Real Kyper & Bourne - Matthews Signs 4-Year Extension

Episode Date: August 23, 2023

Nick Kypreos, Justin Bourne & Sam McKee are back for an emergency episode after the Maple Leafs signed Auston Matthews to a 4-year contract extension worth $13.25 million AAV! The guys give their immediate reaction and analysis on the signing, whether it was a good yearly figure for the term and how this changes the Leafs' approach in Nylander and Marner extension talks.The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Sports & Media or any affiliates.

This is Real Kipper and Bourne on Sportsnet 590 The Van. The Kipperio's Justin Bourne and Sammy McKee. Hey! Special, special, very special edition of Real Kipper and Bourne. Yeah, let's call it the Austin Matthews Special Edition. A quick podcast for you all on the breaking news that Austin Matthews has signed a four-year deal. 13.25 is the AAV for a grand total of what, guys? 53 million dollars? I was told there'd be no math.

There'd be no math. Close enough. Close enough. Listen, I'd love to sit here and ask you how your summer's going, but nobody gives a crap right now. The news of Austin Matthews signed for four years. So, listen, I've got my thoughts. I know, Sammy, you've got your thoughts.

But let's start with you, JB, on the initial thought of a four-year deal with an AAV of 13-2-5. Yeah, I mean, I'll come out and beat Peter Positivity. I think it's great. I mean, there were times this season, guys, where we talked about a $15 million contract for this guy. Like, the numbers at some points were terrifying, and I understand that a lot of people hold it up against other contracts,

like Connor McDavid or look at Stanley Cups won to this point. But to me, it's a perfectly reasonable deal for a guy who this takes him to age 31. You're getting the best part of his career. He's currently 25, about to be 26. He's won a Hart Trophy. Get you 50 a year. I mean, contracts are going up in all sports.

This, to me, is a pretty reasonable deal for the leafs kipper give us your thoughts no one cares about mine everyone wants to hear your thoughts come on let's go let's go first of all um there's no question with austin looking at uh unrestricted free agency with just one year left on his deal. Held a lot of cards here. You want me to give you my thoughts or what I know about the deal so far? That word had it. How about both? All right, let's start with what,

where the compromise was on this deal. Okay? Great. Austin wanted three years. They really pushed hard for three years. The Leafs pushed hard for five years. So what do they do? They settle in the middle for three years. The Leafs pushed hard for five years. So what do they do? Then they settle in the middle for four years.

13-5 is a number I think both sides can live with. If I'm Austin Matthews, I think the pressure of carrying anything beyond 13-5 would have been too overbearing for him. So I think there's still going to be people, guys out there, that say, why is he $600,000 more than the highest paid guy who just won a Stanley Cup in Nate McKinnon? There's going to be a lot of people there. Not as many as if he probably made $14 million,

but there's still going to be people out there that are questioning why he jumped significantly to become the highest paid player in the league when he was last year nowhere near the best player in the league those are my initial thoughts um and i've got much more but i'll let you guys comment on that well I think it's pretty interesting the compromise stuff I think five years was a good number for the Leafs I think three years is a really good number for Austin Matthews and I think meeting in the middle makes some sense but I I'd be lying if I it's exciting as a fan to have them back and have them locked in for five years that's good that's done that's something that you don't have to think about until down the road.

But at the same time, I'd be lying. Okay. All right. Justin, I know you're going to get in here, but Sammy, that's the same thing you said when he signed his five-year deal at 11-6. And those years go by pretty quickly. I know. And that's what I'm getting to here.

JB, why not seven or eight years at 13.25? Why only four? Connor McDavid signed Max. Nathan McKinnon signed Max. All the top centers, Leon Dreisaitl signed Max. Why does this guy become the highest paid guy in the league and you only get him for four years? To me, he's the guy who's doing it right.

First, the Conor McDavid contract is irrelevant at this point. It was signed six years ago in 2017. It's an irrelevant contract to me, too. No, it's not irrelevant. The number, the AAV may be irrelevant, but the term is not irrelevant. Nathan McKinnon signed last year. Nate McKinnon signed eight last year after winning the Stanley cup.

They didn't let him off the hook with four. No, but Kip, this, this guy is committed to 13 years as a Toronto Maple Leaf at this point. Anyone who's questioning what he's committed to this team, like how much do you want the guy to give? He's going to be here to 31. The other thing that I think is kind of overlooked here is, are we sure it's a bad thing for the Leafs that it's just five more seasons?

