Wayne Gretzky reveals what Matthews and Nylander have to do to win in Toronto
Issues in the Negotiations for Auston Matthews and William Nylander.
We revealed a major issue with the extension negotiations for Matthews and Nylander earlier today.
If you missed it, see: Major Setback in Matthews and Nylander's Negotiations
But there's a way to fix the problem, and Wayne Gretzky exposed it during an interview.
Gretzky Reveals What the Leafs Need to Do to Win
According to Gretzky, it's simple: they need to accept lower salaries if they want to be part of a competitive team.
Here's what he said:
In the old days, you just kept everybody, right? And you look at LA, they won two Stanley Cups. They had to rebuild because of the salary cap... Chicago won 3 Cups and basically had to tear down the organization, and now they're rebuilding.
I hope that players make as much money as they can. I hope they earn all the money that they make, but let's be honest; Connor [McDavid] is probably signed to a discount now. Auston [Matthews] is probably going to sign for a little bit of a discount because, at the end of the day, after you've played 7 or 8 years, it's no fun being knocked out in the 1st round or 2nd round.
Unfortunately for guys like Connor [McDavid] and Auston [Matthews] and Nathan MacKinnon - you've gotta leave some money in the pot because you need some teammates to be able to win a Stanley Cup, right?
It comes down to personal choice. Do I take all the money I can and basically maybe get knocked out in the 1st round? Or do I take a little bit less and show the team and show the organization that I want to win a Stanley Cup? - Wayne Gretzky on the idea of Auston Matthews and other star players needing to take less to help the team win."
You can listen to the full interview in the link below:
Gretzky has a good point. It's unfortunate that Matthews won't sign before Nylander does, and Nylander won't accept a lower pay unless Matthews does it too.
It looks like the situation won't change until one of them matures a bit...
Do you think William Nylander will be traded?
As seen on Maple Leafs Daily -
Wayne Gretzky emphasizes the need for Auston Matthews and William Nylander to take less in order to win
| POLL | ||
JUILLET 11 | 2915 ANSWERS Wayne Gretzky reveals what Matthews and Nylander have to do to win in Toronto Do you think Nylander will be traded? | ||
| Yes | 2300 | 78.9 % |
| No | 615 | 21.1 % |
| List of polls | ||
![Feb 13, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; [Imagn Images direct customers only] Team USA forward Auston Matthews (34) looks on against Team Finland in the second period during a 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey game at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images](https://i.marqueur.com/habsetlnh/medium/531249.webp "Feb 13, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; [Imagn Images direct customers only] Team USA forward Auston Matthews (34) looks on against Team Finland in the second period during a 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey game at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images")
![Feb 13, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; [Imagn Images direct customers only] Team USA forward Auston Matthews (34) looks on against Team Finland in the first period during a 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey game at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images](https://i.marqueur.com/habsetlnh/medium/531292.webp "Feb 13, 2025; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; [Imagn Images direct customers only] Team USA forward Auston Matthews (34) looks on against Team Finland in the first period during a 4 Nations Face-Off ice hockey game at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: David Kirouac-Imagn Images")
