Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple LeafsIn part one of the “Core Four” Offseason Series we looked at John Tavares, who has a high annual salary that will be difficult to move, even if he were to waive his no-movement clause (which is quite unlikely).
Since publishing that article, we have seen a half-retained Ryan Johansen traded to Colorado for essentially free. John Tavares is a better player than Johansen, so it’s not an apples-to-apples comparison, but it gives us a sense of the market that we already discussed in the previous article. With cap space at a premium, it’s pricey to free up room. For a Leafs team that is still very much trying to win, paying up to clear the books of a…