Like you didn't love how last year went. He has had some injury things. He's a big body. Like, is it the worst thing to reassess at age 30 and figure out what you have or even where the team's going maybe by that point you're selling again and the team's tearing it down i don't think it's terrible for them to have that flexibility sammy okay let me just jump off of what jb said so if he doesn't deliver a stanley cup next year the year after he doesn't see the third or fourth year deal that's what jb just

told me well i think it just the what the the perception to me is is that every other fan base gets to have their guys for eight years that not any other of the stars that have signed are like we have to turn this into the nba we have to middle it so we can make the most possible money like you know you would love that they would give in on maybe a little term or give in on maybe a little aav but none of them have done it there hasn't been one of them that's done it so far to this point so i don't think that deal is giving it on aav you don't think he can get more than 1325 like i mean he sure on the open market he's going to probably get a ton of money on the open market but

that's not what we're negotiating with we're not negotiating with the open market to me every other guy those are the years you're buying every other guy signs for eight eight years all the top guys have done it like kipper laid out and i don't want to be mr negative because it's exciting to have one of the best players in the league committed to the lease for five more years but i'd be lying here i'd be sitting here and telling you something untrue if i said i didn't wish it was just eight i just wish it was eight i just wish he did honest i want your truth i just wish he would do the thing that all the other guys do and he doesn't have to be the guy that reinvents the freaking wheel here like it's just like why does he why does it have to be the toronto guys that reinvent the wheel that's what i did jb i got i got i got sammy to question the four years i've

been harping on this all summer when you guys are on the golf course i've been harping on this on this on the radio all summer it's driving me nuts why it's it's different here why these guys are the guys that have to reinvent the wheel the other the other aspect of this deal guys is what what is the the the ripple effect of austin just signing for four years do because Marner's coming up next year. I don't, I don't accept this premise of a just four years, by the way, I think it's no, no,

no, no. It's just four years. It's not eight. And the message is clear. Then for four years is I get another crack at this at age 30, right? So I'm going to squeeze more money, A, out of the Toronto Maple Leafs when the cap goes up, or I go somewhere else and I make $16 or $17 million, right?

Great. Great on both accounts. It is great. But I want to go back to when the Leafs got themselves in this mess. The reason why they've been in cap hell is because they started with just a five-year deal on Austin. And it's almost as if they're doubling down on the same mistake they already made.

Let me give you an example now, okay? Do you think 16, Mitch Marner, who will be in a position to negotiate next summer, takes a different view on what his contract would look like if Austin signed 13.25 over eight years compared to four. For sure. Of course. Okay. So, so why am I, why am I going down the same path that got me in trouble the first time

with just a short-term deal to Austin? Because that's what these guys want because it's how they think. I don't know if it's, I don't know how they got the poor guys that think like this, but that's what they have. It maximized, it maximizes their potential earnings, right? But it kind of,

it cripples the Leafs a little bit too. But they didn't. Matthews did not crush the Leafs with this AAV. If the Leafs fail with Austin Matthews over the next five years, Kip, it's not because of his salary. He did. The term crippled.

If Austin still had two more years at what he had right now, the Leafs would be in a much better position because of the ripple effect on that. That deal, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yes, yes. Or on Marner. Yes. The term. The term. That's all I'm saying is just the term. Yes, yes. Or on Marner. Yes. The term. The term.

That's all I'm saying is just the term. The first term. I'm saying this contract, he's on a low enough value through the next five seasons as a guy who's a 25-year-old Hart Trophy winner at 13.25. It's a good number for one of the league's best players. This contract is not going to be the reason they fail if they do fail i i think your case kip about the earlier contracts hamstringing them yeah not good not good it put them in a tough spot here but i don't even know if you you know if it's better for the leafs to have them at four or eight years i don't even know i just like the number for a great player

here i like i think you're with the point you just made there is great for you're never going to be thinking about how austin matthews is hamstringing your cat picture like him making 13.25 million dollars if he goes out there and is like the ballpark of what you want to be worth like last year i'm hoping was a bit of an outlier you know like i know what do you end up scoring how many goals he scored i'm hoping that last year was a bit of an outlier yeah and it felt like he scored 20 i'm hoping that that's a bit of an outlier but i does he does he need with this does it with this contract does he need to be the second best player in the league for you sammy i i think he needs to be in the conversation which he can be like i think that whole year when we lied to ourselves and said that he was as good as connor mcdavid there were stretches that he was close to as good as conor mcdavid so leaf fans got all

horned up and said it multiple times which is probably the wrong thing to say well no yeah yeah let's just say i am leaf fan yeah for future record on these conversations about contracts or whatever the uh nathan mckinnon contract is a joke. It is an absolute joke. It's the worst contract. I don't know. This guy should decide. For who is it the worst? It's the worst for McKinnon. It's a terrible deal. But the best for Colorado.

