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

[LEAFANFORLIFE23]

So does he have a full NMC after all which means we can't trade him without his approval? Geez that sucks if true, oh well.

Of course he does, he's an MVP level player why wouldn't he?

And even if he didn't why would anybody want to trade him?

 

[Arzak]

Of course he does, he's an MVP level player why wouldn't he?

And even if he didn't why would anybody want to trade him?

He got full NMC for all 4 years.

It's similar to Pasta, but he gets trade-able on the tail of the contract

CLAUSE DETAILS: Years 1 - 5: NMC | Year 6: NMC + 8 team TO trade list | Year 7: 10 team TO trade list | Year 8: 10 team NO trade list

 

[ShaneFalco]

What are you going to do if we win it all this season? With that perspective do you just say hey we got lucky and celebrate like the rest of us? That doesn't really make sense though because some of us actually believe that this season is our best chance in a very long time. We're excited for the season to start but why do you even watch if you're so miserable?

I'll eat crow then
Something you apologists never do
And no I don't watch as much anymore

 

[Gary Nylund]

Of course he does. Did anyone expect he wouldn’t?

I think we all expected that he would, but when the signing happened the contract showed on cap friendly as having no NMC which led to much discussion here and it wasn't clear that he did in fact, have such a clause. I wasn't paying attention for a couple of days so was a bit late finding out but of course I'm not surprised, just disappointed. Top dollar, well below max term, full NMC and front loaded too the nth degree, of course, why would anyone expect anything else. But if this is done again 5 years from now, I'm gonna puke.

Why would this even remotely be on the table?

You use the full five years to contend, and if you're still knocking on the door, in good contending shape you extend Matthews again and keep pursuing a title.

If even three years (never mind five) from now we still haven't gone deep even once and we've added 3 times at the TDL leaving our team old with bare cupboards, the idea of perhaps starting over is a very obvious one. And signing him 5 years from now when he's past his prime to the cap hit he will likely be seeking could end up being among the biggest mistakes in franchise history.

Of course he does, he's an MVP level player why wouldn't he?

And even if he didn't why would anybody want to trade him?

I'd say both questions are answered above.

 

[janesy12]

Following the Marleau advice to a T. Short term deals to maximize career earnings.

 

[Gary Nylund]

What are you going to do if we win it all this season? With that perspective do you just say hey we got lucky and celebrate like the rest of us? That doesn't really make sense though because some of us actually believe that this season is our best chance in a very long time. We're excited for the season to start but why do you even watch if you're so miserable?

Been hearing that for a few years now. A team with as much talent as we have probably always has at least a punchers chance but I don't know about "best chance". We spent a ton at the last TDL, I really thought that that was our best chance since 67 and we crapped out against a heavy underdog in the 2nd round. Since then I think we're clearly weaker as we no longer have ROR and Schenn, our D could be a big issue and GIO/Brodie could both be taking big steps backwards plus our depth took a hit losing Sandin so while I like the Bertuzzi signing, not sure he's enough to make up for all that, in fact I'm pretty he's not. So yeah we were nowhere near good enough a year ago and I see no logical argument for us being better this spring.

Might be more accurate to say that this year is out last chance with this core. I suspect we'll keep Nylander and try to win but if can't pull it off, then what? If we again spend like drunken sailors at the TDL, then the cupboards really will be bare, then we either lose Nylander for nothing or sign him for a crapton of a cap hit, the D will really be getting old, Marner will probably want to get the first billion dollar contract in NHL history and realistically it's hard to optimistic about our future at that point. Even if we're lucky enough to land McDavid 3 years from now, it our assets are depleted and the team around him is old and our core players are all past their primes, even that might not be enough to keep us among the top contenders.

I'll be excited for the playoffs to start (as always), the regular season, not so much. But if you're excited that's great, enjoy the season and don't worry too much about whether others are excited or not or if they're watching or not. And I say that because to be honest, you're often chiding people for being miserable and in the end, all your animosity makes you seem like the most miserable of them all.

 

[666]

Been hearing that for a few years now. A team with as much talent as we have probably always has at least a punchers chance but I don't know about "best chance". We spent a ton at the last TDL, I really thought that that was our best chance since 67 and we crapped out against a heavy underdog in the 2nd round. Since then I think we're clearly weaker as we no longer have ROR and Schenn, our D could be a big issue and GIO/Brodie could both be taking big steps backwards plus our depth took a hit losing Sandin so while I like the Bertuzzi signing, not sure he's enough to make up for all that, in fact I'm pretty he's not. So yeah we were nowhere near good enough a year ago and I see no logical argument for us being better this spring.

