Scott Mayfield will get 3.5-4.5 million as a UFA. He's not taking 2 mill

Scott Mayfield is getting a hell of a lot more than 1 yr $2,000,000 try closer to 5 x $3,500,000 to 5 x $4,500,000.

Paying a 3C like Horvat 7 yrs @ $7,000,000 is .asinine.

Just my thoughts but:
-Anaheim (or anyone for that matter) paying to get Muzzin and cure the cap issues that you guys have is a big 'ol stretch.
-Signing Bo Horvat to play 3rd line minutes for 7 x $7 mil seems like a weird way to spend that money.
-Bunting at $3.75 seems weirdly low, especially if he comes anywhere near his production from last year. Not saying that he isn't buoyed by Matthews/Marner, but somebody is going to give him term and money if he hits free agency.

Sabres are above the cap floor, don't need your LTIR goalie

Still a difficult contract to gauge right now. Agreed, $2 million is light. Question is, does one see Mayfield as a legit top 4 D? His career suggests maybe, possibly. From the start of his career through 2020, he was a 3rd pairing guy. From 2020-22, he was averaging a little better than 19 minutes a game, so one can say yes, top 4. Now, he is further down the depth chart, averaging just over 16 minutes a game.

I am not diminishing Mayfield is any way here. He is behind Pullock and Dobson (a beautiful duo on the RD I might add), but..... in a contract year the ice time just may matter.

Manson could be seen as a comparable, but he was consistently averaging 20 minutes plus a game.

Further to the point, the market for RD is limited. Most teams have it filled out, and other teams (like LA) have RD to move. The market is flooded. That also will impact a Mayfield contract.

So, if a GM really sees him as the guy to round out the top 4, then yeah maybe you guys are right.

I for one see a limited market for him as a UFA, which will impact what his ask is. His ice time is an impact again right now. Very difficult to gauge.

Where to start.

Bunting gets 8 x 4.5 (carried by Matthews and Marner, but you're not replacing that production for less than that, and he likely gets 7x 4.75-5 on the market)
Mayfield gets 5 x 4.25 (why would an American defenceman take a 1 year discount to play in Toronto, when he's literally in Tanev territory)
Horvat makes no sense for him to sign for $7M to play 15 minutes a game
Nobody will pay for Muzzin, you have to pay to get rid of him.
Buffalo won't want Murray, they have the best goalie pipeline in the NHL, I can see you having to pay to dump him, but Buffalo likely isn't the right destination.

I think his perfect comparable is Tanev, they play the same style, roughly the same age at signing, contribute similarly offensively.

4x 4.5M

EDIT: Also, Montreal, Ottawa, Anaheim, and Buffalo could likely use a guy like Mayfield to help shelter an offensive minded young stud.

So, the market should be there for him.

At the time Tanev signed, there was a shortage of RD in the market. And Tanev was consistently playing top 4 minutes. Having said that, I think the player comparison is fair.

Again...... Mayfield is really tough to gauge. If the cap goes up to $86 million (which it may), then yeah, I can maybe see that. At $83.5? I dunno. This really depends on where a GM sees Mayfield fitting in a line up; and for me, most teams have their top 2 RD in place - which may mean a haircut.

So tough to gauge what he gets.

I Edited my previous post,

I can see a team using him to shelter a young offensive guy, similarly to Methot-Karlsson.

Montreal - Harris - Mayfield
Buffalo - Power - Mayfield
Anaheim - Zellweger - Mayfield
Ottawa - Sanderson - Mayfield

These 4 teams are short on RD next season just through a quick glance, and all 4 would have cap room to easily fit a $4,5 contract in, and that doesn't include teams who choose to shore up their RD.

I think the demand could be there, but obviously it depends on where these teams see themselves, Buffalo and Ottawa appear to be further ahead in their development curves than Montreal and Anaheim.

If Mayfield is worth what people say he is:

1. Ottawa doesn’t have the cap

2. Buffalo's blueline is WAY better than you think. Not sure Mayfield is even looked at to be frank. Samuelsson and Lybushkin are the right level of physical (honourable mention to Bryson).

3. Montréal is a possibility. Their RD is atrocious, but the kids are coming.

4. Anaheim is a maybe as well.

So, out of 31 teams, we have 2.

Not exactly bargaining power.

Murray already rejected a trade to Buffalo.

We moved on and now have 5 goalies.

Stpo

we arent sheltering power. hes playing big minutes already

1. Ottawa does have Cap, $23M excluding the likelihood of $4M increase, $9M to Debrincat, Pinto bridged at $5M, Hamonic likely gone, ad Zub may or may not re-sign. They will manage the cap for the first year of the deal, but likely frees up by year 3-4-5 of a supposed deal

2. Buffalo, Samuelsson is an LD, and they severely lack right shots on the back end.

3. Montreal has no RD prospects, literally just Mailloux, and his development took a hit from covid and the fiasco, he's a while's away before he competes for a roster spot.

4. Anaheim has Shattenkirk and Klingberg coming off the books, leaving Drysdale as their only Right shot roster D.

Edmonton could be in the mix, if they find a way to move Barrie, Washington only has 1 D under contract for next season, Vancouver's RD is a disaster as the keep trying to move Hughes to his off-side, NJ could use a RD with impending departure of Severson.

I get the impression there's 3-4 teams that could be of hard interest, and 3-4 teams of soft interest.

Of course, time will tell, with the cap increasing, I could see a team making an over bid for him, to ensure that 3-5 years down the line the contract looks good, and helps the team.

"sheltering" the way Karlsson was "sheltered" with Methot

no



bad

Nobody is giving you a third-round draft pick for a once-wonderful but aged-out player who might never skate again.

This is the best

I like Bunting, but he's not getting 8 x 4.5 from me. He can be replaced by Knies next season if that is his asking price.