He's worth 15 minimum. But the best for Colorado because he wants to win. But he's weird. He's weird. It's not Matthews who's weird. No, I disagree. This is hockey, buddy. This isn't the NBA. So, Nate McKinnon gives Colorado the best chance to win.

But Austin Matthews doesn't give Toronto the best chance to win. That's what you're telling me. I think he cut them a lot of slack, Matthews. I think he saved them a lot of money. I think if he's on the open market a year from now, you know how many teams are paying him 15 plus per season? Over that time, he is saving the Leafs money on what he would make if he were a free agent. That's what you're buying.

Let me ask you something. If Marner outscores Austin Matthews this year. Yeah. Where does his contract go? Out goals or out second assists? Let's just say he leads the team in scoring, okay? What does that mean? He has more points than Austin Matthews. He has a better year than Austin. Matthews is a 6'3", 220-pound elite face-off taking center so i don't think you

should pay more than matthews that's what i think and we are not having a year where we negotiate marner's contract i think we are it might be oh we are you know why i'm because he's up he's up next summer we're gonna do the exact same thing we did with aust with Mitch Marner 10 months from now. Strap in, baby. We're going to have a moratorium on the Marner. We're going to have one day we commit to it, and then I'm not doing it all year. Sammy, this time next year, if Marner signs a four-year deal,

you're okay with it based on Austin's four-year deal? I have to be. I just, you know, this is the new boys, the guys who reinvented the moon a couple months ago no it's like oh the new boys who is like we reinvent the wheel new contract boys we're the guys who changed the league it's like could we could we just have the old school hockey guys who just signed the long ones like is that too much to ask oh man i agree i agree with jb that it's a it's a it's a good number considering where the conversations were the last 12 months. I'm just not comfortable with a guy dipping his toe in the water on a four-year deal. If he loves it here so much, where's seven or eight?

If he loves it here so much. I want to be clear, though. Like, I am very happy that he signed. You seem thrilled. I am. I'm happy he signed here. I'm happy he committed four more years. Well, he's got five more years.

Like, there's a ton of people across the league that are eating a little bit of crow today from where they were chirping the leaf saying he's not resigning. He's not resigning. And he breaks his own news on Twitter by saying that he's happy to be here for a long period of time or whatever like yeah there's a lot of people this is a bet like sure they made him the highest paid player in the league on a short contract so maybe it would have been pretty stupid for him to turn that down but at the same time it's a feather in the cap of leaf fans that he actually committed again to play with the leafs like a lot of people thought he wouldn't do that when his contract was up. So I'm happy from that perspective, but a little bit sour on the other side.

Yeah. So, JB, would other Leaf fans have issues with why only four, you think? Yeah. No, there's definitely going to be people who are saying what Sammy said, and I get it. But as I said, he's committed to the Leafs for 13 seasons here. If it doesn't work out in 13 seasons, yeah, see ya. Like, oh, it's okay. You know, will he play out this contract even five more seasons? If they don't win over the next three or four, it seems unlikely, right? Like, you know, they have to win over this next period of time,

or the relationship isn't going to work beyond that. So are the Leafs going to win a cup over the next period of time or the relationship isn't going to work beyond that so are the Leafs going to win a cup over the next three years is probably the conversation and that's what our show is banking on boys just give me one before I croak it's all I need in his statement in the news that he broke himself Sammy he said uh basically i gotta i gotta lead this team to a championship yeah and i i like the message i like listen i think austin matthews is a really great player who is driven and he's great and he does all the things you need to do to win they just have to go out there and do it i like the message he said on twitter but you know talk is cheap a little tweet

doesn't really mean a whole lot but i like to see see him go like Bill Guerin on Brett Draney in training camp? Just get real feisty out of the gates and be like, okay. Does he have it in him? After all these years. You saw that fight with Stamkos. It was vicious. In the next four years, is there a side to him that we haven't seen just yet? Or is this all there is to Austin Matthew matthews i'll let you go

first jb i think that everything hangs on that question um i know myself i got angrier and meaner as i got older i felt you know i i think it's possible but it ain't inherent in his nature i'll say that but maybe he'll get frustrated enough and we'll see that side so i think the next question that we have to have here fellas if we've uh exhausted the positive part of the show which didn't feel that positive um what does it mean for old william now because everyone was saying that this was you know like i remember kipper saying that they had this done for a while and they would wanted to not do it before and have Willie come out. What's the Willie scenario now?

