article: This Appears to be the End for Zach Hyman as a Maple Leaf

Unrestricted free agency opens six weeks from today across the NHL. There remains time for the above to be true and for the two sides to meet and work something out. But the more I’ve talked to people around the team in the weeks since the Leafs’ season ended in ugly fashion, the less that feels like where we’re headed.

 

In fact, it feels downright unlikely anything is going to get done.

 

Multiple sources said they didn’t believe any talks of substance had happened, going back months. No progress was made on extension talk at any point, really, going back to when Hyman first became eligible for a new deal last year.

 

All that happened in that time frame was he put up his best season in the NHL, scoring at a prorated 29-goal, 63-point pace during the regular season. And his value on the open market continued to climb.

 

Other teams and agents around the league believe Hyman can now command close to $6 million a season on a long-term deal, an unthinkable sum only a year or two ago.

 

Josh Anderson’s mammoth seven-year, $38.5 million deal signed with the Canadiens last October often comes up as a comparable.

A $6 million cap hit might sound outrageous to some Leafs fans, who have watched as Hyman has gone from a Marlies checker to a bonafide NHL first-liner over the last six seasons. But, statistically speaking, Hyman falls in the same category as veteran UFA wingers like Nick Foligno, Ryan Callahan, Cam Atkinson and, yes, David Clarkson who all signed for around 8 percent of the salary cap as UFAs over the last eight years.

 

Even in a pandemic-induced flat cap world, that’s $6.5 million a season.

https://theathletic.com/2654368/2021/06/16/mirtle-this-appears-to-be-the-end-for-zach-hyman-as-a-maple-leaf/?source=emp-shared-article

Someone will pay. Hopefully it's not us.

To compare him to Clarkson's deal is a bit odd. That was an all time terrible contract.

Someone will pay. Hopefully it's not us.

 

To compare him to Clarkson's deal is a bit odd. That was an all time terrible contract.

It's not that odd, though. He's in the same mold, and every single one of those types of deals is an instantly regrettable one that never ends well.

It's not that odd, though. He's in the same mold, and every single one of those types of deals is an instantly regrettable one that never ends well.

Right, because most GMs know that when they sign a player to an 8 year deal, they likely won't be around long enough to see it end.

Right, because most GMs know that when they sign a player to an 8 year deal, they likely won't be around long enough to see it end.

"I'm not worried about [year] six or seven right now, I'm worried about year one, and year one, I know we're going to have a very good player. I believe that he's got a lot of good years left in him." — Dave Nonis on the Clarkson contract

He is, but none of these deals end well. If you're signing him, you better win in the first half of the deal, because the second half is going to be absolutely miserable.

isnt that pretty much every long term UFA deal? we signed Panarin. how many $13m years does he have left in him?

isnt that pretty much every long term UFA deal? we signed Panarin. how many $13m years does he have left in him?

Sometimes, yes, but especially the overtly physical players. The Clarksons, Callahans, etc. of the world burn out much more quickly than a Panarin will (or is likely to).