Matthews signs five-year, $58.17 million contract with Maple Leafs

TORONTO --Auston Matthews signed a five-year, $58.17 million contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday. It has an annual average value of $11.634 million.

"It's pretty special, you kind of think back a little bit to when you were a kid, but for me, I'm extremely proud and I'm happy," Matthews said. "I know my family, who is here now, is extremely proud of me as well, so it's a special day. I love playing here; I love this city, my teammates, management, the whole staff, top to bottom, so for me it's extremely special."
The 21-year-old center, taken No. 1 by the Maple Leafs in the 2016 NHL Draft, could have become a restricted free agent July 1 but discussions between Toronto general manager Kyle Dubas and Matthews' agents Judd Muldaver and Jeff Jackson intensified in the past two weeks.
"Everything came together and for me I guess you could always wait, but I had no problem signing during the season," Matthews said. "Obviously, I'm very proud to be a Maple Leaf today and for the foreseeable future. My agents, Kyle Dubas and management I'm sure talked quite a bit and then kind of finalized it today. It's definitely pretty special for myself and my family. I'm very excited."

Dubas said the process began in the summer shortly after Matthews became eligible to sign an extension July 1, 2018. Having an idea last week of where talks stood with Matthews and his contract for next season made Dubas comfortable acquiring defenseman Jake Muzzin, who has one year remaining on his contract, in a trade from the Los Angeles Kings on Jan. 28.
With Matthews signed, Toronto can concentrate on how to improve prior to the 2019 NHL Trade Deadline on Feb. 25 at 3 p.m. ET.
"We obviously appreciate the work that Auston and his people put into this," Dubas said. "It's been a long process and I certainly understand when players don't want to deal with this during the season. ... It's a big help to us just in terms of having some certainty as we navigate through here leading into the trade deadline."
Matthews has 46 points (23 goals, 23 assists) in 38 games this season and 178 points (97 goals, 81 assists) in 182 regular-season NHL games. He won the Calder Trophy as the top rookie in the NHL in 2016-17 and helped Toronto qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs in each of his first two seasons. The Maple Leafs lost in the Eastern Conference First Round to the Washington Capitals in 2017 and to the Boston Bruins in 2018; Matthews has seven points (five goals, two assists) in 13 playoff games.
The five-year term for Matthews is less than the eight-year contract that Connor McDavid, the No. 1 pick in the 2015 NHL Draft, signed with the Edmonton Oilers on July 5, 2017, but Matthews said the term was by design to help the Maple Leafs retain the financial flexibility to keep its young core together.
"We understand the [NHL salary] cap restraints that we have and that every single team in the League has," Matthews said. "We went through everything from three to eight (years) and we kind of settled on five, and I think both sides are happy to get this over with and move on."
Maple Leafs forward Mitchell Marner, their leading scorer this season with 63 points (20 goals, 43 assists), can become an RFA on July 1. Marner's representatives have said they don't intend to negotiate a new contract during the season. Forwards Kasperi Kapanen and Andreas Johnsson also are pending RFAs, and defenseman Jake Gardiner can become an unrestricted free agent.

"For younger players, if you want the longer term, it means you're taking up more of their prime so the AAV rises," Dubas said. "Certainly that was the intention from the beginning from Auston's side, they were focused on that and as we worked through it together, we're trying to balance keeping this together and contending and not having to delete parts from it. We're very thankful that they were willing to move from their desired term, and obviously everyone wants to be here as long as possible, but we were able to find an AAV that works for everybody to maintain some flexibility as we move ahead."
The Maple Leafs (32-17-3) are second in the Atlantic Division, three points ahead of the Montreal Canadiens.
This is the third big contract handed out by the Maple Leafs in less than eight months. They signed center John Tavares, an unrestricted free agent, to a seven-year contract with an AAV of $11 million on July 1. Forward William Nylander, who was a restricted free agent, signed a six-year contract with an AAV of $6.9 million Dec. 1. He missed the first 28 games this season.
"I think we'll always feel the pressure from fans here, but they want a championship team and we want to give it to them," Matthews said. "This city deserves it. We don't get too caught up in that, we take it day by day but we have a special team with a lot of talented players. We're doing everything to get to the top of the mountain. In the end you're measured on championships and that's what I want to do here."