Historic bittersweet contract confirmed for Auston Matthews in Toronto!

Auston Matthews himself was the first one to report it.

Moments after the star forward posted on social media, it was confirmed by many insiders that Matthews’ new contract extension with the Toronto Maple Leafs was 4 years x $13.25 million. Total of $53 million.

The Maple Leafs then confirmed the report with the official announcement : 

As Frank Seravalli points out, the Maple Leafs pushed for a longer deal in order to keep the star forward in Toronto for much longer. However, Matthews' camp was not willing to go beyond 4 years. His career earnings will be $114 million before his 31st birthday. Prior to today, Matthews had inked two deals worth a total value of $69,520,000 since being drafted first overall by Toronto in 2016.

Fans are obviously disappointed in some way that Matthews is looking to revisit his future with the Maple Leafs in four years. However, we can understand that this extension gives Matthews the opportunity to land one more massive contract. If he’d signed on for eight years, his next chance to sign a monster deal would’ve come on the precipice of his age-35 season.

Matthews is entering the final season of a five-year, $58.195 million deal that he signed in 2019 and has a cap hit of $11.64 million for the upcoming season. This extension will take effect at the beginning of next season.

While this is fantastic news for the Maple Leafs and their fanbase, this could well possibly mean the total opposite for teammate William Nylander. 

With the possibility to hit free agency next summer and no real progress made in contract negotiations with the Maple Leafs and new general manager Brad Treliving, Nylander has landed in blockbuster trade scenarios and has became a hot topic of discussion around the water cooler across America. He is entering the last year of the six-year, $45 million deal signed back in 2018. 

And the Maple Leafs will be tight on cash after this Matthews' new extension in the books!

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