Report: Matthews won't commit to Toronto long-term

In case you missed the news yesterday, the Toronto Maple Leafs made superstar forward Auston Matthews the highest paid player in the NHL.

Matthews signed a historic four year, $114 million contract extension worth $13.25 million per season starting in 2024-25. Again, the deal makes Matthews the NHL's highest paid player and it takes him to age 30 when he'll hit the open market as a free agent. 

According to multiple reports, Leafs general manager Brad Treliving was pushing hard for a longer term deal and a bigger commitment out of Matthews, but Matthews simply wasn't willing to go beyond four years. NHL insider Elliotte Friedman reports that Matthews was not interested in locking himself up that long and wants the flexibility to sign another 'big deal' before his NHL career is over.

More from Friedman on the latest episode of Sportsnet's 32 Thoughts podcast:

"I had heard that the Maple Leafs were trying to push for as much term as they could get. I think they were hoping to get to five (years).  

- Elliotte Friedman

Frank Seravalli also reports that Matthews wasn't willing to go long-term with the Leafs:

If you're a Leafs fan, that's got to make you nervous. 

The team has him locked up for the next five seasons and should get the prime years of his career in this contract, but beyond that nothing is guaranteed. In a league where most superstars lock themselves into big money deals for seven or eight seasons, Matthews is an outlier. His contract looks and feels a lot more like a deal you'd see in the NFL or the NBA where players seem to value their freedom more than players do in the NHL. Friedman goes so far as to speculate that Matthews' new deal could change the way that contracts are handed out in the NHL. Top players know they can demand top dollar, while still retaining some freedom with shorter term deals. If Matthews delivers over the next five seasons, he'll be able to command top dollar once again and he'll be able to choose his preferred destination. Not a bad deal if you can get it.