I wouldn't touch him at that price. 6x$12M would be my max.
- rpeters01

Without arguing the merits of Matthews specifically, we do need to get above the floor, and it can't be all taking over bad contracts and LTIRs. The prospects are going to be cost controlled for some time. A guy like Matthews will probably want the max seven years wherever he goes, so they can front load more money on the deal. Not only that, he will probably want to compete right away, unless he gets to play back home, so I don't see him entertaining coming here for his next deal, unless this team surprises next season.

The front office should be able to assess what this team will need that can't be found in its prospect pool anytime soon, and I would expect them to either trade for it or sign somebody who can address the need. Acquiring or signing redundancies isn't what anybody wants.

Patience is required.

Signed or will be signed 2023/24 - 14 players
1 Potential first line forward (Bedard)
1 Potential top 6 forward (Reichel)
3 Middle 6 or 3rd line (T. Johnson, Raddysh, Richardinson)
2 Bottom 6 (Katchouk J. Anderson)
1 Arguable top pairing defender (S. Jones)
1 Marginal 2nd pairing (Murphy)
2 Young dmen likely to make the opening day roster (Vlasic and Kaiser)
1 3rd pairing defender (Tinordi)
1 Bad defender (Zaitsev)
1 OK oft injured goalie (Mrazek)

Possibly will be re-signed (but not high end players) 4 players
Athanasiou, Bjork, Kurashev, Soderblom

Prospects that could make the roster at some point in the season 6 players
Forwards - Guttman, R. Johnson, Entwistle
Dmen - Korchinski, Phillips
Goalie - Stauber

It's not pretty. There will be FA signings and hopefully a few prospects that turn out to be pleasant surprises.

At the right salary Matthews would be a good signing but $15M a season is beyond ridiculous.
- paulr

There;s pro and cons to it.....but........

When Kane finally got top end skill.........how did that work out? I am talking Panarin. He won the Hart. Instead of having the Dave bollands, the Daniel Carcilos, the Sharps, the Handzus of the world play with him. Now....you could also argue as a team they didn't win squat......but they also had stars players elsewhere.

hawks will need that depth again around the Bedard or else they will easily become the Oilers. Crosby has Malkin. Kane had toews. You want multiple cups....you need more than just a guy, and good balance.

THey got their bonafide buildling block. Amazing. Lets hope they stay the course and build this for the long haul and not cut corners to appease sponsors, or fans signing up to pay for season tickets.

They also signed Huet, Campbell the year before to BIG Money deals. Hossa sought them out as well....lets not forget that aspect to this.
- SteveRain

And they could bury their mistakes like they did with Huet. Big difference today a mistake signing a player and it costs a 2nd round pick or last year it cost the Leafs draft position, to me it hurts you in 2 ways

IMO


1. The Canadian media would rather piss all over him than Marner or Tavares. Id take Matthews over BOTH and not think back.

2. He has 5 GWG in 48 games....the other 2 (16/88) have 4 combined. How is that not raising his game?

3. The issue the leafs have is they don't have the complete player. THey don't have the Toews or hossa to balance him out....same exact problem the Oilers have with McDavid. So people will nit pick his game.....like they do Kane. Oh he doesn't back check or do this.....I get it and it's valid at some time, but do they blast the hell out of these other guys when they aren't scoring in the playoff time? No...because they "do all the other things"

44 points in 48 career playoff games and 22 goals is 2 less than what Marner and Nylander have combined!!! The anger should 100% be on Marner. He has 9. 9 goals in 48 games. ANd he's getting 700K less than Matthews. That's by far a joke and how overpaid is he? Sure Marner plays better D, but for 10.9 you better score.

I'll be shocked if Matthews resigns up there. If they don't somehow beat Florida 4 straight games, and don't trade 34 16 88 or 91 at least 1 of them.......Dubas and that clown Shanahan are dumber than I thought....and that's saying a ton because I think both are by far the most overrated executives in the game and if they weren't in Toronto they'd be long gone.