Well, the scenario is that they're going to start the season. Unless anything changes significantly quickly, there is a real sense that he's going to go into October without a new deal. You know what's funny is today our boys Friedman and Merrick had an interview with Willie, right? It's on Sportsnet.ca where Willie said, what's the rush? What's the big hurry? I do wonder, like, if they had this Matthews deal agreed to in their pocket

and they were kind of waiting for Nylander to get done before they could show Willie what Matthews deal is, I wonder if Willie saying that today didn't make them be like, forget it it just put it out there if you know like let's just release some good news if willie's not going to sign it's honestly a great point and that thought had crossed my mind as soon as i saw the announcement because willie was so like i the clip drove me off the wall i did 25 minutes on the radio about it today where i was like losing my mind but he's just like what's the big deal it's like do you think you play on pluto you haven't noticed no it's like you play in toronto like what's the big deal are you like oh my god anyways but no it's like i think this is a kind of a

pretty clear indication that it may not be getting done like don't you think i agree i i believe that uh if if he can come in around sebastian ajo's number which was what nine seven guys nine seven five i i think i think the leafs are going to be okay to pay him nine and a half but it would be up to will. How many years? Eight. If I could choose four or eight for Willie, I'm choosing four. Agree. I don't want to see what age 33 effort William Nylander looks like. I agree. This guy's going to skate the exact same way at age 33.

You're right. You know what? That's a really good point. He's not changing one iota yeah so i think if if willie comes to terms on uh on being okay at nine and a half this can get done but if he's married to 10 plus then this one's gonna go much deeper into the regular season so do you think that there's a chance like that he gets traded or is it just going to play it out here i think uh there's always a chance that he

can be traded if if they feel like they can get a defenseman back uh or you know if you can get a five or six million dollar defenseman back and and $3 or $4 million, right? D ain't good enough. At the end of the day, you can sit there and love Austin Matthews all you want, but that right side of, what are we looking at? Klingberg, Lilligren, Giordano, and Lilligren ain't getting it done. Yeah, that ain't exactly pretty, is it? So I think the option will be there all season long to trade Nylander,

but I think with the Austin signing, they really are in a position to say that we've invested and banked on these guys for all these years. Let's see it through. I can't believe they're going to run it back. I just can't believe it. I'm kind of glad, but I just can't believe it. Well, it's a different run it back.

It's a different run it back. Because you're the type of guy to slow down on a car wreck on the Don Valley Parkway. Is that why, JB? I am. 100% I am, yes. And that is why. Well well at least they added some new guys that look different like it's not all the same guys you know reeves and you know

bertuzzi and domey like they'll look a little different they should help they should help for sure yeah but they they still love their highly skilled players and they've got one signed no question for the next five seasons as sammy stipulated with still uh one year remaining on his old deal now the question is is uh where does neilander fall in all of this all right did we exhaust it let me ask you before we go before we go if uh classic old school radio here boys give me a letter grade on the William Neiman or on the Austin Matthews signing. On the contract. Kip, you want to go first?

B minus. B minus. I think it's an A minus. I like it. I was going to say B minus too. So me and Kip are way too in sync here. Yeah. Yeah.

Listen. No, it's not B minus. It yeah yeah listen no it's not true it's not true it's just mixed messages right just mixed messages on a on a four-year deal i take it while all the other superstars are giving it back that's all it's b plus it's b plus for sure like because they got one of the best players in the league under contract for five more years when everybody thought they wouldn't do it so it's okay but the perception of it drives me a little nutty but b plus a minus b minus nobody went down into my high school grades so that's good we all stayed above b listen this this will be the most important question i'm i'm gonna ask in in in the last 20 plus minutes what would you grade

this segment after being off for so long oh this is a plus it's good to see you right back into it like i i felt like we never left if it gets better this show is gonna be huge the connection part of it was not a a plus but we got it so all right fair enough okay listen uh i hope everybody enjoyed a little segment uh summer segment courtesy of austin matthews and uh stay close to the news we'll be back uh before you know it's on the real kipper and headboard show thanks for watching everybody