@DavHawk@joeyferg In his defense he's been playing with weaker line mates for most of the year, that took a big hit on his stats. His most common teammates this year are Tavares, Holmberg, Domi and Pacioretty.
@brad42590@cicconi_michael@mikeystephens81 I wish people can understand this. He's obviously an elite player. For 12M though you'd like the player to fight for space when it's not available. If not fine, it's still possible to win but he must take way less
@DonDavi94135785@KPapetti And even then it'd fine if his cap hit was lower. For 12M+ you cannot be on the perimeter so much. Find a way to earn space when it's not available. You rarely see it from him, it's clear as day in the games
@JhanHky If I were the Leafs I would at least play him until the trade deadline. If there's no real improvement then trade him. He's 25, young enough to still improve but his runway is finishing.
@DuelingPandas@DireRavennn@LeafsNews Nope, he's only been top 5 once which is the year he got nominated. The stats that year supported other players over him as well. Even last year he was 17th in voting.
@DuelingPandas@DireRavennn@LeafsNews He's definitely not top 5-7 either, you need a physical edge to be up there, not to mention a ton of turnovers. Still one of the best sure just not that high
@LongLiveRohit@BigHeadLeafs_ They need to staple Marner back with JT. They haven't been great together since their 1st year but there hasn't been a lot of runway. They need to see if he can produce similarly without Matthews or not
@GU3RNS@RedComet2023@NHL_Watcher Why is it that other players haven't played hardball to the last hour? A GM has to place boundaries. It's entirely reasonable to say we will not sign you that late after camp, no excuses.
@candidebycanoe @NHL_Watcher Correct but it's Matthews, one of the few players that can command whatever he wants, whenever he wants. The team wouldn't want to disgruntle him and result in him leaving later. It's not a video game but at the same time you're right they needed to be decisive
@GU3RNS@RedComet2023@NHL_Watcher They could've signed it earlier is the point. Waiting all that time is a joke, no other team does these shenanigans a good GM has to have that under control
@RedComet2023@NHL_Watcher Both sides are at fault for that one. But Dubas couldn't negotiate to save his life. Other players don't hold out that long, you have to draw a line in the sand. Have some standards lol
@candidebycanoe @NHL_Watcher While true, if you look at other teams around the league player salaries fall in line with their teammates.
Matthews was better than JT, so he'd say I deserve more I'm bringing more value than he is. It's a domino effect and here we are
@JFedol@GreeterNumber21@JFreshHockey Tbf Kucherov had a weak 2 playoffs in a row now. I bet if he was on the Leafs he'd be atrocious too. As amazing as both of them are they need an all round team to succeed.
@GreeterNumber21@JFreshHockey Best goal scorer that also plays defense at a high level. Compared to a winger that is weak defensively. Not to take away from how amazing Kuch is, 144 points is insanity