close to going over.

4) This is New York. Marner's popularity from Toronto and superstardom will get him tons of sponsorship opportunities even though the Isles play second fiddle to the Rangers. Kawhi will still get tons of sponsorship with the Clippers who are another club playing second fiddle (don't say this isn't relevant, it's just an example). It'll be the same with Marner.

5) With Marner the Isles could have a significant chance to win. Your right it is cool for players to play with their favorite team but Marner's done that for 3 years now and it might not even matter to him anymore

(1) Okay so which team? The Islanders? At $10.5M for four years? Do you really think that Marner would take $10.5M to play in Brooklyn in front of twelve people over taking slightly less to play in Toronto?

(2) See point (1). Also try to fit Barzal in 2020/21 if Marner is making $10.5M for the next four years and you still have to deal with the contracts of Lee, Nelson, Eberle, Bailey, Boychuck and Leddy among others.

(3) I never said they would have to give up four 1st round picks. If it is $10.5M the islanders still have to give up two 1st round picks. And by the way, the playoffs last year is in no way a good measure of success. "Islanders made it to round two so they must be close" is like saying "Carolina make it to the conference finals so they must be really close and Tampa should rebuild".

(4) It's the New York Islanders. Islanders were LAST in attendance in 2018/19. I am glad you brought up Kawhi who left Toronto to play in his HOMETOWN of Los Angeles.

(5) [Insert comment about Tavares here]

1) If it was 10.5x4 then the Leafs would match and Marner knows that

2) They could make it work. Teams always find a way to fit in superstars. Also that's the year of the expansion draft so you're going to lose salary

3) 2 1sts is a small price to pay for Marner. If the Islanders added Marner they would be close and Carolina is close. They were 8 wins away from a Cup. You know nobody would ever say Tampa should rebuild.

4) It's still New York and he can still make endorsement money especially with his past in Toronto. They were only last because there was no superstar providing a reason to show up. Marner is one of the most popular players in ther NHL and Barzal is getting better by the day.

5) Marner has already played in Toronto. Tavares hadn't when he left NYI

(1) Why would Marner risk it? If the NYI offers $10.5M the Leafs may not have the room to match and then Marner is stuck in Brooklyn for the next 4 years. There is no way that he signs an offer sheet to guarantee him an extra few hundred thousand dollars when it may cost him a chance to potentially make earn more than that through sponsorship deals, and play in his hometown.

(2) The Leafs will find a way to fit in Marner without an offer-sheet. Fair point about the expansion draft, I forgot about that.

(3) You missed the point. My point was that the playoffs last year are not a good predictor of how good a team is. The Islanders making it to the second round is completely meaningless. The playoffs were all over the map. Tampa was out in the first round; does that mean they are a bad team? No. Islanders made it to the second round; does that mean they are a good team? No. Carolina made it to the conference finals; does that mean that they are a good team? Hell no.

(4) He will not make the same amount of endorsement money in Long Island/Brooklyn especially if he becomes hated by Leafs fans. Islanders are second fiddle to the Rangers and are last in attendance in the NHL. They do not have a large fan base. Hockey is by far the number one sport in Canada and Toronto is the number one team. Hockey is number four in the United States (number five if you separate College football and the NFL). The sponsorship opportunities are much greater in Toronto.

(5) Tavares was offered more money by both San Jose and the Islanders to sign there. He left money on the table to play for his favourite team. Marner will leave money on the table to play for his favourite team if necessary (and if he leaves money on the table, it really wont be that much as evident by the roster I made above and by the sponsorship deals available to him in Toronto). Being a Leafs fan is like an addiction; it is hard to quit. The Leafs were bad for a very long time and still sold out every game. There is no way that Marner throws away his loyalty to his favourite team, especially because they have so much potential right now.

I feel like our argument as started to reach common ground now...

Unlike Marner's with the Leafs!

Soon! Don't you worry, Marner will sign with the Leafs, no offer sheet necessary!

Thanks for being a good sport.