Auston Matthews has signed a deal that will make him the NHL’s highest-paid player.
And the Toronto Maple Leafs, and their supporters, may finally breathe.
On Wednesday, the star centre signed a four-year, $53 million US contract extension that would keep him with the franchise that drafted him first overall in the 2016 NHL draft until the 2027-28 season.
The contract has an average annual value of $13.25 million, making Matthews the league’s highest-paid player starting in 2024-25, surpassing Colorado star Nathan MacKinnon’s $12.6 AAV.
Matthews has one season left on his current contract, a five-year, $58.2 million deal signed in February 2019 that would have allowed him to enter unrestricted free agency next summer.
“I feel blessed to continue this adventure as a Maple Leaf in front of the best supporters in hockey,” Matthews wrote on X, the social networking site that was previously known as Twitter. “I will do everything I can to help us reach the summit of the mountain.”
Matthews earned the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP in 2021-22 after scoring a league-high 60 goals, which also drove him to his second consecutive Maurice (Rocket) Richard Trophy.
The 25-year-old from Scottsdale, Arizona, had a minor decline in 2022-23, but still struck the back of the goal 40 times as part of an 85-point season spanning 74 games.
Matthews contributed five goals and six assists in 11 playoff games, helping Toronto reach the postseason for the first time since 2004.
The future of the Leafs’ finest player dominated social media and talk radio after the season concluded. Matthews’ full no-movement clause becomes effective on July 1, giving him great control over his destiny during contract negotiations.
Another issue was the lack of clarity in both Toronto’s front office and behind the bench.
To cap off a weird exit, the organization sacked general manager Kyle Dubas, who was responsible for signing Matthews and fellow “Core Four” star forwards Mitch Marner, John Tavares, and William Nylander, and replaced him with former Calgary Flames GM Brad Treliving.
Head coach Sheldon Keefe, meanwhile, was left flapping in the breeze with one year left on his contract until Treliving declared during the NHL draft in June that the 42-year-old would return, albeit without a contract extension.
Sheldon Keefe will return as Maple Leafs’ head coach, says general manager Treliving.
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Toronto’s squad design during the Dubas era was criticized for its top-heavy character, with nearly half of the club’s salary cap hit going to four offensive players who produced little playoff success.
Tavares ($11 million AAV) and Marner ($10.9 million AAV) have two years left on their contracts. Nylander, like Matthews, is entering the final year of his current contract, which has an AAV of over $7 million.
Matthews, who won the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s rookie of the year in 2016-17 and the Ted Lindsay Award as the league’s most outstanding player in 2021-22, has 299 goals and 542 points in 481 career regular-season games.
Matthews earned the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP in 2021-22 after scoring a league-high 60 goals, which also drove him to his second consecutive Maurice (Rocket) Richard Trophy.
The 25-year-old from Scottsdale, Arizona, had a minor decline in 2022-23, but still struck the back of the goal 40 times as part of an 85-point season spanning 74 games.
Matthews contributed five goals and six assists in 11 playoff games, helping Toronto reach the postseason for the first time since 2004.
The future of the Leafs’ finest player dominated social media and talk radio after the season concluded. Matthews’ full no-movement clause becomes effective on July 1, giving him great control over his destiny during contract negotiations.
Another issue was the lack of clarity in both Toronto’s front office and behind the bench.
To cap off a weird exit, the organization sacked general manager Kyle Dubas, who was responsible for signing Matthews and fellow “Core Four” star forwards Mitch Marner, John Tavares, and William Nylander, and replaced him with former Calgary Flames GM Brad Treliving.
Head coach Sheldon Keefe, meanwhile, was left flapping in the breeze with one year left on his contract until Treliving declared during the NHL draft in June that the 42-year-old would return, albeit without a contract extension.
