[suburbanite]

Nylander isn't a comparable for Matthews or Marner and his name likely never entered the conversation during negotiations.

Matthews wanted Mcdavid's percentage of cap on a 8 year deal which would be upwards of $13.8 million on next years salary cap. If he and his agent have overvalued him that much, there's not much you can do but settle on a more reasonable term that unfortunately takes him into UFA status earlier than you would like. Ask any gm in the league if they would want 5 years of Matthews at $11.6, or the subpar return you would get for trading his RFA rights if you go into another game of chicken next season.