Great you beat a beat up, depleted Lightning team in 6......throw yourselves a party....oh wait you did. Nice leadership. Happy to be there. hawks were all business when they beat Calgary in 2009.
- SteveRain

Has Matthews shown leadership? Has Matthews ever put the team on his back and made the Leafs win? Has Matthews ever taken a beating in front of a net fighting for rebounds in a big game? Matthews is an extremely gifted player, a player that oozes talent but I’m not seeing the other intangibles, especially leadership, are you?

Don’t get me wrong he is a very good player but he hasn’t shown me that he’s a guy you open up the vault for.

I don't struggle, i just disagree that you can build a team waiting for your homegrown draft choices to hopefully all pan out, and in the exact positions/type of players that you need at the time.

you wouldn't have traded for Fiala or Meier, i would. I can say you struggle with how I believe the next chapter should be built.
- LAHawk

No i wouldn't of, but i guess I'm right for now. Maybe one day I'll be wrong, i thought Carolina was the perfect move for Meier. Maybe they could foresee that his regular season game doesn't translate to the playoffs? NJ has no playoff experience and it really showed last night. I really hope one of the NJ prospects like Hughes brother just becomes a fantastic player and we'll see how good that trade and eventual signing of Meiers is going to be.

They couldn't beat the Oilers with a one legged Draisaitl, i think they got him more or less because for whatever reason they have trouble drafting forwards who can score goals.

Has Matthews shown leadership? Has Matthews ever put the team on his back and made the Leafs win? Has Matthews ever taken a beating in front of a net fighting for rebounds in a big game? Matthews is an extremely gifted player, a player that oozes talent but I’m not seeing the other intangibles, especially leadership, are you?

Don’t get me wrong he is a very good player but he hasn’t shown me that he’s a guy you open up the vault for.
- paulr

I am seeing a guy in a no win situation who I hope gets the hell out of Toronto as quickly as he can.

Again....nit picking. I don't have time but for all the playoff stats he has put up.....I am guessing he led them to a win or two or three. Maybe his supporting cast is worse than I thought? I mean Nylander is likely the best value on the team and I think he's Kris Versteeg on roids. Hard pass.

People said the same thing about Ovechkin for years....and then retooled around him and he won a cup. IF the leafs are smart, and they are NOT, they would do the same but they'll hold on to Marner and will never win a cup for the foreseeable future. I can't wait. But the excuses will fly...."yeah but he does all the small things"....sure he does.

Has anyone on that Leafs team answered what you ask?

I'd 100% sign Matthews if he hit the market. They have 41 million in cap space this year and 71+ million after that. All the hype around the Nazar's of the world is cool.....but not every prospect will HIT. Some get a look and get dealt for other needs (ruutu for ladd)....some get sold high (Bochenski for Versteeg) or Eillison for Sharp

How many Jack Skille's have there been?

Unless there is a CAN NOT MISS player they are 100% confident hits and are willing to risk their jobs on it (forget bedard) then I am not in favor of blowing draft capital to slide up to #5. Because of if that player becomes Kirby Dach 2.0, I would fire Davidson in a heartbeat for that blunder. Makes no sense to trade draft capital when you are rebuilding.

NOw....the major riddle begins to unwind. How much pressure is Faulkner going to push on Danny Wirtz after getting all those tickets sold and does ownership force Davidson to fast forward his plan now? That's what scares me the most. We saw it with McEgo.....so we can't dismiss it........Hell I received an email from a ticket rep at 906 pm Monday night asking if I wanted to "come back".........
- SteveRain

What pressure? Maybe I don't understand your viewpoint. Season ticket sales are increasing and the Wirtzes are banking the money. They're being sold now because of Bedard. I think most fans are intelligent enough to realize that the playoffs are not achievable in the next couple of years. As the prospects develop and the team gets better, tickets will only be more in demand. Maybe in a couple of years KD makes a Hossa like splash in free agency to supplement the prospects or fill in a hole in the roster.

