Headlines

  • Latest On Nikolaj Ehlers
  • Hurricanes Acquire K’Andre Miller In Sign-And-Trade With Rangers
  • Alex Delvecchio Passes Away At Age 93
  • Sabres Sign Ryan McLeod To Four-Year Deal
  • Rangers, Will Cuylle Agree To Two-Year Deal
  • Kings Sign Cody Ceci, Brian Dumoulin, Anton Forsberg
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • MLB Trade Rumors
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors

Pro Hockey Rumors

  • Home
  • Teams
    • Atlantic
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
    • Central
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Dallas Stars
      • Minnesota Wild
      • Nashville Predators
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Utah Mammoth
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • Metropolitan
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Pacific
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle Kraken
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Partners
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Eichel Sets The Market For Matthews And Laine

October 7, 2017 at 1:38 pm CDT | by Brian La Rose Leave a Comment

While the eight-year, $80MM contract extension that the Sabres handed center Jack Eichel earlier this week ensures that Buffalo has their franchise player under contract for almost the next decade, it also goes a long way towards setting the market for 2016 top picks Auston Matthews (Toronto) and Patrik Laine (Winnipeg) this time one year from now.

Both Matthews and Laine surpassed Eichel’s rookie season output and at least are expected to do the same with their second-year production so it’s fair to say that both players should check in past that $10MM mark while Connor McDavid’s eight-year, $100MM extension with Edmonton from the summer will represent the high end.

Despite that, there’s a case to be made that Buffalo did the Leafs and Jets at least small favor by locking Eichel up now.  With a more defined salary range to work with, it should be easier for GMs Lou Lamoriello and Kevin Cheveldayoff to plan around who they can keep and who may become a cost casualty.  Both teams will have some tough calls to make.

For Toronto, they also have Mitch Marner eligible for an extension starting next summer while William Nylander’s entry-level contract will be up (with no in-season extension in the plans).  That trio could cost somewhere around $25MM per year and Lamoriello will undoubtedly want to keep all three in the fold.  Looking ahead to 2019-20 when the second contracts will kick in for Marner and Matthews, they’ll have over $55MM committed to just 11 players (which doesn’t include the injured Nathan Horton or any money allocated for pending UFAs Tyler Bozak, James van Riemsdyk, and Leo Komarov).  Needless to say, that’s going to be a tight squeeze.

It isn’t much different in Winnipeg either, especially with the recent long-term extensions handed out to Bryan Little (six years) and Nikolaj Ehlers (seven years).  They already have more than $33MM tied up in six players for 2019-20 when Laine’s next deal will begin plus they still have to re-sign Jacob Trouba this summer and either re-sign or replace key pieces in winger Blake Wheeler and defenseman Tyler Myers a year later.  Put those four players (or replacements) under contract and they’ll be past the $60MM mark with still more than half a team to sign.

The 2019 offseason is still a long way away so there is plenty of time for Lamoriello and Cheveldayoff to determine how they’re going to fit in the big ticket deals for Matthews and Laine on their payroll.  But at least now with the Eichel contract, they have a better idea of just how much it’s going to cost to keep them around for the long haul which gives them more time to plan out any corresponding moves.

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email

Toronto Maple Leafs| Winnipeg Jets Auston Matthews| Patrik Laine

Central Notes: Wild, Bishop, Zadorov, Fiala
Main
Snapshots: Canucks, Flyers, Jagr, Hornqvist
View Comments (0)

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please login to leave a reply.

Log in Register

    Top Stories

    Latest On Nikolaj Ehlers

    Hurricanes Acquire K’Andre Miller In Sign-And-Trade With Rangers

    Alex Delvecchio Passes Away At Age 93

    Sabres Sign Ryan McLeod To Four-Year Deal

    Rangers, Will Cuylle Agree To Two-Year Deal

    Kings Sign Cody Ceci, Brian Dumoulin, Anton Forsberg

    Ducks Sign Mikael Granlund To Three-Year Deal

    Islanders Sign Jonathan Drouin To Two-Year Deal

    Mammoth Sign Nate Schmidt, Brandon Tanev To Three-Year Deals

    Blue Jackets Re-Sign Ivan Provorov To Seven-Year Deal

    Recent

    Flames Ink Goalie Ivan Prosvetov To One-Year Deal

    Ducks Finalize Coaching Staff

    Latest On Nikolaj Ehlers

    Hurricanes Acquire K’Andre Miller In Sign-And-Trade With Rangers

    Islanders Sign Simon Holmstrom To Two-Year Deal

    Alex Delvecchio Passes Away At Age 93

    Penguins Sign Justin Brazeau, Caleb Jones To Two-Year Deals

    Hurricanes Sign Mike Reilly

    Golden Knights Sign Dylan Coghlan, Jaycob Megna, Cole Reinhardt

    Two-Way Deals: 7/1/25

    Rumors By Team

    Rumors By Team

    • Avalanche Rumors
    • Blackhawks Rumors
    • Blue Jackets Rumors
    • Blues Rumors
    • Bruins Rumors
    • Canadiens Rumors
    • Canucks Rumors
    • Capitals Rumors
    • Devils Rumors
    • Ducks Rumors
    • Flames Rumors
    • Flyers Rumors
    • Golden Knights Rumors
    • Hurricanes Rumors
    • Islanders Rumors
    • Jets Rumors
    • Kings Rumors
    • Kraken Rumors
    • Lightning Rumors
    • Mammoth Rumors
    • Maple Leafs Rumors
    • Oilers Rumors
    • Panthers Rumors
    • Penguins Rumors
    • Predators Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Red Wings Rumors
    • Sabres Rumors
    • Senators Rumors
    • Sharks Rumors
    • Stars Rumors
    • Wild Rumors

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • 2025’s Top 50 Unrestricted Free Agents
    • Sam Bennett Rumors
    • Nikolaj Ehlers Rumors
    • Mitch Marner Rumors
    • Marco Rossi Rumors

    Pro Hockey Rumors Features

    Pro Hockey Rumors Features

    • Support Pro Hockey Rumors And Go Ad-Free
    • 2025 Free Agent Focus Series
    • 2025 Offseason Checklist Series
    • 2025 NHL Free Agent List
    • 2026 NHL Free Agent List
    • Active Roster Tracker
    • Coaching Staff Directory
    • Draft Pick Tracker 2025
    • Key Offseason Dates
    • Offseason Trade Tracker
    • Pro Hockey Rumors On X
    • Pro Hockey Rumors Polls
    • Waiver Claims 2024-25

     

     

     

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives

    PHR Info

    • About
    • Privacy Policy
    • Commenting Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

    scroll to top

    Register

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version