Chris Johnston

The path to a new Auston Matthews contract was paved in a manner the Maple Leafs have been altogether unfamiliar with when dealing with core players during this epoch of the team.

Not only were negotiations smooth and harmonious, they remained entirely underground and featured a high level of trust on both sides of the bargaining table.

It’s no small thing that they concluded a full four weeks before Matthews and his teammates were officially due to report for training camp in Toronto, clearing the air of any clouds before they’d even had a chance to form.

That’s not traditionally how these things have played out here.

There’s also every reason to believe this particular contract will age in a manner that is favourable to the Leafs as they seek to keep their Stanley Cup window propped open. Consider that they saw the NHL’s salary-cap ceiling climb a mere $2-million across the five seasons on Matthews’s expiring deal and can expect a $4-million jump before this new contract even takes effect in July because the COVID debt is projected to be paid off in the coming year.

In practical terms, that means Matthews will account for a hair more than 15 percent of the available cap when his contract begins with the 2024-25 season – roughly equivalent to Nathan MacKinnon’s new deal in Colorado, and appropriately behind Connor McDavid’s 15.7 percent in Edmonton back in 2018.

It is not inconceivable that Matthews might see his cap charge fall to the 13 percent range before the end of his four-year extension should NHL revenues grow as forecasted, leaving the Leafs with more resources to devote to other aspects of the roster in the process.

With rosier economic times on the horizon for the industry, the former Hart Trophy winner and 60-goal scorer could reasonably have pushed for an AAV higher than the $ 13.25 million he received.

That’s essentially where the balance was struck in this round of discussions.

Matthews possessed all of the leverage a year out from potential unrestricted free agency and managed to protect his own interests by laying claim to the NHL’s new highest cap hit while also keeping open some career flexibility with an unprecedented four-year term. However, he could also find comfort in knowing that he wasn’t meaningfully impairing the team’s ability to compete for a championship in the process.

That was a must-have item for a player approaching his 26th birthday as he committed prime years to the organization that sacrificed an entire season to win the right to draft him first overall in 2016.

The obvious win on the Leafs end of the equation was that they secured the rights to Matthews through the 2027-28 season without completely breaking the bank to do so. That represented a strong outcome for Brad Treliving, new to the Leafs general manager’s job but no stranger to the nuances of negotiation, as he showed a steady hand during the summer while Matthews worked through his process with agent Judd Moldaver of Wasserman Hockey and other members of his small inner circle.

Sure, the Leafs would have preferred a five- or six-year term, but the four-year deal the sides landed on was one year longer than many in the industry were anticipating.

The fact they arrived there without any measurable tension or drama over the final outcome carries an intangible benefit as the team tries to build off winning a playoff round last spring.

Every year is a big year for a group still thirsting for a much bigger breakthrough, and removing any doubts about where Matthews fits into the equation is unquestionably a big positive as they seek to integrate a cast of new characters this fall.

Ultimately, Matthews proved to be a man of his word by committing the remainder of his 20s to Toronto, and that fact represents a strong statement to anyone still questioning where his heart rests.

It’s also a measure of progress for an organization that saw William Nylander miss two months of a season because of a contract standoff and had Mitch Marner arrive a couple of days late for a training camp. Even Matthews’s last negotiation took until February to wrap up after a bid to get things done during training camp fell short.

This time around there was not even a hair out of place as Matthews signed his third contract with the Leafs.

A unique contract befitting a unique player.

TORONTO – With the stroke of a pen Auston Matthews became the NHL’s highest-paid player and secured something money can’t buy.

The chance to go down as the greatest player in Toronto Maple Leafs history.

By agreeing to a four-year extension carrying a $13.25-million cap hit on Wednesday, Matthews guaranteed himself at least five more seasons in a Maple Leafs sweater.

Assuming reasonably good health, that should be more than enough time to score the 122 goals needed to surpass Mats Sundin’s franchise record of 420. It even leaves him within reach of the 446 points he’d require to pass Sundin’s total of 987 – although Matthews will have to outpace long-time teammate Mitch Marner in order to get there first.

This is the third NHL contract signed by Matthews and it commits the remainder of his 20s to Toronto.

He’s both grown up and grown extremely comfortable in his only NHL home, removing any possible doubt about his intentions at season’s end when he publicly declared his desire to complete a new contract. 

What drives him more than anything is trying to bring an elusive Stanley Cup to the NHL’s longest-suffering fanbase. It’s been an unexpectedly rough ride on that front, with just one second-round appearance from his seven playoff seasons, and to some degree Matthews’ eventual legacy will be tied to whether he and the Leafs other stars can eventually get over the hump.

From a business perspective, there was still never any doubt that Matthews would surpass Nathan MacKinnon’s league-leading $12.6-million AAV when he signed this extension. The only question was how many seasons it would cover and how close to the July 1 window he could be compelled to agree to it by new Leafs general manager Brad Treliving.

While it falls well short of the maximum allowable eight-year term permitted on NHL contracts, that comes with benefits for both the team and player.

Most notably it kept the cap hit significantly lower than some had been predicting – leaving Treliving with more space to build out the Leafs roster around No. 34 in the coming seasons. It also protects some long-term upside for Matthews with the salary cap due to finally start climbing again in 2024, not to mention the new collective bargaining agreement set to be negotiated by the NHL and NHLPA in 2026.

In the meantime, it will keep one of the NHL’s brightest stars under the spotlight at Scotiabank Arena.

There has never been another player in the 100-plus year history of the Leafs quite like Matthews: An Arizona-raised first overall draft pick who has outscored all of his peers since the day he stepped foot in the NHL.

After a record-setting four-goal debut in Ottawa, he’s done nothing but accumulate accolades and hardware.

In 2017 Matthews became the first player from the organization to take home the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year since Brit Selby in 1966.

In 2021 he claimed the first of two consecutive Rocket Richard Trophies as the NHL’s top goal-scorer.

And then in 2022 he became the first Leafs player in history to score 60 goals, the first Leafs player ever to take home the Ted Lindsay Award as the players’ MVP choice and the first Leafs player since Ted Kennedy in 1955 to win the Hart Trophy.

New contract in hand through 2027-28, Matthews will get a real crack at adding even more to that impressive legacy while still trying to be among the first Leafs players to lift the Stanley Cup since 1967.