The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced they have signed forward number 34 Auston Matthews to a four-year contract extension worth $53 million.
✍️ We’ve signed Auston Matthews to a four-year extension » https://t.co/amNLkXXtKH
— Toronto Maple Leafs (@MapleLeafs) August 23, 2023
I feel fortunate to continue this journey as a Maple Leaf in front of the best fans in hockey! I will do everything I can to help get us to the top of the mountain. GLG! #LeafsForever
— Auston Matthews (@AM34) August 23, 2023
Matthews’s new contract carries an AAV of $13.25 million.
BREAKING: Auston Matthews signs a four-year extension with #leafs carrying a $13.25M AAV.@NorthStarBet
— Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) August 23, 2023
Auston Matthews is now the highest-paid player in the National Hockey League. It was not a question of whether he would be the highest-paid player, but by how much.
NHL Rumors: The Latest on Auston Matthews and William Nylander
Nathan MacKinnon just signed an extension with the Colorado Avalanche that carried an AAV of $12.6 million. Prior to that Connor McDavid‘s cap hit of $12.5 million with the Edmonton Oilers was the highest.
Most Comparable To:
Auston Matthews: $13.25M x 4Results:
Our comparables engine does not identify any comparable contracts.https://t.co/ZF4eyc4I3l pic.twitter.com/UvihuzeWTi— CapFriendly (@CapFriendly) August 23, 2023
Auston Matthews will have made $113.97 million in NHL salary when he is set to become an unrestricted free agent at age 30.
— luke fox (@lukefoxjukebox) August 23, 2023
Now it is Matthews who has set the market and don’t expect it to stay there very long. As NHLRumors.com wrote last season expect Matthews to hit it big again once this deal expires.
His new extension does not kick in until next season. Matthews had one year left on his current deal which expired at the end of the 2023-24 season. But new general manager Brad Treliving made it a priority to get him extended. He did not want this to be a distraction when training camp began in September.
The first overall pick of the 2016 NHL Draft has been everything and more for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Auston Matthews, signed to a 4x$13.3M extension by TOR, is an elite scoring centre who creates chances and goals at an unparalleled level at 5v5 while being effective in other areas of the game. His strength and smarts in puck battles gives him defensive upside too. #LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/9Cgp3yWK3u
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) August 23, 2023
Auston Matthews has been pretty great player since he entered into the NHL. The best Maple Leaf of all-time already for us & will be also the best American-born hockey player ever very soon. pic.twitter.com/5JTDimbKdK
— Andy & Rono (@ARHockeyStats) August 23, 2023
Last season with the Maple Leafs, Matthews recroded 85 points (40 goals and 45 assists) in 74 games. He added 11 points (five goals and six assists) in 11 playoff games.
This is following a season where Matthews set career highs in all three categories by recording 106 points (60 goals and 46 assists) in 73 games. That season the Scottsdale, Arizona native won the Hart Trophy, Ted Lindsay and his Rocket Richard Trophy. Matthews won the Rocket Richard Trophy in back-to-back seasons in 20-21 and 21-22. He also won the Calder Trophy in 2016 as NHL Rookie of the Year.
For his career with the Maple Leafs, Matthews has recorded 542 points (299 goals and 243 assists) in 481 regular season games. In addition, in 50 playoff games, he recorded 44 points (22 goals and 22 assists). However, the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs were the only year Toronto has made it past Round One.
With Matthews now out of the way, the focus will turn to William Nylander and his extension.
🚨🚨Night Cap Recap: Auston Matthews Gets Paid 🚨🚨#leafsforever @FullPressNHL @myNHLTradeRumor @FP_Coverage @GoalgettersS2 @RawMikeRichards @RodPedersenShow @rodpedersen pic.twitter.com/L9NPBjqcQg
— Jim Biringer (@JimBiringer) August 23, 2023