And they could bury their mistakes like they did with Huet. Big difference today a mistake signing a player and it costs a 2nd round pick or last year it cost the Leafs draft position, to me it hurts you in 2 ways
- BetweenTheDots

Well it;s the same in drafting....or did we not learn our lesson in taking Kirby Dach?

Top end UFAs to mega deals and 1st round top 5 picks.....all better hit or else you nuke your team.

I think when teams take short cuts it only hurts them in the long run.

Personal opinion, no short cuts, no trading futures for a player we don't need today, let this group get experience, sign for short term FAs to set examples for these kids.

When the time is right a great player will be available, they always are in today's NHL.

Well it;s the same in drafting....or did we not learn our lesson in taking Kirby Dach?

Top end UFAs to mega deals and 1st round top 5 picks.....all better hit or else you nuke your team.
- SteveRain

So your answer is to spend almost half the cap on 3 players? No thanks, you kind of are doing the samething Toronto did when they signed Tavares, has history taught us anything

KD isn't bringing Kane back. He said he wants a new leadership group to form organically. Bringing back a member of the old leadership group to mentor is not changing the leadership group. I am sure Bedard will be staying with a mentor, probably not one on the team itself (like Kane stayed with Bowman).
- LAHawk

I know that ship has sailed, but Toews would be my choice to help mentor Bedard both on and off the ice. KD and Johnny should make up and agree to a one year 35+ incentive laden contract. Toews could show Bedard what it takes to be a pro and have him live in a spare bedroom in his downtown condo.

What pressure? Maybe I don't understand your viewpoint. Season ticket sales are increasing and the Wirtzes are banking the money. They're being sold now because of Bedard. I think most fans are intelligent enough to realize that the playoffs are not achievable in the next couple of years. As the prospects develop and the team gets better, tickets will only be more in demand. Maybe in a couple of years KD makes a Hossa like splash in free agency to supplement the prospects or fill in a hole in the roster.
- boilermaker100

God bless you......how many on this board were complaining THIS year about sucking to get a top pick? You are telling me most fans are intelligent? I wish.

I'd love to see them slow play Bedard but I fear the mob will rule and once that ball starts rolling....hard to stop it.

This is just step 1. They have zero supporting cast around him LT....

Reichel is trending as a positive
Raddysh maybe becomes a nice depth player
Jones will be here because of his money
The rest are just fill ins/baby sitters until a prospect is ready to take their spot.

Long ways to go to do this right.... but I won't trust another Cubs exec after McDonough coming over here.

People said the same thing about Ovechkin for years....and then retooled around him and he won a cup.
- SteveRain

Everyone was claiming Tampa had a bunch of regular season warriors that would never win anything. Then they won two SCs and played in a third. The narratives are retarded. Matthews was excellent in round 1. The entire Toronto team has been bad in round 2.

Seravalli reporting that the Canucks are looking to offload salary and that Conor Garland could be the guy they look to move.

He’s a 27 YO 50-point player (who doesn’t really get PP opportunities) who is locked under term for 3 more years at $4.95m. A middle-six forward who can score is always needed.

To Chi: Garland, 2023 1st round pick (11)
To Van: 2023 1st round pick (19/20)

Think it’s more than worth taking him on and helping Vancouver clear the cap space in exchange for moving up 8-9 slots in the draft.

Has there been reports on Bedards reaction to the lottery?

Not that I think he’d pull a Lindros.

Just curious as to his mindset.

Yes, the team will probably be garbage next season, however he does have “friends” in the system.

Korchinski/ Dach / Del Mastro / Allen all on team Canada…

Hope he’s excited.

Exhale.

