[Signing] Leafs sign Auston Matthews to contract extension (5 yrs, $11.634 mil AAV)

[Geeoff]

Originally Posted by VladtheImpaler

Yes, the 30 year-old guys will be going cup-in-hand, begging for 2 year deals or PTOs. The amount of money available is still the same - it just looks like it will get paid during the 21-27 years now.

It makes sense that players get paid more during their most productive years, rather than pay players for what they did during their most productive years

[Gundo]

Such an odd move the Leafs wouldn’t find a way to get that 8 year deal done. I wonder if injuries played a role at all.

Also furthur proves Johnny is hockey’s best contract but also almost guarantees Chucky is an $8M plus man.

[dino7c]

What was the rush? Leafs gave up the money but didn't get the term...I think media pressure is getting to the GM

[GioforPM]

Originally Posted by ComixZone

Tree’s two big deals (Johnny and Sean) were re-signed prior to McDavid, Draisatl, and now Matthews.

Tkachuk will a significant change on that front, especially if we go for a 6-8 year deal. Anything in that range I would think will have to be north of 8M now. Not that he doesn’t deserve it, but yeah - I’m not going to be surprised to see Tkachuk’s AAV closer to 9M than 8M.

True but they were signed after Johansen, Benn, Hedman, ROR, Ekblad, Tarasenko, who all made more. Treliving is good at this stuff. I expect Tkachuk to be tough, but I also expect Treliving to stand his ground pretty well. I don't think Tkachuk will like holding out as much as Willy did.

[Coach]

Originally Posted by ComixZone

Tree’s two big deals (Johnny and Sean) were re-signed prior to McDavid, Draisatl, and now Matthews.

Tkachuk will a significant change on that front, especially if we go for a 6-8 year deal. Anything in that range I would think will have to be north of 8M now. Not that he doesn’t deserve it, but yeah - I’m not going to be surprised to see Tkachuk’s AAV closer to 9M than 8M.

I still think he gets Tkachuk under 8. I think what he’s done is built a standard of “don’t GAF what idiot GMs do, this is how OUR team is going to be structured.”

There’s a cap. If you want max contracts there are ways to get them and almost none of them involve being on a top team surrounded by other elite players.

[Itse]

Originally Posted by Gundo

Such an odd move the Leafs wouldn’t find a way to get that 8 year deal done. I wonder if injuries played a role at all.

If Matthew didn't want to sign for longer, there's nothing the Leafs can do.

Maybe Matthews isn't that excited to play in Toronto?

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Gundo

Such an odd move the Leafs wouldn’t find a way to get that 8 year deal done. I wonder if injuries played a role at all.

Also furthur proves Johnny is hockey’s best contract but also almost guarantees Chucky is an $8M plus man.

I think the Matthews camp probably wanted an 8 year deal that matched or exceeded the McDavid contract which may have been prohibitive for the Leafs given they have to fit Marner in as well.

[flamesforcup]

Originally Posted by CaptainYooh

...with each SB payment, CRA takes almost half of it away at once. That's a lot of money. These rich hockey players pay a lot of taxes. Then escrow payments, agent fees etc. etc. etc. I heard they receive less then 25% of the gross pay home.

They hire the best accountants in the world and use many tricks to get around taxes. Even without accounting for any tax loopholes they take him 50% of the pay taking out taxes and agent fees. its not where close to as low as 25%. And guys in some American states will take home as high as 60%. With tax loopholes i have no doubt these guys can probably get it up to 70 or even 80%.

[PeteMoss]

Originally Posted by GioforPM

True but they were signed after Johansen, Benn, Hedman, ROR, Ekblad, Tarasenko, who all made more. Treliving is good at this stuff. I expect Tkachuk to be tough, but I also expect Treliving to stand his ground pretty well. I don't think Tkachuk will like holding out as much as Willy did.

Tkachuk won't fold. Its going to be a tough deal to make. His family has money.

His dad signed an offer sheet as an RFA (witch Chicago, matched by Coyotes) which was front loaded and then held out mid-contract until December one year (with Coyotes).

The old 'do what's best for the team' thing is going to be a tough sell.

