Same cap different choices

Hyman isn't going to maintain his production. Eventually a younger better player will push him down the lineup and then he's a 5.5 million dollar 3rd liner who can add 30 points a season. Murray has played very well for stretches this season. Injuries happen and I am not worried about him. The hindsight is 20/20 mentality is a waste of time.

Leafs got unlucky with Hyman and his injuries. Especially that last year. He was starting to drive his own line and then got hurt. He was dreadful in the playoffs. Even still, they definitely knew what they had in him and wanted to keep him. He is an all Dubas guy. Picked out with no value, traded for nothing because they found him under the radar, developed by them, improved everywhere by them. The issue was in order to keep his cap number down (flat cap), they would have to go long term with him. And they didn't seem to want to do that. Yet they decided he would be worth it, and they probably could figure out how to move him out in the back half of the contract. He, rightfully, asked for the NMC as the return for the discount on the AAV. That was the impasse.

A part of me still thinks they should have just done it, but a larger part of me thinks that will be a bad bet down the road and proofing it with a NMC will kill you. As a fan I just care that this is their window and they should just add whatever and pay term/money to whoever helps in the short term. Be more like Edmonton, or Calgary this offseason, or the Islanders. They don't think like that. They think more like Carolina and Tampa. We will see where it goes.