from John Matisz at the Toronto Sun,

Before packing it in for the summer, though, let’s pause and reflect. Here are 10 observations from a truly wild and wacky NHL off-season:

- McDavid’s compromise won’t help poster boys
On Tuesday, Connor McDavid admitted to leaving money on the table (reportedly $750,000 per year) when he signed an eight-year, $100-million contract extension with the Oilers.

We can debate for days the merits of trimming your earnings by $6 million for the good of the team. What really piques my interest is the effect McDavid’s selflessness will have on the earning potential of the sport’s marquee young forwards who are eligible next summer for second-contract deals.

Compared to an alternate universe in which McDavid accepted the reported $13.25M offer, Auston Matthews, Patrik Laine and Mitch Marner now will likely command fewer dollars.

McDavid is the benchmark and his actions, on and off the ice, set the dominoes in motion.

- Don’t sleep on the sneaky ’Canes
Carolina has brought in an underrated producer in Justin Williams, a defensive specialist in Marcus Kruger and a solid No. 4/5 ‘D’ in Trevor van Riemsdyk this off-season. In May, general manager Ron Francis also acquired starting goalie Scott Darling. A solid haul.

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