[Rumor] Matthews to ARZ

[Mr. Guru]

OEL (3yrs of his contract)

That not enough.

The gamble of him leaving after three years is the killer in this trade. You can't take that risk.

[Pengwin7]

That not enough.

The gamble of him leaving after three years is the killer in this trade. You can't take that risk.

Right, but that's why ARI would have to throw in a LOT more to get Matthews.
There is some point where one can balance out the pieces.
Whether the GMs would do it... that's a totally different issue.

[btw - that's kind of a misleading thing... to quote one piece of my total trade package from ARI... ??? why'd you do that ???]

[Mr. Guru]

Cause thats the only thing I wanted to discuss.

3 years of OEL plus Domi and 7th overall and another pick or b level prospect is not enough. The risk of losing OEL after three years outweighs the reward.

OEL Domi Strome is way more intriguing.

[rtstr]

Instead continually of saying "that's not enough for Matthews", we should all be saying "the price is way too high and it would be a terrible trade for Arizona so they are not going to do it."

Case closed!

[BarryGettman]

Instead continually of saying "that's not enough for Matthews", we should all be saying "the price is way too high and it would be a terrible trade for Arizona so they are not going to do it."

Case closed!

That is very true.

I think players such as OEL, Domi, Strome, Duclair and Dvorak (among others) can do just as good a job of selling tickets to the Phoenix area as a home town boy would after blowing everything else up.

The deal makes sense for pundits looking for something to discuss, but doesn't make much sense among hockey people.

[franklin]

Instead continually of saying "that's not enough for Matthews", we should all be saying "the price is way too high and it would be a terrible trade for Arizona so they are not going to do it."

Case closed!

This...big time.

[rataylor22]

This whole thread is insane lol.

OEL, Domi, AND Strome for Matthews. Sure lol. Yeesh.

[iwinthings]

This whole thread is insane lol.

OEL, Domi, AND Strome for Matthews. Sure lol. Yeesh.

I think that's exactly the point though. People are saying 'that's what it would take', while at the same time saying 'that's why it will never happen'

[Godin]

Auston Matthews sure ain't no Big E.

Thank god for that.

[Axeman33]

Thank god for that.

If he was, he's probably boycott the Leafs like Lindros did to Quebec.

[deantime419]

I don't think OEL is a part of this hypothetical deal because the Leafs have to look at it as 3 years of OEL, whereas Zona wants him to be valued much higher than simply 3 years of him.

Strome, + some combo of Domi/Duclair/Dvorak/Stone/Murphy/1st's make a bit more sense IMO.

[theIceWookie]

That is very true.

I think players such as OEL, Domi, Strome, Duclair and Dvorak (among others) can do just as good a job of selling tickets to the Phoenix area as a home town boy would after blowing everything else up.

The deal makes sense for pundits looking for something to discuss, but doesn't make much sense among hockey people.

Any discussion of the deal that involves the argument "well it'll sell tickets" doesn't make much sense to me. I understand the argument that OEL MIGHT leave in 3 years but if they don't have a competitive team by that point it might not even matter. A competitive team is going to go a whole lot further in selling tickets than a hometown star on a crappy team will. Blowing up the team is a worse long term choice for stability and a future in Arizona.

I don't think OEL is a part of this hypothetical deal because the Leafs have to look at it as 3 years of OEL, whereas Zona wants him to be valued much higher than simply 3 years of him.

Strome, + some combo of Domi/Duclair/Dvorak/Stone/Murphy/1st's make a bit more sense IMO.

An OEL for Matthews deal doesn't even really make sense from a pure roster perspective. Leaving aside all the other arguments of contracts (sure you can be worried about OEL three years from now but I don't think a winning GM operates under fear of something that far in the future, but I digress), and ticket sales, a deal built around OEL for Matthews is actually not a great deal for either team.

Losing OEL hurts Arizona bad. It basically ruins their defense, and they go from having a number 1 stud, to needing to find one. It opens up a huge hole on the roster. Sure they need a center too, but they have less of a need for that with Strome likely the 1C of the future (I know Matthews/Strome would be sweet though). Plus they have Domi at center (if he stays their), Hanzal/Vermette as veterans, plus Dvorak, Letunoc, MacInnis, and Dauphin in the pipeline. Center is probably one of their better addressed areas. They don't have any OEL replacement if he leaves.

On the other side, the Leafs need their 1C. I guess you could argue that Kadri, Nylander, Bozak are a decent core of centers, and if they get Stammer then they don't need to worry but that has a lot going right for it to be a non-issue. You can't bank on getting Stammer, plus none of those guys are the big bodied two-way center teams crave. The Leafs do have a potential number 1 LHD in Rielly, so the need for OEL is definitely less important (though I'm sure they'd love to add him. What team wouldn't?). The need for Matthews is much more important that need for OEL.

Now Strome plus some combination of something else makes more sense since it fits both teams a little better. Strome is that bigger center, and the other pieces would be nice, though largely unnecessary honestly. Unless the deal gets a guarantee at Chychrun or Sergachev, it's basically just pieces that are nice but less needed (since the team is already nicely filled with offensive prospects). Still though giving up Matthews, the best piece in the deal, for a bunch of prospects is...dangerous.

I just don't think any deal comes to be anything more than hypothetical.