Might be more accurate to say that this year is out last chance with this core. I suspect we'll keep Nylander and try to win but if can't pull it off, then what? If we again spend like drunken sailors at the TDL, then the cupboards really will be bare, then we either lose Nylander for nothing or sign him for a crapton of a cap hit, the D will really be getting old, Marner will probably want to get the first billion dollar contract in NHL history and realistically it's hard to optimistic about our future at that point. Even if we're lucky enough to land McDavid 3 years from now, it our assets are depleted and the team around him is old and our core players are all past their primes, even that might not be enough to keep us among the top contenders.

I'll be excited for the playoffs to start (as always), the regular season, not so much. But if you're excited that's great, enjoy the season and don't worry too much about whether others are excited or not or if they're watching or not. And I say that because to be honest, you're often chiding people for being miserable and in the end, all your animosity makes you seem like the most miserable of them all.

Lots of words to say nothing again Gary. It's not just about our team. It's also about the rest of the league and what's happening there but it doesn't appear that you follow it much. If you're not excited about this ENTIRE season then you must be miserable. The only thing that I'm not thrilled about is you and the rest of the haters polluting these forums with your whining.

I'll eat crow then
Something you apologists never do
And no I don't watch as much anymore

I respect that. I refused to watch the entire season where Babcock tanked but these are basically opposites as we did come in last that season and there's a high probability that we'll be first in the regular season this year.

 

[81Leafs50]

Connor McDavid is coming off a season where he scored 64 goals 153 points & has 5 X Art Ross (league scoring leader) 4 X Ted Lindsay (league MVP) + 3 X Hart trophies + 1 X Rocket Richard .

Leafs were put in a position to pay Auston Matthews more than McDavid (the best player on the planet) or let him walk away, because off the past actions of a now fired GM.

Auston AAV of $13.25 mil > McDavid $12.5 mil & his Cap % of 15.87 % > McDavid of 14.28 CH% beginning in 2024-25.

Only in Toronto would Matthews be viewed as more valuable and therefor more costly than McDavid.

The more you overpay your players the harder it is to win the Stanley Cup in a Salary Cap World.

this is not close to being correct. McDavids CAP % is 16.67, based on this years cap and next years cap the calculation looks like this

McDavid 16.67% @ 83.5 = $13.92M
McDavid 16.67% @ 87M = $14.5M

Matthews got 13.25M making his cap percentage (15.2) which is way less than McDavids.

Based on Matthews previous contract of $11.634M AAV (cap % of 14.64) at the new cap limit of $87 for next season the AAV would be $12.75M. Since he actually signed for $13.25 thats a very minimal raise. 500k is not an overpayment or anything crazy.

If you are going to represent the numbers, this is the correct way of doing it. Matthews is NOT taking up any more of the pie than he was on his 11.634M deal and thats the truth.

 

[All Mod Cons]

Good signing by Brad especially considering how much Kyle has hampered him. The damage from Kyle will be felt for years.

 

[IPS]

The only thing that I'm not thrilled about is you and the rest of the haters polluting these forums with your whining.

If only there was this thing called an ignore button where you could just not see/engage with the whining you so desperately battle against.

Why do you feel so compelled to police other's opinions?

 

[Hellcat]

I don’t blame Matthews and Marner as much as I blame management. They set the wheels in motion by allowing these two prima donnas to bend them over backwards and take it up the ass on their previous contract negotiations. You have your opinion, you’re entitled to it. This is mine.

As far as Matthews and Marner are concerned, can’t argue with their regular season success, but their disappearing acts in the playoffs leaves something to be desired.

The disappearing acts has as much to do with those players as it has to do with their coaches inability to adjust to the other teams game plan. They've been fine , they just have not been beast mode. IMO it's more a structural failure than a individual failure. The regular is for two purposes, 1) Play well enough to make the playoffs 2) Develop systems and plays that allow you to mix and match, our team is basically Matty/Marner JT / Willie... rinse wash repeat, no change no adjustments. If fast breakouts, run and gun is not working for us, we are done, we got nothing after that. Hard for individual players to overcome and opponent who has a game plan for you but your team has a poor game plan for them. When individuals go super hero in the playoffs, its usually a combination of individual talent and their team has a game plan that allows that player to play unfettered from their opponents game plan.

 

[Hellcat]

I'll eat crow then
Something you apologists never do
And no I don't watch as much anymore

I've never really understood that term in this sort of context what is an apologist?

