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.
