Confirmed with Link: Leafs sign F Auston Matthews to extension (4 years, $13.25M AAV)

[Gary Nylund]

Lets f***ing goo!!!!!

Brad T is the goat

Ppl complaining term. You want to be giving a 34 year old 13.25? Toronto now owns Matthews entire prime. This is just smart business.

I'm most interested in what the trade/movement clauses are. Would be nice to have the option of trading him after two years or so when his prime is pretty much done, but he'd still be worth a ton on the market.

The other question is what does Willie think? I'm pretty sure he won't view this as a discount and therefore won't be willing to take one himself. And so it goes ...

 

[BeLeafing]

He's the best player this franchise has seen in decades. He's a Leaf until 2028. The rest is irrelevant.

Hell yeah

 

[JKG33]

Great. 4 more years of this shitty ass core

 

[notbias]

Just watch we pay even more for AM in 4 yrs bc we are close.

Honestly, I am not saying players should take discount bc I don’t like giving discounts for my work but is AM really worth 13.25mil and being the highest paid player in the League?
Mack signed his deal last summer for 12.6mil.

Should the cap go up or down on long-term contracts when it is years past their prime?

I feel like they would go down... maybe I am wrong.

 

[LEAFANFORLIFE23]

That is bad. Big oof. Willy might be gone with that contract inked.

How is it bad? He's got another year on his current deal plus his 4 year extension so It's really a 5 year deal and now he's signed through his 20's

He's likely committed his entire prime here.

 

[Canadian Finn]

meh. whatever.

team is what it is.

 

[ACC1224]

5 more years seems perfect. Hard to be unhappy with this, few dollars too much maybe, no biggie.

 

[saffronleaf]

Aav too high, term too low, bad deal

 

[1specter]

Not even 5 years LOL our players are self absorbed dbags

 

[francis246]

Just watch we pay even more for AM in 4 yrs bc we are close.

Honestly, I am not saying players should take discount bc I don’t like giving discounts for my work but is AM really worth 13.25mil and being the highest paid player in the League?
Mack signed his deal last summer for 12.6mil.

They signed pretty much close to the same cap percentage.

Players don’t care about the number anymore. When the negotiate they negotiate the cap percentage and they use whatever number falls on that cap percentage and work from there. Times have changed.

 

[Jimmy Firecracker]

Not going to be asking for 8 years from Auston after this one expires. If his play declines as he enters his 30s, think he’ll regret not signing an 8 year deal if he has to take a pay cut?

 

[francis246]

Not even 5 years LOL our players are self absorbed dbags

Better 4 than 3. I thought there was a zero percent chance he goes higher than 3

 

[Oscar Peterson]

How much will be left for McDavid?

Well Tavares' contract will be off the books by then and the cap should certainly be higher. Matthews will be on his last year at that point. I think there's a fairly likely chance Connor is interested in signing with us.

 

[JKG33]

They signed pretty much close to the same cap percentage.

Players don’t care about the number anymore. When the negotiate they negotiate the cap percentage and they use whatever number falls on that cap percentage and work from there. Times have changed.

I don't disagree. Except Mac is better and a proven playoff performer

 

[AllDay28]

Hockey is the only sport where ppl complain about elite players taking elite money and term that works for them.

The same fans who cried for 8? Years when the leafs didn't even make the playoffs. Gotta love it.

 

[notbias]

Not going to be asking for 8 years from Auston after this one expires. If his play declines as he enters his 30s, think he’ll regret not signing an 8 year deal if he has to take a pay cut?

Assuming his next contract is his retirement contract, if he signed 8 now, that contract might be a lot worse

 

[MarMarSab3]

Do we like it or hate it?

Hate it, 5 or 6 years yes ,4 too little

 

[ACC1224]

Well Tavares' contract will be off the books by then and the cap should certainly be higher. Matthews will be on his last year at that point. I think there's a fairly likely chance Connor is interested in signing with us.

He's not available sooner than that ?

 

[saffronleaf]

Leafs core continues to show that they are the greediest in the league

 

[Eternal Leaf]

Yesss glad thats out of the way. Why do some people want him at this cap into his mid 30s? Tbh unless Matthews predicts $20m cap hits by the time his next contract rolls around, I would have thought he'd want a longer deal.

Because they will get bent over when he asks for an extension at 29-30 (a year before his contract runs out). He will still be in his prime at that time with the cap being higher and you will have to offer even more for his mid-30 years.

I can guarantee his next deal will be an eight-year one to maximize his earnings.

Let's be honest, are the Leafs really walking away from Matthews at that age? I doubt it. They will pay whatever he wants again.

 

[ryno23]

very good deal. 4 years take him thru his prime and keeps the AVV down. If he went 8 the AVV would be way higher.

Now at 30 you get the ability to sign him to a final contract of his career 8 years at a better AVV

 

[fahad203]

Hate it, 5 or 6 years yes ,4 too little

He still has one more yeah before the contract kicks in. That's 5 years

That will take him to his 30s.

 

[1specter]

Better 4 than 3. I thought there was a zero percent chance he goes higher than 3

It's sad the bar is so low for us. Only our stars pull this crap

 

[MK78]

Good that they did it. so it's another 5 years with Matthews. They better not waste it like the first 7.

I'm ok with this. 4 years is not bad for an expensive contract. In 4 years whether we win something or we don't.

We are potentially going to get 10 years out of him. That's perfectly fine

Is that not 5 years? He is still signed for this entire year from his existing contract, no?

 

[BrannigansLaw]

Lets f***ing goo!!!!!

Brad T is the goat

Ppl complaining term. You want to be giving a 34 year old 13.25? Toronto now owns Matthews entire prime. This is just smart business.

“This is just smart business” lmao.

We tried to sign him for longer. He said no. How tf is that smart business on managements part? You really have no clue at all about anything.