The contract
The Toronto Maple Leafs sign Auston Matthews to a four-year, $13.25 million AAV extension.
Dom Luszczyszyn: Auston Matthews had all the power in the world to sign a landmark deal, one that brought power back to the league’s top players. More flexibility and more money — back toward how the league’s best used to be paid. That means shorter-term deals in the ballpark of 17 to 18 percent of the salary cap, or north of $15 million per season with an $87.5 million salary cap expected for the 2024-25 season. In a league where superstars remain grossly underpaid, he still would’ve been worth it given his on-ice contributions as one of the five most valuable players in the game.
Matthews had the power to do that, and while he got the flexibility he was looking for with a relatively short four-year term, he made concessions on the cap hit — as all superstars generally do.
Being the league’s highest-paid player at $13.25 million per season may not seem like much of a concession, but it’s the exact same cap hit percentage that Nathan MacKinnon took. That was a deal that was clearly anchored by Connor McDavid’s stale $12.5 million cap hit, and in both cases, it’s a lot less than either Matthews or MacKinnon deserve. Both players are bargains relative to what they bring to the table on a dollar-per-win basis, and that surplus will only continue to grow as the salary cap rises over the next few seasons.
With that being said, it’s clear this is a much more player-friendly contract for Matthews with half the term of MacKinnon’s deal. Within the context of how other superstars get locked up for a long time, that part of the deal is obviously disappointing for Leafs fans. Still, even if it’s not a deal that comes in at max term or close to it, it’s a deal that greatly underpays Matthews relative to his impact during the remainder of his prime.
That’s important for a team still searching for Stanley Cup glory. Fans wanted a discount that creates room for more depth — they got it. It’s just not for as long as hoped for. It may not be an epic steal thanks to the term, but it’s still a win for the club.
Team Grade: B+
Player Grade: A-
Shayna Goldman: Before even getting into the nitty-gritty of the signing, let’s get into the timing of this deal for the Maple Leafs. Though Matthews wasn’t set to hit free agency until next summer, it settles any unnecessary smoke before training camp even starts. And it gives management time to assess its cap picture, since everything hinged on this deal.
The $13.25 million is cost-effective for Toronto, which may seem like a stretch for someone a year away from being the highest-paid player in the league. He could have pushed for upward of $15 million but instead keeps his cap hit on pace with MacKinnon (just in a year of anticipated cap growth). That extra bit of space should help the Maple Leafs because it could be the difference for a William Nylander extension in the next year or having better supplemental talent around the core.
The four-year term is more player-friendly than team-friendly, but it keeps Matthews locked up for the best years of this team’s contention window. That’s what matters most here for Toronto, even if there’s the hurdle of going through another contract negotiation or risk losing him when the deal ends.
The term is really a home run for Matthews. While he probably could have signed some major eight-year deal, he has a better chance of increasing his earnings and taking control of his future with a four-year deal — the latter may be the most attractive aspect of it because the system is built against the players. The cap is more than likely only going to grow by the time this deal expires, and until it does, Matthews’ financial ceiling is limited. Waiting and seeing what that growth looks like, and signing as the cap increases, helps him maximize his value as his career progresses. What also plays in his favor is the fact that his contract is up two years after McDavid’s eight-year deal ends. That next McDavid deal could set the bar on what a franchise-caliber first-line center is worth in a 30-year-old range and give him a number to strive for.
The signing doesn’t change the landscape of NHL contracts as much as it could have, but there’s still a lesson for star players to take note of in an environment that also emphasizes having a team-first mentality above all else. Maximizing earnings and maintaining some element of control should be a bigger factor for star players in negotiations, and teams should structure their cap around that.
Player Grade: A
Team Grade: A-
Sean Gentille: The question, really, is whether Matthews could’ve possibly signed a contract that didn’t cause Leafs management and fans in the Greater Toronto Area to rest a whole lot easier upon its announcement. How short would we be talking? How expensive? Two years and $40 million?
Regardless, everyone involved can feel better about the state of affairs between the player and the team. Frankly, this one is tougher than most to grade out. It seems like both sides got some of what they wanted — but not everything — and avoided a bunch of smoke and drama in the meantime.
Take Brad Treliving; a couple of months into his new gig, he has avoided a recurrence of the nightmare he dealt with in Calgary last summer, when he couldn’t close a deal with Johnny Gaudreau ahead of Gaudreau’s walk season. Gaudreau, as we know, walked indeed and Matthew Tkachuk followed. Treliving’s late-summer renovation didn’t take, things went sideways quickly and boom, time to leave.
Would Treliving have preferred to get Matthews for twice the years? You’d think — just like you’d think Matthews would’ve preferred a few more million per season, rather than equalling MacKinnon’s cap hit percentage. We all have preferences, though. Treliving is going to have more than enough space to work with, too. Also, he’ll have Auston Matthews.
From a little farther out, it’s good to see a superstar reset the AAV market for a second straight summer. Maybe when the cap rises — and if revenues follow — the best hockey players on the planet will make more than, like, really good backup point guards. Crawl before you ball, I suppose.
As for Matthews’ next contract, we know it’ll start when he’s 31. “Where” is probably a more interesting question — but that’s far enough away to ignore for now. Reset the alarm clocks.
Player grade: A
Team grade: B+
(Photo: Dan Hamilton / USA Today)
https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiW2h0dHBzOi8vdGhlYXRobGV0aWMuY29tLzQ4MDA5NjMvMjAyMy8wOC8yMy9hdXN0b24tbWF0dGhld3MtbWFwbGUtbGVhZnMtbmhsLWNvbnRyYWN0LWdyYWRlcy_SAWFodHRwczovL3RoZWF0aGxldGljLmNvbS80ODAwOTYzLzIwMjMvMDgvMjMvYXVzdG9uLW1hdHRoZXdzLW1hcGxlLWxlYWZzLW5obC1jb250cmFjdC1ncmFkZXMvP2FtcD0x?oc=5
2023-08-23 23:31:55Z
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