Not to mention endorsement opportunities in Toronto compared to other markets.

1000% there is no reason from this guy. He's just a troll that loves to chirp other fans. There is zero reasoning or logic behind his statements, he just likes seeing people get triggered.

TO's ability to use bonus money up front nullifies any tax disadvantage they have, also being one of the craziest hockey markets in the league, the endorsement possibilities are a lot higher as well. They are very comparable and it can be argued who's better. The media and fan angst has been one of the biggest contributors of his skyrocketing price. I think their scenarios are somewhat similar but Aho doesn't play for a top market so his global appeal is lower than Marner. Regardless of all that, Ferris is a joke and is going to lose.

Tavares cracks 50 with Aho.

lol

What?

Mack didnt sign his contract last year, Matthews and Tavares did. Marner is as good as both of them and is smart to ask for the same amount as they got

Pot, meet kettle.

two 40+ goal scoring centers are comparable to a 25g winger

If you do it by percentage, He should be making 7 million

I disagree, I have opinions that I enjoy discussing but I have stats and information to back up my opinions. Sure they can be argued and that is why we have discussions, the other guy though just says, stuff to make people mad, is demeaning to everyone and gets off when people get annoyed with him. People can disagree without both sides being trolls but trolls are trolls because they enjoy making people upset. I don't want anyone to be upset.

Toronto? No no, I think you have this confused. Montreal would be in the same boat as well as well as some other teams, its just that situation is currently on the Leafs so naturally the spotlight seems brighter right now than it would be on any of the other teams that would face the same problem. Tampa and those other teams have an artificial leg up on every team, make no mistake about it. The NHL is letting it happen but its an absolute farce and everyone knows it is but since its benefiting a bunch of sun belt american teams, the ones that need it the most, they're allowing it.

Where is there a rule that if the team signing has less tax, they don't have to pay as much bonus and vice versa? Was this a rule setup in the CBA or something? Seguin plays in Dallas and gets a lot of his money in bonus. Signing bonus is just a tool to negotiate, its not given factor that a team or player have CBA'd.

My comment was directed at why does Toronto automatically get the option? Its a free a market and just because the guys in Tampa are all living it up and willing to take less, its pissing the rest of us off when our players don't. Marner might be getting greedy but he sure has the right to say he gets taxed more in Toronto so whichever comparable you use that doesn't, they'll need compensate for. The bonus money is simply a sticking point like extra vacation time for us simple folk. Its not prerequisite that because that one job you had a couple years ago gave you 5 weeks off that every company has to follow suite but you know what? It certainly will sway you if the do.

THIS IS HIS THREAD MORON. You coming on here, posting multiple times and calling him a troll is a tad ironic, no?

most rational comment on here these days.

Aho signed the offersheet because he wanted to play, Dundon had been very very vocal about matching any potential offersheets. Aho knew it would have been matched, so he signed it to make sure he was playing in September

Not quite, because the bonuses a player gets offered, if they earn them, also gets taxed. It gets taxed to a higher percentage and raises the cap hit of the player, so that bring it back to the lower tax rate in the US. He may not like playing with all the pressure of what you called "one of the craziest hockey markets", Aho plays in Carolina, a small market, he doesn't have that pressure. Aho doesn't need the endorsments because his dad is Karpat GM, he is used as an Icon for the NHL in Karpat, it's a differtent situation entirely, it's why they are not comparable

Yea I'd say the Leafs scoring leader over the past two years deserves as much as anyone else on the team

Does anyone actually believe that beyond Paul Marner? Marner is terrific, don't get me wrong, I think he's an elite player and a star. Personally, I think he's better than Rantanen, but more than a step behind Point. I think Aho is probably right there with Marner or better considering he's a centre. Is he as good as Tavares? No, Tavares is the centre and controls so much more of the play. Is he as good as Matthews? No and it isn't close, Matthews is a generational goal scoring centre who will win multiple rocket richards and will likely lead his team in points every year he is healthy. Marner is really good but he's Draisaitl compared to McDavid, a great player but not really close to the real star on his team.

Buddy, Marner plays in a big market, maybe he doesn't like the pressure. Aho has stated he loves not having that kind of pressure on him to go out and put up 50-50 for 100 every damn season, he can have fun on the ice. Being a big market doesn't always help. Again as I stated, Aho has endorsments in Finland, his dad is Karpat GM so he is seen as a Finnish Icon out there for the NHL. He also signed the offersheet in Montreal to play in Carolina that's well documented, the player, agent and team have said this. It's 900k more in Carolina than elsewhere.

My point here is they just aren't comparable. Also.... Aho was better after April 10th than Marner

I mean if you're the top scoring player on your team for back to back years you have a pretty good argument for being the best player on your team.

Because they can afford it. Most teams can't afford to pay players tens of millions of dollars up front. They just don't have the budget. Tax free states can give guys more take home money which allows them to have a bit lower of a cap hit. Teams that are small market but have higher taxes are at a disadvantage since they can't afford to pay major bonus money. Some of the teams with lower taxes can't afford the signing bonuses so all they can do is use the tax implication.

This has all been widely discussed and there was a story on Sportsnet a while ago where some GM and Owners are getting upset because TO is giving everyone big bonus money. Kapanen and Johnsson get most of their money up front and they are just depth guys. That is a huge advantage, as big as tax free states. Tampa for example is a stable franchise but not by anyones imagination rich, they may be able to give some bonus money to their players but would only justify it for the best of their players. And still those bonus money packages pail in comparison to what TO can do.

As some people have already stated, the comparables with the least variables are Marner's team mates in Toronto. This eliminates variables such as different economic situations, team mates, team's style of play, coaching, management philosophy on paying players, etc. Matthews certainly have the edge because he is a center (more responsibility defensively) and puts the puck in the net more. Marner kills penalties (one can argue instead of resting on the bench getting ready to go out and play at full strength you spend energy and lose ice time having to play short handed). Marner is more durable. Matthews signed when cap was a little lower Use Matthews as a base line, subtract roughly 1 million off for the pros and cons factors, he should get roughly 10.5 for 5-6 years.

So Aho deserves more than Marner?

In the years that Malkin outscored Crosby, was there an argument that Crosby wasn't the best player on his team or the best player in the world?

Teams like Carolina who matched the Aho contract?....... I don't presume to know the finances of the rich and you shouldn't to. I think those teams can't offer it as much as the big teams can but when push comes to shove, they think "signing that cheque is no big deal for me". - Tom Dundon.

Now if the entire team wanted all their money right away, i think that may be a little different but we all know not every player can negotiate to have their money up front either. Its always the bigger name players really and every team only has 1 or two of them anyway.