While responding to a tweet from the NHL's PR account that put Marner's 80-point season into context, Marchand provided his opinion on what the Leafs should pay the pending restricted free agent.
"I can't wait to see this kids new deal," he tweeted. "12m AAV?? It better be #Marnerwatch."
I cant wait to see this kids new deal... 12m AAV?? It better be#Marnerwatch
With the Bruins and Leafs likely meeting in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Marchand appears to already be playing the pest role he's mastered.
For Toronto, the star 21-year-old's contract extension has been a touchy subject lately. Marner's agent put talks on hold in January to prevent distractions, and reports of teams preparing offer sheets surfaced in February.
This season, the Maple Leafs locked up Auston Matthews to a five-year extension worth $11.6-million annually, and the team gave William Nylander a six-year deal worth $6.96 million per season.
Marner leads Toronto with 81 points through 66 games, placing him ninth overall in the NHL.
When the Washington Capitals signed Tom Wilson to a six-year, $31-million contract last summer, it was met with heavy criticism. He was about to come with a $5-million cap hit after recording a career high of only 14 goals.
However, Wilson has silenced the critics in his first year under the new deal. He has 18 goals and 33 points in 47 games, which would put him on pace for 31 tallies and 57 points over an entire 82-game season.
The offensive production
Wilson's deal actually stacks up quite nicely to similar pacts signed by wingers over the past few years, according to Cap Friendly's contract comparison tool.
Player
Length
AAV
GPG
PPG
Tom Wilson
6
$5.16M
0.38
0.70
Elias Lindholm
6
$4.85M
0.39
1.09
Jason Zucker
5
$5.5M
0.26
0.52
Teuvo Teravainen
5
$5.4M
0.28
0.94
Nino Niederreiter
5
$5.25M
0.28
0.63
J.T. Miller
5
$5.25M
0.20
0.60
Reilly Smith
5
$5M
0.22
0.65
While some players have drastically outplayed their contracts, such as Lindholm, it's clear that Wilson is being paid appropriately based on his production this season.
Wilson's $5.16-million average annual value is the 103rd-highest cap hit among NHL forwards this season, and, according to Corsica's player rankings, he's been the 102nd-best forward in the NHL. The top 100 features many skaters playing out the final years of their entry-level contracts, too. If Wilson can maintain this offensive production, his contract will look better with each coming year.
The physical element
Icon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire / Getty
The NHL has evolved into a league which values skill more than toughness, but there's still room for a throwback like Wilson. He's even more valuable today than he would've been 10 or 20 years ago since players with his skill set are such a rarity. You can count on one hand the number of players in Wilson's tier of toughness who can also play on a top line.
Wilson is a legitimate heavyweight fighter. He may even be the best scrapper in the game, though Ryan Reaves probably disagrees. Fighting may be down across the league, but this still matters.
For example, after Ian Cole delivered a cheap shot to Evgeny Kuznetsov earlier in the season, Wilson immediately took exception and beat Cole to a pulp. It's safe to say Cole will never again take a run at a star player on the Caps.
Wilson is also arguably the game's most feared hitter. Opponents - specifically defensemen - need to know where he is on the ice at all times. Yes, his aggressive play has gotten him into trouble with the Department of Player Safety, but more often than not it yields positive results, as seen when this bone-crushing check on Jake Gardiner led to a goal.
Wilson's game profiles similarly to the first 10 years of Milan Lucic's career, though Wilson is a better skater than Lucic ever was, which suggests he'll age better. Even if Wilson's production falls off a cliff at 29 years old as Lucic's did, his contract will be coming to an end.
The Capitals were banking on Wilson's breakout season not being an aberration when they signed him to the extension. In Year 1, he's already taken his game to new heights offensively, and there's no indication he can't improve further.
Players like Wilson don't grow on trees, and the Capitals have one locked up for the next five years on a very team-friendly cap hit - something nobody anticipated when the deal was signed.
When the Washington Capitals signed Tom Wilson to a six-year, $31-million contract last summer, it was met with heavy criticism. He was about to come with a $5-million cap hit after recording a career high of only 14 goals.