[dissentowner]

Dubas is a terrible GM.

[GreenLantern2814]

Originally Posted by Gundo

Such an odd move the Leafs wouldn’t find a way to get that 8 year deal done. I wonder if injuries played a role at all.

Also furthur proves Johnny is hockey’s best contract but also almost guarantees Chucky is an $8M plus man.

It's not a bad thing to take Matthews to 26. They will still be able to offer him the extra year, and it seems far more likely a guy will actually be an $12-14M player between 26-34 as opposed to 29-37 or 30-38.

[The Yen Man]

Originally Posted by the_only_turek_fan

Am I the only one who thinks Matthews is not the best player on his team?

Nope. I think Mitch Marner's a better overall player than Matthews. If I were Marner, I'd ask for the same as what Matthews got.

[Ruttiger]

Originally Posted by Itse

If Matthew didn't want to sign for longer, there's nothing the Leafs can do.

Maybe Matthews isn't that excited to play in Toronto?

Ha - yeah that was my first thought too. For all the comments about McDavid bolting Edmonton for Toronto the first chance he gets, it's Matthews who signed for a significantly shorter term.

[Jacks]

Considering it is almost all RFA years that contract is stupid.

[Vinny01]

Seems like a brutal deal but for the most part many elite superstars signed 5 year deals out of elc. Crosby, Malkin, Towes, Kane, Stamkos all signed 5 year deals out of elc.

[Rollin22x]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

1. signing bonuses get paid out in lump sums instead of getting paid like regular salary. Imagine getting your entire year's salary in one lump sum payment.

2. Signing bonuses get paid out regardless of a lockout or work stoppage

3. Signing bonuses get paid in full even if the player gets bought out

I hope Matthews is good at managing his money. Might be difficult waiting for that next cheque.
He might have to borrow money midseason. "hey man, i'll pay you back on payday!"

[Bend it like Bourgeois]

Seems I may be the minority but I like this deal and hope to see more of them. Where the player is buying term, maybe worth it. Where the team is buying term, I don’t think it is.

If it were a McDavid deal the leafs would have at $1-2m less salary room in the next 5 years and pay more $ up front. The return is they hope to save a 2-3m in years 6-8 (when its worth less) and hope Matthews stays healthy and happy. When do they want to win? If they lose Matthews in year 6 that’s still a lot easier problem to solve than being Oiler’ed in the early years.

[Bend it like Bourgeois]

Originally Posted by sureLoss

1. signing bonuses get paid out in lump sums instead of getting paid like regular salary. Imagine getting your entire year's salary in one lump sum payment.

2. Signing bonuses get paid out regardless of a lockout or work stoppage

3. Signing bonuses get paid in full even if the player gets bought out

Could part of this be the 1/3 v 2/3 buyout rules?

Because it takes him to 26, if it were all salary only 1/3 of that contract is really guaranteed. I think?

[GullFoss]

The leafs are ####ed themselves over. This signing confirms my opinion that Dubas isn't very good at his job. The best leaf signings of the past five years have been the Kadri and Reilly contracts by Lamoriello.

Since Dubas has come into his own, he's done terrible work. Signing Nylander at $7m was the worst. It basically confirmed that Eichel, Drai and McDavid contracts were fair value for RFAs with no negotiating rights and was a massive over-payment for a guy that was worth less than $6m. And then he went and signed Matthews for 5 years at $11.5m, which is basically full value. The guy is a bonehead.

He should have left Nylander to sit out the season, in effect saying "we're not paying RFAs like Buffalo and Edmonton because those franchises are dog ####." Instead he said "Toronto, Buffalo and Edmonton; three of the same," which is what set-up this whole Matthews contract gong-show. And now he has to bend himself over again so Marner can have his turn.

This is the same Maple Leaf franchise that hasn't won a cup since 1967. It's still hot garbage.

I'm ecstatic we have a top 3 GM in the league.

[Resolute 14]

The irony is that this is exactly the kind of contract the league envisoned when the cap was introduced in 2005. They figured nobody would sign deals longer than 3-5 years as players would want short contracts so they could easily sign for more money as the cap rose. Only took 14 years for a big name player to live up to that expectation.