Its very possible if you sign Marner for what he deserves which is the same or a little less than Aho at 8.5 x5 years

Not really. Matthews, Tavares and Nylander are all earning more than they deserve.

Matthews is making 12 million, should be making 10.5.
Tavares is making 11, should be making 10.
Nylander is making 7, should be making 6.
Marner should be making 8.5, why can’t people accept that he deserves 9+? He is better than Skinner who got the same amount.

Tavares was a UFA and a top 5 goal scorer, top 10 point scorer over the 6 years previous to his contract, undisputed number 1 C in his prime who was offered significantly larger contracts elsewhere. He is not over paid.

Nylander is probably overpaid by about 1/2 mil. 6.5 I don't think anyone blinks at.

Matthews is the difficult one. I thought he deserved about what he got (11.6 not 12) but on an 8 year deal not a 5 year deal. At 5 years I agree it should have been more mid 10s. He is a generational goal scorer, a centre, and a franchise player. The only real knock against him has been his injury history.

Also you need to understand the difference between UFA and RFA. Skinner is not a fair comparison for that simple reason. Its a different world

I understand the factor that comes into play between RFA and UFA. However, I don’t think that should be a major factor as players should mainly be payed based off their ability and nothing else. And in terms of ability, Marner is better than Skinner by quite a distance, so even if he is an RFA there is no reason for him to make less.

UFA vs RFA should absolutely make a difference because the reasons UFA's get so much more is that other's can offer them a higher contract.

While someone can offer Marner the 11.6 million that Panarin got, to give it to Panarin it just costs that 11.6. To give it to Marner you have to pay that 11.6 AND give up FOUR first round picks.

A UFA gets more money because they have more people interested. Its basic economics.

Look at baseball. VERY few players crack about 8 million dollars per year maybe 12 million before unrestricted free agency. In unrestricted free agency if someone can be a starting pitcher they start at 10 million dollars.

RFA's get significantly less and they shouldn't be compared to UFA's.

Well, I think Marner in terms of ability is on the same level as Panarin. Since he is an RFA and you say he should get significantly less than Panarin’s 12 million, then 9 million is more than fair for Marner, he?

Sure. For 6 or more years.

As I've said elsewhere

2 years 7.5 mil (bridge contract)
3 years 8 mil (bridge contract)
4 years 7.5 mil (best length for him/worst for Leafs as walks him to free agency)
5 years 8.5 mil
6 years 9 mil
7 years 9.5 mil
8 years 10 mil