Steve Simmons is an embarrassment to the representation of Toronto media. This is not the first time they ran a star out of this organization, specifically, Phil Kessel. I won't be surprised if Matthews does not re-sign in four years from now.

😮

I hate to say it but I agree. Media can be very damaging.
Ottawa is biggest example. Running an owner out of town because they found ways to blame him for a lot more than is actually deserved. Karlsson Hoffman issue, cab video, list goes on.

Matthews is singing with Leafs in 4 years. But like Simmons is a dickhead ****bag piece of human garbage.

Matthews is going to Arizona.

I think it’s really not right that Mathews is the only player to be reported for virus.... I wouldn’t be happy about that if I was him. Privacy matters

The fact that Matthews sign the minimum years towards FA, show to me that he won’t be there after his contract

I also hate to say this, but, in Matthews final year, the Leafs should consider trading him. Imagine the assets we could get. I don't want this to become the John Tavares situation but for the Leafs.

Pretty sure 4 years was the min. Regardless, it's the smart thing for him to do, signing a shorter contract, whether he wants to leave or not. Cap will have gone up and he'll still be in his mid/late 20's. It's very possible he'll be the highest paid player in the league on that next deal.

He isn't going anywhere. Matthews himself said he was willing to go longer term but the team and him found a compromise that both sides liked. He loves the spotlight and now that the coach isn't a big asshole he's resigning. This is just fan angst and troll nation wanting them to fail.

Tavares said the same thing when he was with the Islanders.

Yup, players definitely never lie about wanting to stay with the team that drafted them. Remind me again how the leafs got Tavares? And why do leaf fans always think people are trolling if there is something said that is slightly negative? My guess is fragile egos

seriously, how many times does it have to be said that tavares was the exception? Like this never happens except one time where it was the perfect storm of bad current team, great new team opportunity.
Unless the leafs nuke matthews remaining years here and arizona is on a meteoric rise he isn't going anywhere

how many other players said it and re-signed ?

I think it would be awesome to see him go to arizona. A star like that could really help boost that franchise and bring hockey to a new area and population

The Toronto media honestly isn’t that bad if you’re a member of the team. They generally love the team, and don’t criticize them at all (other than a few people). This is unlike the majority of the habs media, who hate on every single decision the team ever makes.

He might sign in Arizona, but if he does, it’s not going to be because of one journalist.

No, he did that so that the Leafs could keep the core together for at least the next 5 years. His cap hit on an 8 year deal would’ve meant they’d need to lose one of Nylander, Marner, or Tavares. Although Matthews may not get as much money as he would have, since because of the virus, the cap will end up lower than expected.

And? The Islanders were a **** show. They didn't have an arena situation and weren't a good team at the time. Arizona has a ****ty arena situation, the team isn't good and there are hardly any fans. The whole Matthews is leaving thing is entirely born from leaf haters who want the Leafs to fail more than they want their own team to succeed

Not at all. Go look at any post on Sportsnet about the Leafs and read the comments. There are as many and usually more trolls posting on those stories than there are Leaf fans. Troll nation is money for the media and they are the ones behind Matthews is leaving. Matthews was totally open to signing an 8 year deal but it was going to cost more, this has all been widely discussed by both Dubas and Matthews. They both said more term would have been a higher hit and it wasn't going to work so they comprised for a shorter term and lower cap. I bet the moment he can resign he'll do another 5 year term or go longer for a bit less since that will stretch into his mid 30's. He loves the spotlight, literally everyone says that and the notion that he'll give that up to go home to a substandard organization is just ridiculous. I would be surprised if Arizona is even a team by then. They'll be in Quebec city by them.

(disclaimer: this is dumb, and i shouldn't be wading into petty internet arguments)

big lulz that you think the Coyotes are going anywhere, especially to Quebec City, of all places

the Canadian dollar is still weak, Canadian teams still report revenues in CAN while players get paid in USD, the Nordiques always played 2nd fiddle to the Canadiens in Québec, and there's, like, no Anglophone media in Québec City. all the factors that caused the Nordiques to leave in the first place are still there.

why would the NHL expand to Las Vegas and Seattle? moniezzzzzzzzzzz. money that they weren't gonna get from Québec City; the Nordiques would basically just siphon gate revenue away from the Canadiens and result in a zero-sum game.

i mean, there's also the fact that Alex Meruelo is a billionaire, and he just hired the first Hispanic president and CEO of an NHL team, and, in general, he seems pretty committed to getting the Hispanic hockey community in Phoenix interested in the Coyotes.

but semantics, amirite
who needs to take the time to do research instead of just spouting lazy talking points and calling it a day

Arizona has the 2nd worst attendance in the league. Also explain Winnipeg then? They make it work with a smaller arena than Quebec city. The reality is, Quebec city would have way more ticket sales which means more money. Arizona is doomed.

ah, the people who think attendance is actually a key variable in "how well a team's doing" and not "something that is, itself, a product of several different factors." attendance really doesn't tell the whole story, m8. i wouldn't trot that out as an argument alone.


- the Jets don't have to compete with another team in the same province; the Nordiques did and would. and, again, they would just siphon gate revenue away from the Canadiens (and they wouldn't do it well, either; the Canadiens are Québec's team). it would turn into a zero-sum game.

- they wouldn't get more money from a TV deal in the Québec City area compared to the oodles of money they'd get from Phoenix (the weak Canadian dollar, for one, would depress how much money that would actually translate to). TV deals are a big part of how a sports league makes money (look at how the NBA's salary cap jumped by $20 million after their new deal with ESPN, and NBA teams were paying bench players $10 million because they didn't know what to do with all that cap room). again, what does the league care about? moniezzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Québec City doesn't give them nearly as much money as Phoenix would.

- it wouldn't generate any new fans. the league is stupid and short-sighted with its financial gains sometimes, but they at least did one thing right in expanding to new areas to get new fans interested and actually grow the game. why do you think every sports league and their mother is trying to break into China? because nobody else is there right now, and it's the 2nd-most-populated country in the world. it's an un-tapped gold mine of revenue. the Sun Belt was that way for the NHL, and they took advantage of it.


it's amazing that people think that re-location is actually a first option the NHL considers and not a last-ditch option when every other option has fallen through. the Thrashers left because ownership actually did not care in the least about the Thrashers and only cared about how well the Hawks were doing. the ownership situation with the Coyotes has actually stabilized, if you maybe hadn't noticed (which, clearly, you didn't). it's not anywhere close to being bad enough for the league to consider re-location at the moment.

Cool then Arizona will go elsewhere

based on what evidence, m8

you certainly haven't provided any that i haven't refuted thus far

They haven't made money in more than a decade. That's a pretty good sign the team is destined to leave.