News Article: Auston Matthews - August 1st., Contract Crickets

[kevsh]

It's definitely a contract you can live with, but he certainly did the Leafs no favours this time around either

See, that's my issue.
For all the cheering of what a great deal this is, it's clearly better for Matthews.

He didn't have much of a case for a higher AAV (cap going up has not happened, it's still speculation), and once again took minimal term so he could get a better deal (or walk) as soon as possible.

In short, this contract cannot honestly be interpreted as Auston "helping the team win".