https://www.tsn.ca/tkachuk-matthews-...-bar-1.1253751
Quote:
“It kind of changes every year. It seems like there’s always that one guy or a couple of guys that change the money, whether higher or lower,” Tkachuk said. “You had [Connor] McDavid a couple years ago setting the bar there, maybe a guy like [Drew] Doughty setting the bar for free-agent (defencemen), a guy like [Jack] Eichel, too, signing, and now you have Matthews.
“I feel like every year there’s a couple guys, a couple big names every year, who kind of change the way a little bit. I think Auston changed it, too, going with the approach (of) a five-year deal, too. Maybe people haven’t seen that in a couple years, but it’s not like, uncommon. Guys used to do that all the time. He definitely set the bar.”
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So this negotiation is going to be fascinating. Not sure how Tkachuk can get paid $8m+ on a team where the rest of the core is getting less than $7m. I'm starting to think the way this comes full circle is with Tkachuk signing a 3-4 year contract at $6.7m to keep him on the same footing as Giordano and Johnny - and arguably that's how important Tkachuk is to this team.
Three years would take him to one year before free agency. Four years would allow the Johnny and Tkachuk contracts to reset together as Giordano comes off the books. It would also make a lot of sense - Gio comes off the books and retires. Johnny gets an "A" and Tkachuk gets a "C" and they both get new contracts like Toews and Kane did. It also gives Tkachuk the option to bolt to free agency very early if he want to...