Darren Ferris' recent comments regarding Mitch Marner's relationship with Toronto puts Gavin McKenna's first NHL contract into a new perspective.
Ferris recently interviewed with Puckpedia and went deep into his client's relationship with the Maple Leafs, citing that they 'didn't do anything to protect him' and that on his rookie deal, Marner received no performance incentives despite Auston Matthews receiving one.
It seems though that the Maple Leafs have decided to learn from their past history and wanted to avoid friction with Gavin McKenna, who recently signed his entry-level deal. With a potential $3.5-million in bonuses to be earned, this time around the team decided to load their rookie up with incentives.
Gavin McKenna can earn four times what Mitch Marner did in performance bonuses
Toronto has taken a much different approach to things now, and it looks more like they believe McKenna is more akin to the potential of Auston Matthews as opposed to Marner.
Matthews' rookie deal he signed in 2016 came at a cap hit of $925,000 but came with $2.850M in performance bonuses which raised his earnings to $3.775M.
McKenna received a higher base salary ($1.075M) with even higher bonuses potential ($3.5M) whereas Marner came in with no performance bonus in his first season, and only $850,000 in bonuses in 2016-17, 2017-18, and 2018-19 per Puckpedia.
Going based off the numbers, Toronto is treating McKenna's potential much more lucratively than they did Marner's; which was where Ferris argued the tension began.
For perspective, McKenna has the chance to make 4.1 times what Marner did in bonuses ($3.5M / $850,000 = 4.11) which is quite the turnaround from what was offered a decade ago.
McKenna would be making $2,030,883 total per year (salary and bonuses) more than Marner did per season though as first overall picks, McKenna and Matthews are entitled to more per the CBA.
Toronto isn't making the same mistake with McKenna they did with Marner
According to Ferris, Marner's friction with the Maple Leafs started when they didn't give him a bonus in the first season, nor give him any additional bonuses besides his annual one worth $850,000.
To avoid that a decade later, Toronto has loaded McKenna's deal up with bonuses as a way to prevent him from feeling slighted the moment he put ink to paper. Obviously, McKenna has to still perform and earn those but he at least has a chance.
With McKenna looked at as the future of the franchise and a foundational piece to build around, starting off the relationship strong was crucial. It proved to McKenna that he's going to be invested in heavily, and the Maple Leafs are willing to pay whatever is necessary to keep his confidence in them high.
Avoiding a repeat of history from a decade ago, Toronto made it known they were happy to pay McKenna handsomely for his potential and it very well could have avoided a disaster in the future where he already felt singled out since day one.
Do you think Toronto cared about Mitch Marner at all?
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