William Nylander contract situation

[DusterDave]

I believe you, I just find it odd that the league can hand out a punishment without any concrete evidence.

[Daydream Nation]

I believe you, I just find it odd that the league can hand out a punishment without any concrete evidence.

Wouldn't the evidence be that every European scout for the Leafs is paid X and Nylander is being paid X times more than that?

[DusterDave]

Wouldn't the evidence be that every European scout for the Leafs is paid X and Nylander is being paid X times more than that?

Yeah that’s true. Good point.

[rataylor22]

I believe you, I just find it odd that the league can hand out a punishment without any concrete evidence.

It's not a court of law so there isn't any burden of proof.

[tweetdrivr]

I know this take on this subject has been done...it’s like a lock-out or a strike...it’s hard for those of us who are not pro athletes to really grasp why some of these things are so important to these guys. I’m not down-playing the years of sacrifice and incredibly hard work it takes to reach this level of hockey. So you get a 6 yr deal to play hockey. Over the course of this deal you make $10 or $12 million less if you take $6 or $6.5mil vs $8mil per. I can’t really even wrap my head around having that sort of money. To me $6mil or $8mil per is academic. Damn that’s a lot of money to play hockey is where I always end up on these things. To me, as a non insanely wealthy person, it feel like an easy call to make less money and play in a true hockey market and have a good shot at a cup or two with an excellent group of players. I just don’t get these situations. If this wasn’t a salary cap league it’d be a different story. But it is. I get that it doesn’t make sense to Nylander to get paid less so Marner and Matthews can get paid more if that’s how he views it. I always come back to the whole millions to play hockey thing. So play already.

[MZac]

I know this take on this subject has been done...it’s like a lock-out or a strike...it’s hard for those of us who are not pro athletes to really grasp why some of these things are so important to these guys. I’m not down-playing the years of sacrifice and incredibly hard work it takes to reach this level of hockey. So you get a 6 yr deal to play hockey. Over the course of this deal you make $10 or $12 million less if you take $6 or $6.5mil vs $8mil per. I can’t really even wrap my head around having that sort of money. To me $6mil or $8mil per is academic. Damn that’s a lot of money to play hockey is I always end up on these things. To me, as a non insanely wealthy person, it feel like an easy call to make less money and play in a true hockey market and have a good shot at a cup or two with an excellent group of players. I just don’t get these situations. If this wasn’t a salary cap league it’d be a different story. But it is. I get that it doesn’t make sense to Nylander to get paid less so Marner and Matthews can get paid more if that’s how he views it. I always come back to the whole millions to play hockey thing. So play already.

I get that point of view but everyone is different. If I were a pro athlete my focus would be on playing in a market that has a warm climate and low taxes. I would have no interest in playing under a microscope in a Canadian hockey market. I have no interest in being famous, I would like to be as rich as possible though. I'd approach every contract as though it could be my last due to any number of things (injury, age, game evolving and leaving me behind etc). Get as much as you can while you can so that you never have to work again, you can choose what you want to do after the ripe old age of 35ish years old. Winning a cup for me would be important but secondary to what's mentioned above.

My point is everyone is different and has different priorities. I understand the Dougie Hamilton's of the world that would rather go to a museum than hit on waitresses at 'x' restaurant every night away from home.

Nylanders priorities probably look nothing like mine or yours.

[Jouko-Pouko]

If my employer offered me 25% less than what I'm worth, I wouldn't like it no matter what my salary was. Would you be happy if your yearly salary was reduced by 25%?

Losing $12M is no small thing. You have a very short time to earn your money that needs to last your entire life. You probably want to reward your parents and other people in your life who have sacrificed a lot to get you where you're at now. I can totally understand players wanting to get what they're worth.

We've seen a ton of examples of players taking less to improve team's chances of winning, and then the GM goes and wastes that money on something ridiculously stupid. Instead of wasting $4M on a bottom-pair defenseman, maybe work a bit harder and find someone for $2M so that you can pay your star what he's worth.

[havanablast21]

If my employer offered me 25% less than what I'm worth, I wouldn't like it no matter what my salary was. Would you be happy if your yearly salary was reduced by 25%?

Losing $12M is no small thing. You have a very short time to earn your money that needs to last your entire life. You probably want to reward your parents and other people in your life who have sacrificed a lot to get you where you're at now. I can totally understand players wanting to get what they're worth.

