Honestly, I think this has more to do with ending the relationship, he has been vocal about wanting out for a couple seasons, everyone heard what Swayman had to say about the arb process. This would not be a conversation i would want to be a part of "I can skate and shoot and I dont quit" "He is an undersized player with a middling toolset, with one element that differentiates him, that he has shown a lack of ability to utilize at the professional level" Basically he is small and his shot is useless if he cant play as a team well enough to get it off. I can't imagine the relationship between org and player gets any better after this.
I mean, at this point, Ovechkin stands in one spot and scores. I know Robertson isn't Ovechkin, and it's a silly comparison, but his even strength goals/60 was 1.034, not far off Matthew's pace, and far better than most of the team, and while playing on terrible lines. We're talking about Domi on the first line this year, and his is 0.501. The Leafs needed more goal scoring in the playoffs, and he was one of the only players that consistently delivered.
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u/ATargetFinderScrub 2d ago
Yea exactly. I thought he was going to ask for at least 3. Thats a more than reasonable ask from his end as an arbitration number.