However, Wilson has silenced the critics in his first year under the new deal. He has 18 goals and 33 points in 47 games, which would put him on pace for 31 tallies and 57 points over an entire 82-game season.
The offensive production
Wilson's deal actually stacks up quite nicely to similar pacts signed by wingers over the past few years, according to Cap Friendly's contract comparison tool.
Player
Length
AAV
GPG
PPG
Tom Wilson
6
$5.16M
0.38
0.70
Elias Lindholm
6
$4.85M
0.39
1.09
Jason Zucker
5
$5.5M
0.26
0.52
Teuvo Teravainen
5
$5.4M
0.28
0.94
Nino Niederreiter
5
$5.25M
0.28
0.63
J.T. Miller
5
$5.25M
0.20
0.60
Reilly Smith
5
$5M
0.22
0.65
While some players have drastically outplayed their contracts, such as Lindholm, it's clear that Wilson is being paid appropriately based on his production this season.
Wilson's $5.16-million average annual value is the 103rd-highest cap hit among NHL forwards this season, and, according to Corsica's player rankings, he's been the 102nd-best forward in the NHL. The top 100 features many skaters playing out the final years of their entry-level contracts, too. If Wilson can maintain this offensive production, his contract will look better with each coming year.
The physical element
Icon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire / Getty
The NHL has evolved into a league which values skill more than toughness, but there's still room for a throwback like Wilson. He's even more valuable today than he would've been 10 or 20 years ago since players with his skill set are such a rarity. You can count on one hand the number of players in Wilson's tier of toughness who can also play on a top line.
Wilson is a legitimate heavyweight fighter. He may even be the best scrapper in the game, though Ryan Reaves probably disagrees. Fighting may be down across the league, but this still matters.
For example, after Ian Cole delivered a cheap shot to Evgeny Kuznetsov earlier in the season, Wilson immediately took exception and beat Cole to a pulp. It's safe to say Cole will never again take a run at a star player on the Caps.
Wilson is also arguably the game's most feared hitter. Opponents - specifically defensemen - need to know where he is on the ice at all times. Yes, his aggressive play has gotten him into trouble with the Department of Player Safety, but more often than not it yields positive results, as seen when this bone-crushing check on Jake Gardiner led to a goal.
Wilson's game profiles similarly to the first 10 years of Milan Lucic's career, though Wilson is a better skater than Lucic ever was, which suggests he'll age better. Even if Wilson's production falls off a cliff at 29 years old as Lucic's did, his contract will be coming to an end.
The Capitals were banking on Wilson's breakout season not being an aberration when they signed him to the extension. In Year 1, he's already taken his game to new heights offensively, and there's no indication he can't improve further.
Players like Wilson don't grow on trees, and the Capitals have one locked up for the next five years on a very team-friendly cap hit - something nobody anticipated when the deal was signed.
Edmonton Oilers CEO Bob Nicholson has narrowed down the list of candidates in his search for a new general manager, TSN's Darren Dreger reported on Monday's edition of ''Insider Trading.''
Dreger listed Kelly McCrimmon, Dave Nonis, Keith Gretzky, Sean Burke, Mike Futa, and Mark Hunter as candidates, though he noted there could be others. Gretzky has served as the Oilers' interim general manager since Peter Chiarelli was fired in January.
Nicholson would like to begin seeking permission to speak with these candidates in the next 10-14 days, Dreger added.
The new hire, if not Gretzky, would mark the Oilers' fifth general manager since 2008. The team has made the playoffs just once over that span.
Shore was helped off the ice by teammates and did not return to the game. The 24-year-old was scheduled to have an MRI on his knee Monday, according to Ducks assistant coach Mark Morrison.
Cole avoided supplementary discipline for a similar knee-on-knee collision with New York Islanders forward Brock Nelson earlier this season. He was assessed a two-minute minor on that play.
The 30-year-old blue-liner earned a three-game ban in 2012 for an illegal check to the head of Detroit Red Wings forward Justin Abdelkader, the only suspension of his career.
There will be a laundry list of topics up for discussion at the annual GM meetings this week in southern Florida, but the current NHL playoff format will not be one of them.