 

[ShaneFalco]

I've never really understood that term in this sort of context what is an apologist?

A cheerleader basically where noone can say anything negative about the Leafs

 

[Stephen]

If even three years (never mind five) from now we still haven't gone deep even once and we've added 3 times at the TDL leaving our team old with bare cupboards, the idea of perhaps starting over is a very obvious one. And signing him 5 years from now when he's past his prime to the cap hit he will likely be seeking could end up being among the biggest mistakes in franchise history.

I think the desire for sweeping changes is understandable. I find myself wishing for an expansion team by mid spring every year.

That said, the 3 year window you and the other poster are throwing out there for a pre-emptive rebuild is not rooted in reality.

The player wanted 3 years. Which is a 4 year commitment. And the team was pushing for 5, which would have been 6. So both parties see a longer runway than 3 years.

Things could always go sideways and maybe circumstances force them into a rebuild 3 years from now. But that’s probably not Plan A, B, C…

 

[CDN24]

Following the Marleau advice to a T. Short term deals to maximize career earnings.

It will work as long as you have Marleau longevity.... if you fall off a cliff a la Dany Heatley it could cost the player in the long run. I hated the term of the initial 5 year deal from the Leafs perspective but I think this one is okay. These 4 years have much less risk than a 8 year term if ever he regresses early.

AM 34 is assuming the risk of a early decline here. In his position, I would have preferred the certainty of an 8 yr extension

 

[BayStBullies]

A cheerleader basically where noone can say anything negative about the Leafs

Those words don't mean what you think they mean

 

[Mess]

this is not close to being correct. McDavids CAP % is 16.67, based on this years cap and next years cap the calculation looks like this

McDavid 16.67% @ 83.5 = $13.92M
McDavid 16.67% @ 87M = $14.5M

Matthews got 13.25M making his cap percentage (15.2) which is way less than McDavids.

Based on Matthews previous contract of $11.634M AAV (cap % of 14.64) at the new cap limit of $87 for next season the AAV would be $12.75M. Since he actually signed for $13.25 thats a very minimal raise. 500k is not an overpayment or anything crazy.

If you are going to represent the numbers, this is the correct way of doing it. Matthews is NOT taking up any more of the pie than he was on his 11.634M deal and thats the truth.

Unfortunately many people confuse this concept when understanding how contracts work. Too bad our former GM didn't understand this.

McDavid has a $12.5 mil AAV based on a 8 year term average . That was his CH% at time of signing only. Matthews has a an AAV of $11.634 mil but for only 5 year term. The Oilers only need to fit $12.5 mil under their cap ceiling each year as his average since a players AAV remains static & constant throughout, so as the Salary Cap ceiling rises a players CH% declines over time giving the team an advantage the longer they get a player to sign for. That is why you see smart GMs sign players for 8 years because they amortize the original cap hit in year #1 over term.

Next season when Matthews new deal kicks in his AAV = $13,25 mil while McDavid remains $12.5 mil because of term, and that is why Matthews last contract was so bad because Matthews takes up more of Leafs total team cap space of $87.5 mil ceiling than McDavid now does in 2024-25.

Cap Hit % = A players AAV/ NHL Salary Cap Ceiling. Therefore since AAV (annual average value) is static and Salary Cap ceiling is Variable the more it increase the less the player impact his team.

You can look in capfriendly if you don't believe me, CapFriendly - CapFriendly - NHL Salary Caps

This is their new adjusted Cap Hit for this upcoming season as reported on their web site, and neither players original CH% at time of signing is no longer relevant its recalculated.

You can verify that CAP% if you want ........... Matthews @ $11.640,250 AAV / $ 83,500,000 mil (Salary Cap Ceiling for 2023-24) = 13.9 %
& when Matthews new contract kicks in .... Matthews @ $13,250,000 AAV / $ 87,500,000 mil (Salary Cap Ceiling for 2024-25) = 15.1 %
vs. McDavid (with 3 years remaining) .......... McDavid . @ $12,500,000 AAV / $ 87,500,000 mil (Salary Cap Ceiling for 2024-25) = 14.3%

 

[Dekes For Days]

Unfortunately many people confuse this concept when understanding how contracts work. Too bad our former GM didn't understand this.

Unfortunately, many people do, but thankfully, our former GM wasn't one of them.

That was his CH% at time of signing only.

Which is what matters when discussing contract signings.

McDavid has a $12.5 mil AAV based on a 8 year term average . That was his CH% at time of signing only. Matthews has a an AAV of $11.634 mil but for only 5 year term.

