Yeah jingle, Marner getting paid center money as a winger is ridiculous.
I'm not so stuffed about that, but tying up almost 1/2 the cap in four guys - ALL AT FORWARD - is what's killing them, and will continue to kill them. With only $40M for the remaining 19 players, the only thing they can afford for the rest of the forwards is a couple of decent $3M-$4M guys, and then a bunch of league-minimum contracts - which means one of three things - A) young kids still on ELCs, and hoping they can step up; B) old fuck's that have already made their money, and hope they can keep up; C) players that should not be NHL starters. They'll never be able to afford a Top 15 / stud defenceman, and have to hope they can fill a goaltending tandem for under $5M combined.
I said it when it happened, there was no need to sign Tavares with the talent they already had in Matthews/Marner/Nylander. JT's best years are behind him, and the Leafs are paying him like he's still got a few 100-point and/or 50-goal seasons in him. Spoiler alert - he doesn't.