Since publishing that article, we have seen a half-retained Ryan Johansen traded to Colorado for essentially free. John Tavares is a better player than Johansen, so it’s not an apples-to-apples comparison, but it gives us a sense of the market that we already discussed in the previous article. With cap space at a premium, it’s pricey to free up room. For a Leafs team that is still very much trying to win, paying up to clear the books of a point-per-game center makes little sense.
That brings us to Auston Matthews, who on the one hand presents a much more straightforward discussion, but on the other hand, there is maybe a bit more to it than meets the eye.