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DefenceWinsChampionships wrote:Flo The Action wrote:This year has been a literal nightmare for RFA’s. No one wants to sign a deal in the hopes of being able to get a contract that takes them to FA.
As much as everyone calls him the wonder kid, I think Dubas shot the entire league in the foot by giving Matthews that contract. Now all the noteable RFA’s are trying to get the same 5 year deal. I doubt that this is the case with white(although you never know) but this could certainly become an issue with Chabot.
Everyone is in a standstill waiting for the next shoe to drop. There will be more reasons to hate Dubas if he caves in and goes the same route with Marner as it will probably have a ripple effect around the league. Every kid and his agent now thinks they can land two big contracts and have complete control over their destiny much sooner.
Dubas did this to himself. Signing Tavares threw everything in Toronto out of whack. He could have saved face by trading Nylander but instead has shown the rest of the league the power of player holdouts. Nylander became the 'way forward' and Matthews' contract became 'the bar'. I'd have never thought someone like Matthew Tkachuk or Kyle Conner would get over $6.5M on an RFA deal and now have real shots making $8M+. Now these guys sit out 10-15 games, the team panics when they lose games they should be winning, and they give in to their demands.
If I were Chabot I'd be doing the same thing. The difference in Ottawa is that I do believe there will be a management change and a commitment to spend money over the next couple of seasons. Use this year as a growing year, develop the young guys in the NHL and AHL, get a top 2 pick, and all of a sudden you have a really competitive team. Hopefully Chabot (and Tkachuk) see that, Melnyk sells, and the Sens are setup for the next decade.
I think you’re right, dumbas not only Cussed his team but the rest of the league. And everything in terms of future with this team’s hinges on Melnyk selling. PLayers willingness to resign certainly is.
The more I think about it, the less I see Chabot resigning with the team before next summer. There is going to be this underlining threat that he may want to utilize that he could sign a front loaded offer sheet that Melnyk wouldn’t want to match so that he may bargain a 5 year contract that brings him to UFA if it gets done before next summer.