Actually, 12.5m is McDavid's AAV, not signing CH%. His signing CH% was 16.67%, after he took a discount from the negotiated 17.67% valuation. Matthews got 14.64% on a 5 year term. Which would put Matthews below both McDavid's 17.67% valuation and 16.67% discount on an 8 year term, and is a number that is historically justified at that term for a post-ELC contract for a player like Matthews.

The Oilers only need to fit $12.5 mil under their cap ceiling each year as his average so as the AAV remains static and constant and as the Salary Cap ceiling rises a players CH% declines over time giving the team an advantage the longer they get a player to sign for. That is why you see smart GMs sign players for 8 years because they amortize the original cap hit in year #1 over term.

Next season when Matthews new deal kicks in his AAV = $13,25 mil while McDavid remains $12.5 mil because of term, and that is why Matthews last contract was so bad because Matthews takes up more of Leafs total team cap space of $87.5 mil ceiling than McDavid now does in 2024-25.

McDavid's AAV will be less because he signed under a lower cap. That's how it works. There was no escaping that. If Matthews had signed an 8 year contract coming off his post-ELC, the higher cap he signed under would have put him at a higher AAV than McDavid for 7 years instead of 2 years.

 

[notbias]

Good signing by Brad especially considering how much Kyle has hampered him. The damage from Kyle will be felt for years.

I can't wait until they have playoff success and we hear "this is Brad's team"

 

[Dekes For Days]

I can't wait until they have playoff success and we hear "this is Brad's team"

And then Treliving will be applauded for keeping the core together.

 

[tuckerintensity]

I think we all expected that he would, but when the signing happened the contract showed on cap friendly as having no NMC which led to much discussion here and it wasn't clear that he did in fact, have such a clause.

Cap Friendly was very specific that the terms of the contract they listed were based on reports and that the figures and clauses were subject to change as that information became available.

FWIW, of the Top 10 cap hits in the league, only two of them aren't front loaded (Doughty, Huberdeau) and all of them have a NMC or a modified NTC for the entirety of the contract that is eligible for one (McDavid doesn't see one until the fifth year of his deal because he wasn't eligible to have one until then). These are very normal things for the top players to have, it seems strange to be mad at him for getting them.

 

[Shooter2x]

For those making commitment comment...this will total 12 full years of his time in Toronto. There is zero commitment issues from this guy.

And who cares what he does when he's an old fart. We can officially say we had Auston Matthews for all his best years.

 

[Captain Crunch]

The disappearing acts has as much to do with those players as it has to do with their coaches inability to adjust to the other teams game plan. They've been fine , they just have not been beast mode. IMO it's more a structural failure than an individual failure. The regular is for two purposes, 1) Play well enough to make the playoffs 2) Develop systems and plays that allow you to mix and match, our team is basically Matty/Marner JT / Willie... rinse wash repeat, no change no adjustments. If fast breakouts, run and gun is not working for us, we are done, we got nothing after that. Hard for individual players to overcome and opponent who has a game plan for you but your team has a poor game plan for them. When individuals go super hero in the playoffs, its usually a combination of individual talent and their team has a game plan that allows that player to play unfettered from their opponents game plan.

Yes, Keefe has not been good at all in the playoffs. I won’t be surprised if Tre fires him after this coming season, unless they go on a deep run in the playoffs.

 

[All Mod Cons]

Yes, Keefe has not been good at all in the playoffs. I won’t be surprised if Tre fires him after this coming season, unless they go on a deep run in the playoffs.

It will be interesting to see Sheldon coach a Dubas-less team. To be fair to the coach, could you imagine having to coach whatever it is that Kyle see's in hockey?

 

[666]

Unfortunately, many people do, but thankfully, our former GM wasn't one of them.

Which is what matters when discussing contract signings.

Dude, that's not how it works. Capfriendly currently has NHL estimated caps up to the 2025-26 season.

Thank You - CapFriendly - NHL Salary Caps

Thank you for the amazing 9 years

www.capfriendly.com

I don't know where they got those numbers but it says NHL estimate.

When negotiating a multi year contract BOTH sides present projected cap increases. The players will go a bit higher and the owners a bit lower but they have a general idea and most certainly don't negotiate next years contract based on today's cap hit when the NHL has already projected out a couple of seasons. These people are smart, they don't let anything slip by (except Doughty, he didn't even use an agent and got screwed). Of course neither side predicted Covid but that's a different thing.