from Michael Traikos of the National Post,

The numbers don’t add up. At least, not if you are the Toronto Maple Leafs.

How else to explain what’s going on with restricted free agents these days? While the Leafs were forced into paying above sticker price for Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and William Nylander, every other young player in the league seems to be giving their team a discount.

It’s like buying a ticket to a hockey game, only to realize that the person sitting next to you got theirs for a quarter of the price.

Days after Mitch Marner agreed to a $10.893-million cap hit, Boston defenceman Charlie McAvoy signed for just $4.9-million per year. A week later, Tampa Bay got centre Brayden Point under contract for $6.75-million annually.

What’s next? Calgary’s Matthew Tkachuk and Winnipeg’s Patrik Laine signing for the league minimum?

For the Leafs, it’s difficult not to see how this will affect the team going forward.

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