Quote:
Originally Posted by butterfly
It would have been anyway, and they just blew a 9-figure stack of cash on a declining player. Killer move would have been a Matthews deal, but it seems Draisaitl is smarter than that.
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Matthews is just younger and was smart and to not go 8 years coming off his ELC.
Matthews will be 31 when this 4 year contract expires, or only a year older than when Draisaitl's 8 year deal kicks in at 30.
Matthews went 3-5-4 for a total of 12 years before hitting UFA
Drai and McDavid both went 3-8 for their first 11 years.
Will work out better for Matthews because with the climbing cap he's going to maximize that last 8 year retirement contract with a salary cap that's much higher than it is today.
He would have been foolish to do 8 years now and lock up his 27-34 year old seasons and be a UFA at 34. This lets him cash in a 8 year deal at 31 and eat up those 35-39 year old seasons at a premium.
Similar to Drai right now, would have been crazy for him to take anything either than a 1 year deal (just to have a matching UFA with 97) or a 8 year deal.