Matthews made push for 4-year, $53 million contract with Maple Leafs

TORONTO -- Auston Matthews did not want questions surrounding his future with the Toronto Maple Leafs beyond this season lingering once training camp began.

So he and Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving quietly worked together and agreed to a new four-year, $53 million contract ($13.25 million average annual value) that was announced on Wednesday. The contract will begin for the 2024-25 season.

"This got done because Auston decided he wanted to get it done," Treliving said Friday. "That's the reality. The manager can push. I want to applaud (Matthews' agent) Judd Moldaver's work in all of this. We spent a lot of time going at it since I've got here but it gets done because Auston says, 'I want to get it done, I want it to be a non-issue and I want the focus to be where it needs to be and that's on winning and putting all our energies on the ice.' At the end of the day, he made that decision and to me it's a sign of leadership.

"I applaud Auston, he kept coming back to obviously he has business he has to take care of but he overlapped that to how it would fit on the team construct and how do we win and how does this work moving forward."

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Matthews, who could have become an unrestricted free agent after this season, will play this season on the final year of his five-year contract ($11.634 million AAV) that he signed Feb. 5, 2019. He tied for the Maple Leafs lead in goals with 40 with William Nylander last season and had 85 points (40 goals, 45 assists) in 74 games.

"It wasn't something where I woke up one day and [a four-year contract] was the case," Matthews said. "It was a lot of long discussions with my family, my agent and people closest to me. Just kind of going through my process and the conclusion was we found the right balance at four years and I'll be with the team for 12 total years by the end of this contract. I love playing in Toronto, I love my teammates and everything that comes with being a Maple Leaf. It's been a real honor to be a part of this organization and something I definitely don't take for granted."

Treliving felt the process was more of a partnership than a negotiation.

"To me this was a collaborative effort," Treliving said. "You are trying to find something that fits for both sides. The bottom line is you are talking about one of the world's best talents and in the situation he was in, he could come in and demand a whole lot more than what he got."

Matthews, who won the Hart Trophy as NHL most valuable player in 2022, not signing for the maximum eight years helps the Maple Leafs in the short term. Treliving did not deny that the average annual value would have been higher if a longer term was agreed to.

The new contract will expire when Matthews is 30. Another four seasons beyond that until he is 34, while perhaps not his peak prime seasons, it is not unreasonable to expect a player of Matthews' caliber to continue to be highly productive and deserving of a higher salary should the salary cap continue to climb.

But to account for those seasons five years from now, it would handcuff the Maple Leafs financially when the contract would begin prior to a significant salary cap increase.

"You have to look at the landscape we are in, you have to look at the player landscape with where is this cap going," Treliving said. "We all think and hope there is significant growth over the next while, so it's trying to find that balance where it all fits and it works for the player and we can continue to have flexibility to build around our best player. It works hand in hand. We just felt throughout this process, we landed on a spot where there is balance with the number of years."

Treliving reminded those who already are concerned about five years down the road that Matthews already has signed two contracts with the Maple Leafs since the expiration of his entry-level contract.

"This contract is a big contract, but I remember his last contract too," Treliving said. "Five years, what's going to happen after that? We'll deal with (the next contract) when the time comes. But look, he just signed another contract and Auston reiterated throughout this process he is committed to this team and committed to this city.

"I think we found the sweet spot. Auston was in a position where he could have come in and this could have been a lot more difficult. It's because of his leadership that we were able to get this done when we were able to get it done and at the structure and dollar amount that we were able to get done."

Now that Matthews will remain with the Maple Leafs for at least the next five seasons, he has an opportunity to rewrite the franchise's record books. At 299 goals, he needs only to average 24.2 goals per season over the next five to catch Mats Sundin, who holds the record for most goals with the Maple Leafs at 420. If Matthews, who is 11th on the Maple Leafs in points, averages 89 points per season during that span, he would catch Sundin, who has the most points with the Maple Leafs at 987.

"(The legacy) is something that pops up in the back of your mind every once in a while and you see it online," Matthews said. "My biggest priority as a Maple Leaf is to be the best player and teammate I can be and do what I can to take this team where we are trying to go. All the other accolades just comes with being a part of this organization and committing here for the next five years and just really sinking my heels in. If that stuff happens, that's great. But obviously we are all chasing one goal in particular and that's definitely the most important."