"It's not on the agenda," NHL senior executive vice president Colin Campbell said Monday, according to TSN's Frank Seravalli.
The NHL changed its playoff format after restructuring each conference from three divisions to two ahead of the 2013-14 season. The switch was made in an effort to build and promote divisional rivalries.
The change has worked to some degree, but later rounds of playoff action can lose steam as a result, with serious contenders forced to face each other early in the postseason.
Despite disapproval from many fans and even some players, hockey's higher-ups are quite content with the existing playoff format and the results it has yielded.
"I would say that there doesn't appear to be a consensus or desire for change," deputy commissioner Bill Daly said Monday, according to Seravalli. "The current system has done what it was intended to do. It's emphasized and featured rivalries in early-round matchups. And that has generated enhanced interest and better (television) ratings."
Based on the standings entering Monday's action, three of the NHL's top five teams are guaranteed to be eliminated from the playoffs before the conference finals.
Columbus Blue Jackets head coach John Tortorella offered a blunt explanation for defenseman Adam McQuaid's status as a healthy scratch during Sunday's loss to the Winnipeg Jets.
"I have to make decisions on who I think is our best six, too, and right now 'Quaider' isn't that," Tortorella said Monday, according to Brian Hedger of the Columbus Dispatch.
The Blue Jackets acquired McQuaid from the New York Rangers ahead of the trade deadline in an effort to bolster their blue line, but it seems Tortorella currently considers the 32-year-old to be a liability.
"Little concerned about the speed of the game with him and so we went back to the other guys," the coach said.
The 6-foot-4 defenseman has posted a minus-four rating in three games since joining the team.
Columbus has dropped three of four contests since general manager Jarmo Kekalainen went all-in at the trade deadline and sits two points out of a playoff berth heading into Monday's action.
Every Monday, theScore offers a weekly fantasy hockey column detailing a handful of moves you should make. This week's edition focuses on Round 1 of the fantasy hockey playoffs. Ownership percentages and position eligibility are courtesy of Yahoo.
Pick up Mikael Backlund
Team: Flames Position: C Ownership: 34 percent
Backlund has been on fire lately, scoring four goals and adding five assists in his last eight games, during which the Flames are 7-1. You'll almost certainly have room for him in your lineup for all four of his games, as three of Calgary's contests this week come when many teams are off.
Add Justin Schultz
Icon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire / Getty
Team: Penguins Position: D Ownership: 37 percent
Schultz has made a triumphant return from an early-season knee injury, as he's picked up six points in eight games since rejoining the lineup. With Kris Letang shelved, Schultz has been leading the Penguins' shaky defense corps, as he's averaging 26:45 of ice time over his last four games, recording four points in that span. He's also been the point man on Pittsburgh's highly skilled power-play unit.
The fact that the Pens have a league-high four games this week is simply a bonus to all the upside Schultz brings.
Stream Marcus Johansson
Team: Bruins Position: LW Ownership: 5 percent
The Bruins' biggest trade deadline acquisition has failed to make a notable impact in his three games in black and gold, tallying just one assist. However, Boston has been the league's hottest team of late, and it's only a matter of time before Johansson gets in on the action. He'll have plenty of chances to do so, as the Bruins are one of seven teams with four games this week.
Johansson should be targeted in deeper leagues where Backlund is likely already owned.
Take a flier on Filip Hronek
Icon Sportswire / Icon Sportswire / Getty
Team: Red Wings Position: D Ownership: 1 percent
Hronek is one of the Red Wings' top prospects and is already making an impact at the NHL level. Since his most recent recall from the AHL, the Czech blue-liner has four assists in six games, and he's played over 22 minutes in each of his last three contests. The Wings play four games this week, and three of their opponents struggle to keep the puck out of their own net.
Like Johansson, Hronek should be viewed as an option in deep leagues where Schultz has likely already been scooped up.
Drop fringe players on Blackhawks, Predators, Flyers, Sharks
The Blackhawks, Predators, Flyers, and Sharks each play two games this week. Obviously, the big names should still be owned, but any fringe players need to be dropped for guys with four games this week.
