Quoting: Subbanator7667
That's an over payment for Laine. I have said it in a couple posts but the biggest thing is the fact that Laine is not worth the money he wants, if it was $8 million over 8 years I could live with that but it's likely $8 million on a bridge contract that ends with him making $10-$12 million in 2 years which is to much.
Laine's 6th in goals scored in his first 3 seasons putting up 110 goals by age 20 with
only Ovechkin and Kucherov far ahead of him at #1 and #2 with
Mcdavid , Tavares and Mathews scoring 1-2 goals more then Laine or he'd be 3rd overall .
look at the 3 names that are in almost an identical Goal Scoring Pace and look at the contracts they just signed
Mcdavid 2 goals more in 4 more games and signed for 12.5m
Tavares 2 goals more in 3 more games and signed for 11m
Mathews 1 goal more in 25 less games and signed for 11.6m
Keeping in mind Laine ''struggled'' last year according to critics or he'd be higher
the other names above were have been consistent each of the past 3 seasons with no major issues
Mcdavid continues to hit new career highs each of the past 3 seasons
yet a 'struggling ' Laine is right on their heels despite the adversity he faced .
if i was him i'd be pissed off to
taking all this into account
Mcdavid no bridge deal
Mathews no bridge signing a 5 year deal taking him into UFA status (which is what Laine should do to get out of WPG as quick as possible like Mathews has set himself up to do )
why fans insist on paying Laine like he's less valuable then his peers is beyond me
Especially when Mathews got that and much more without half the battle Laine's going through
Laine should gets a similar contract to Mathews given he's the only player in Laine's age group who's ahead of him in the top 5 for goal scoring the past 3 years
10.5m on 5 years or 11m on 6 years makes a lot of sense and would allow him like Mathews full control as a UFA next time his contracts up