Pens have to pay those draft picks just to get rid of Matheson

You haven't been following the Pens then. Matheson has been elite this season.

Lmao, even if he's been good this season I'm sure he still hasn't been so good as being called elite

He certainly isn't a cap dump like you suggsted either.

Okay maybe he isn't a cap dump, doesn't mean teams are going to want to pay very much to take him of the Pens hands

that's just hating.
He'd probably return at least a 2nd at this point.
A. defense is always in demand.
B. the cost of it in FA is insane. MM is on a fairly cap friendly deal for the next 4 years.

Truth is he had 1 bad season 4 years ago, which many people including himself view was caused by the whole Pettersson thing. He's turned it around since then and had 3 pretty solid years in a row now.
The contract puts him through his prime and shouldn't be looked at as a bad deal by anyone.
But this is the same capfriendly that has always hated on the penguins defense. That under rates Dumo, and has tried to say MP was a cap dump too. None of which has been true.

I don't think the Pens defense is underrated, but I still wouldn't call Matheson's contract team friendly for what he brings

this is a league that keeps handing Jack Johnson contracts.
In the end Demand hits supply. It all depends on how big your need is. No one can argue the level of the player. The he's a liability, bust. etc.... is way over blown. The play shows that the last 3 years.
So when you are a team that needs defensive help, you have to ask what are you going to get on the free market and at what price and term. A 27+ year old guy at big money on a 8 year deal.
Defense is the first thing off the board in FA. It's just so limited in supply.. The deals they get make people scratch their heads too, because you think there is no way they are worth it.
So I don't really see 4 years as an issue at a 4.8 cap hit. Teams will pay far more for far less in FA.

Maybe they'd pay more for a better defenseman, but if they were offering Matheson a contract all over again at this point in time, I'm sure it would be at a lower number than 4.875M AAV

Honestly, if Matheson was a UFA at the end of this season, he'd probably get 4+ on a 7 year deal.
I mean come on people gave De Haan 4.5 million.
He's a better player than Justin Schultz and he got 4 mil per.
I can say that better than anyone as a Pens fan who knows how bad and incompetent Schultz is.

Teams dish out for defense. Even guys like Ceci got 3.25 from EDM. Not that I am knocking Ceci he's not bad for a 3rd pairing guy. But they gave a 3rd pairing guy 3.25.
So I'm pretty sure a guy who plays 2nd pairing minutes, puts up solid points and isn't a defensive liability on the ice the last 3 years is gonna get 4+ on a long term deal if he was a UFA right now.

I doubt that De Haan gets 4.5M AAV right now. Heck, he probably doesn't 2M AAV with the way he's played, there is a reason Carolina unloaded him as a cap dump. Ceci is undeniably overpaid so I don't know about using that as a comparable

that's the whole point. All of these guys got paid.
And you are saying a guy like MM who plays better than both of them, wouldn't get paid if he was a FA right now? Are you kidding me, he'd get paid.
That isn't a bad contract for anyone to take on. 4 years at 4.8 isn't out of left field for a guy who's had 3 solid years in a row, especially when he's been knocking in goals at a solid pace from the blueline.
You're basically getting 8+ goals and 30+ points out of a guy who hasn't bled goals in 4 years. Someone is gonna pay 4.8 for that on a long term deal if he was a UFA.

Okay, maybe