So your answer is to spend almost half the cap on 3 players? No thanks, you kind of are doing the samething Toronto did when they signed Tavares, has history taught us anything
- BetweenTheDots

Where did I say 3 players? YOu mean what the Hawks did in 2009 with Kane, Toews, Keith and then doubled down with Hossa? Hossa and Keith's deal tapered off but then they reupped with 19/88.

Bedard will be expensive and JUSTIFIED if he lives up to his hype. They will need others to play with him and support him. I don't know what else to tell you. If you want to win you have a cap near the top of the league unless you get extremely lucky and go on an unexpected heater.

Seravalli reporting that the Canucks are looking to offload salary and that Conor Garland could be the guy they look to move.

He’s a 27 YO 50-point player (who doesn’t really get PP opportunities) who is locked under term for 3 more years at $4.95m. A middle-six forward who can score is always needed.

To Chi: Garland, 2023 1st round pick (11)
To Van: 2023 1st round pick (19/20)

Think it’s more than worth taking him on and helping Vancouver clear the cap space in exchange for moving up 8-9 slots in the draft.
- TommyHawk

Now that's a move i like

Everyone was claiming Tampa had a bunch of regular season warriors that would never win anything. Then they won two SCs and played in a third. The narratives are retarded. Matthews was excellent in round 1. The entire Toronto team has been bad in round 2.
- jfkst1

People will choose to hate who they want to. We are all guilty of it.

Any GM in the league would explore trading for Matthews if he were available this summer. Now what price he costs, etc...could deter some teams but I don't see people nit picking his game.

Great call on Tampa. STL as well. Yzerman had that stigma for YEARS until he won.

Where did I say 3 players? YOu mean what the Hawks did in 2009 with Kane, Toews, Keith and then doubled down with Hossa? Hossa and Keith's deal tapered off but then they reupped with 19/88.

Bedard will be expensive and JUSTIFIED if he lives up to his hype. They will need others to play with him and support him. I don't know what else to tell you. If you want to win you have a cap near the top of the league unless you get extremely lucky and go on an unexpected heater.
- SteveRain

I just agree to disagree, hopefully it doesn't happen

Has there been reports on Bedards reaction to the lottery?

Not that I think he’d pull a Lindros.

Just curious as to his mindset.

Yes, the team will probably be garbage next season, however he does have “friends” in the system.

Korchinski/ Dach / Del Mastro / Allen all on team Canada…

Hope he’s excited.

Exhale.
- mike7076

I am not worried about it....at all.

This isn't quebec city.

Now that's a move i like
- BetweenTheDots

Of course you like it. It makes absolutely zero sense for Vancouver to do that. Garland is a valuable player to any team in the league. He isn't a liability.

I just agree to disagree, hopefully it doesn't happen
- BetweenTheDots

I am lost in your reasoning.

So how do you want this built? Bedard.....who will cost huge money over the course of his career assuming that he sniffs his ceiling.

You're just going to assume we are going to win every draft, develop a never ending supply of top end talent...and what about winning? IF they win they drop slots in the draft.

I dont' get this small market reasoning. Find me a team in the last 10 years who won with a small payroll.

Kings, Hawks, Lightning, Penguins all won multiple cups all with MULTIPLE big AAVs.......it's not a shocker. Good/great players are expensive.

did he say training or video staff

Seravalli reporting that the Canucks are looking to offload salary and that Conor Garland could be the guy they look to move.

He’s a 27 YO 50-point player (who doesn’t really get PP opportunities) who is locked under term for 3 more years at $4.95m. A middle-six forward who can score is always needed.

To Chi: Garland, 2023 1st round pick (11)
To Van: 2023 1st round pick (19/20)

Think it’s more than worth taking him on and helping Vancouver clear the cap space in exchange for moving up 8-9 slots in the draft.
- TommyHawk

Why would a rebuilding/retoolling Vancouver team give up a decent player AND a higher pick for a lower pick to clear cap room? I'd agree with you if the pick the Hawks got was a 2nd and they gave back say....a 3rd or 4th.