At some point you should consider backing up your baseless opinions because your narrative is getting old.

Stamkos outscored Matthews on his ELC and at one time was the same type of pure scorer. Then injuries began to take their toll. Sound familiar?

They don't hand out contracts based on 17 game samples.

"the Leafs can't afford 8 year terms for Marner or Matthews without taking a step in the wrong direction as a team."

Marner could give two Fs less about any of that.

Trying to compare his contract to Kane is laughable. Hey guess what, McDavid hasn't won 3 cups and been the best player in the league for a decade and he still makes a lot more than 8.7 million.

It don't mean squat. It's all about what you can get because that's the name of the game. Otherwise you'd never have need for a cap increase.

Toronto has no choice but to lock him up long term. Because A. they don't want to end up in arbitration and B. bridging him will be more painful down the road.
Which means you are either going to see a lot of money coughed up or a long hold out just like Nylander. When they end up coughing up 13 million for Matthews, my guess is the contract on Marner is gonna easily be 8+.
Every point he racks up on stupid assists is gonna help inflate that number too. Which is rather hilarious. He's on pace for 108 points this year, 92 of them are on assists. A whopping 16 goals and you will still be forced to pay him a boat load of cash. Not even worth it in my book, but because fans are idiots they will be dishing out 8+ no problem.

Nope they don't. They hand them out based on him taking a dumpster fire of a team on his back to the playoffs the last 2 years and totally tearing it up this year.

Here’s what Marner is going to do and I’m willing to wager on it.

He is waiting for Matthews to sign first. Anyone who thinks
Matthews takes less than $11m isn’t being realistic.

Marner will then compare himself to Matthews and ask for $10.5. Maybe they settle on $9.5, but I say Marner taking between $9-$10m on 7-8yrs is a discount.

He wasn't alone. Although, he seemed alone in the playoffs...and the team wins without him. Hard to see him being worth what the fans believe he is when the team chugs along just fine without him.

As for evidence....uhhhh the kids probably going to put up 100 points....the last guy that signed a deal after a 100 point season signed for 12.75. His name is McDavid, maybe ya heard of him? Every agent in the world would laugh at an offer under 10 and point at jack eichel. Easiest negotiation ever.

As for stamkos, I think you’re just forgetting his rookie year, and adding his 4th year. Matthews, despite him missing lots of time due to injury and stamkos missing none, will quite likely score far more goals than stamkos did on his elc, albeit with fewer assists. Matthews will very likely lead the league in goals per game over the course of his elc. The last player to do that was named ovechkin. His mom negotiated a 9.5 million dollar deal when the cap was like 47 million.

Goddamnit I like when the leafs are good because it’s just fun for rivalries but you guys are so ridiculously intolerable when it comes to front office stuff. Your players are good, they’re getting paid. Deal with it

That's not how anything works

Marner has no rights. He could sit out like Nylander but that is his only option. McDavid and Crosby are irrelevant, as is Kane.

Marner is an elite passer. He scores less goals than all his comps and at this point in the season, it looks like he should make a little more than Nylander. The Leafs have a salary structure, as do other winning teams, and it's important to understand that they play for more than just the money.

There is no doubt the wise agent waits.
But I'm just being honest when I say. The guy is on pace for like 16 goals this year. Has shown he's roughly a 20 goal scorer.
People can talk points all day. It's one of the reasons why I hate the points system. Passing the puck doesn't make you a great player. Are some of those assists worthy of a point, sure are. Are they all, probably not.
When it comes to weighting a value of a player, assists is far less valuable to me than putting the puck in the net. Which is something that Matthews excels at.
I totally agree they are probably gonna end up paying him. My guess is that his point total will dictate the number his salary starts with. But I think it's a huge waste. I wouldn't pay a 20 goal scorer 9 million a year.
That's why I think Matthews is a bad comparable for him. Matthews is a 40 goal scorer reliably his first 2 years. This year with the extra help he's damn near unstoppable. He's gonna crack 50 goals easy this year. I just don't see how Marner is even close in value to that. He's not.

He put in almost the same amount of goals as Marner and Nylander Combined. Please don't tell me he wasn't alone.
One is a beast the drives the team. The others are good complimentary pieces to the puzzle. it's not even close.

His points per game is still around Gaudreau. And you have to consider the Tavares affect as well.

It does and it did. You saw Tavares tweet right? Players want to win and there is no better market right now.

Leaf fans now think that because JT wanted to play for his hometown and leave money on the table, that magically everyone born around the GTA will want to do the same.

Guys like JT are few and far between. Not saying Marner won’t do it, but it’s definitely not the norm.

Guys do want to go where they have a great chance at winning, and yes TOR is currently one of those markets. But if the leafs offer $7.5mil deal, and NSH (tax free state), or BUF (can still be considered right next to his hometown) offer sheet him at $9.5mil aav. TOR are gonna have to step up and pay.

I hate to break it to you but money is the exact reason they play. They don't play so the owner of the Leafs can get rich off them while they take discounts. I don't know why it's so hard for fans to understand that.
Nor do players care about the salary structure when it's their contract up.
As far as Marner is concerned, you can call him an elite passer or whatever else you want. He's a 20 goal scorer and people want to give him close to Matthews money who in his first 2 years was a 40 goal pace and this year he's gonna crack 50 unless he gets hurt, but will still have had a 50+ goal pace. They are not of the same value, even remotely. Matthews isn't OV. He doesn't just stand in some stupid circle and wait for other players to do all the work and pass it to him. He actually puts the puck on his stick and makes it happen. You got people wanting to pay Marner 9+ million for watching JT and Matthews do all that work. What an epic waste. He's not even close to being worth 9 million a year. I don't care how many assists he racks up. 7.5 maybe. But they will be forced into paying him because fans are stupid.

I guess we both see different things when we watch the games. When Marner has the puck, he creates scoring opportunities better than any other Leaf. I honestly don’t recall another player in the league where, every time he notched an assist on a goal, my reaction has been to comment on the pass and not the shot into the back of the net.

He doesn’t play Center but the offense runs through him as if he does. He’s not a defenceman, but he’s one of the best power play QB’s in the league.

Anytime a hockey expert has been asked over the past 2.5yrs for a comparable player to Marner, they get tongue tied trying to come up with and answer and usually settle on Patrick Kane.

Since being moved off the 4th line last January, he’s been at a 100pt season pace. For me, he’s as elite a playmaker as they come and his creation of scoring chances out of nothing is almost as important as a guy scoring 40 himself

1 goal last year in the playoffs. He was invisible.

I don't see him as a beast. The team does no better with him than it does without him suggesting that he too, is a complementary piece.

He produces a lot of points but he doesn't dominate games like real superstars do. I believe he will one day but he hasn't yet.

The tweet he sent after guaranteeing himself 77 million?

I don't see him as a beast. The team does no better with him than it does without him suggesting that he too, is a complementary piece.

He has to sign it first.

And you’re saying he wouldn’t?

Considering Marner and his agent have said they won’t negotiate during the season, and that the expectation is that TOR are in for a deep playoff run (not if they face BOS that is *wink*) that leaves a very short window for Leafs to sign him before a hostile offer. And either it be Matthews or Marner, an offer sheet is coming if Dubas tries to play hard ball like he did with Nylander.

He's a 20 goal scorer who's smart enough to pass the puck off to people who are better at doing what needs to be done.
That doesn't make you worth 9 million + a year. It just doesn’t. .