We've seen a ton of examples of players taking less to improve team's chances of winning, and then the GM goes and wastes that money on something ridiculously stupid. Instead of wasting $4M on a bottom-pair defenseman, maybe work a bit harder and find someone for $2M so that you can pay your star what he's worth.

And you're suggesting Nylander is worth $8 million?
No Chance. Just because Edmonton is inept in their ability to manage assets, Pissing away Hart Trophy winners and Letting Draisaitl write his own cheque to stay in town... in the REAL world, Nylander just hasn't proven to be worth $8 million IMO.

All due respect JP, and maybe I missed your point as it may be connected to an earlier message but if you're suggesting that a team should just pay a player what he "Thinks" he's "Worth", then that sounds more like Edmonton rationale than that of as successful organization (See Tampa).

[Daydream Nation]

I get that point of view but everyone is different. If I were a pro athlete my focus would be on playing in a market that has a warm climate and low taxes. I would have no interest in playing under a microscope in a Canadian hockey market. I have no interest in being famous, I would like to be as rich as possible though. I'd approach every contract as though it could be my last due to any number of things (injury, age, game evolving and leaving me behind etc). Get as much as you can while you can so that you never have to work again, you can choose what you want to do after the ripe old age of 35ish years old. Winning a cup for me would be important but secondary to what's mentioned above.

My point is everyone is different and has different priorities. I understand the Dougie Hamilton's of the world that would rather go to a museum than hit on waitresses at 'x' restaurant every night away from home.

Nylanders priorities probably look nothing like mine or yours.

Great post. And I agree about where you'd want to live and play and the priority of the contract over winning. Leaf fans often overestimate the allure of playing in Toronto. Personally, I would much rather live out of the fish bowl where I could go out to dinner or the grocery store without being bombarded by fans. To me, the Florida teams, Carolina, and Dallas would be my preferred locations. Arizona or Nashville wouldn't be bad either.

[Jouko-Pouko]

And you're suggesting Nylander is worth $8 million?
No Chance. Just because Edmonton is inept in their ability to manage assets, Pissing away Hart Trophy winners and Letting Draisaitl write his own cheque to stay in town... in the REAL world, Nylander just hasn't proven to be worth $8 million IMO.

All due respect JP, and maybe I missed your point as it may be connected to an earlier message but if you're suggesting that a team should just pay a player what he "Thinks" he's "Worth", then that sounds more like Edmonton rationale than that of as successful organization (See Tampa).

The Tampa comparison is bad because of the tax rate situation. $8M in Tampa equals to $11M in Toronto. That's why Tampa is able to get team-friendly deals.

If you look at Nylander's comparables, $8M isn't outrageous in an expensive city like Toronto. You have to remember that the cap has gone up since those comparables were signed, so his number is obviously going to seem a bit high because of that. I've said all along that $7M is where they should meet - it's where neither side is happy which is what compromises are all about. But to me, $8M is a more reasonable ask than $6M, so that's why I'm siding with the side that's being more reasonable.

[MZac]

And you're suggesting Nylander is worth $8 million?
No Chance. Just because Edmonton is inept in their ability to manage assets, Pissing away Hart Trophy winners and Letting Draisaitl write his own cheque to stay in town... in the REAL world, Nylander just hasn't proven to be worth $8 million IMO.

All due respect JP, and maybe I missed your point as it may be connected to an earlier message but if you're suggesting that a team should just pay a player what he "Thinks" he's "Worth", then that sounds more like Edmonton rationale than that of as successful organization (See Tampa).

7 or 8 million won't look nearly as bad 3 years from now. Cap inflation is a real thing.

[Mr. Guru]

New Mr. Guru wishlist trade offer.

Nylander Gardiner and two first rounders for Seth Jones

[Jouko-Pouko]

New Mr. Guru wishlist trade offer.

Nylander Gardiner and two first rounders for Seth Jones

I'm sure other teams are eager to get rid of young defensemen who are among the best five players at their position already.

[Mr. Guru]

Nobody asked your opinion

Nylander Gardiner two first rounders for Seth Jones.....

Make it happen Dubas!!!!

[MZac]

I'm sure other teams are eager to get rid of young defensemen who are among the best five players at their position already.

Hahaha so true... Leafs fans... Are just like other fans there's just more of them