Leafs could entice Matthews with a unique opportunity if he signs long-term
I think it's safe to say that the number one storyline in Toronto this summer is whether or not Auston Matthews will extend in Toronto and, if he does, for how many years will he extend? Some in the mainstream media believe that he'll look to sign a 3-5 year deal and others believe that 8 years is the only way the Leafs do well in the deal given what the cap hit will be.
John Tavares has 2 years left on his current deal until he hits UFA status, so if the Leafs do offer Matthews something in the $13.5M-$14.5M range, there will really only be one year of financial anguish before JT's $11M comes off the books.
Nick Kypreos and Justin Bourne discussed a wide range of topics on Friday, but one of the more interesting segments was surrounding what the Leafs should do when it comes to the captaincy. Bourne believes that Matthews is the next captain, while Kyper, surprisingly, took the opposite stance.
"You want to sell the #34 Toronto Maple Leafs sweater with a "C" on the chest at some point," said Bourne.
Kypreos commented with a very valid question in response.
"Is he a captain? Before you even ask if he wants it, is he captain material? Didn't see it last season. A guy that plays every night as 'this is my team'."
Kypreos went on to say that offering him the captaincy could be used as an incentive to get him to put pen to paper on a long-term contract, rather than signing a shorter deal. Matthews is undoubtedly the face of the Leafs and handles the media very well in all situations and if he were to sign long-term, Brad Treliving and Sheldon Keefe should have a discussion with Tavares about when it might be the appropriate time to hand off the "C".
Both Kypreos and Bourne agreed that Tavares is not the right guy for the job with Kypreos ending the discussion by saying, "The fact we're having the conversation on Auston or Morgan says that Tavares isn't the guy."
Honestly, I don't think Matthews would be a poor choice and it isn't even because he's the best player on the team. It's because he has shown in the past that when the chips are down, he can be relied upon to score a big goal. He's also very arguably the best two-way player on the team not named Mitch Marner, he's upped the physicality, he blocks a lot of shots and when you're down a goal late in a game, that's the guy who's hopping over the boards. He just does it all.
| POLL | ||
JUIN 16 | 749 ANSWERS Leafs could entice Matthews with a unique opportunity if he signs long-term Should the Leafs pass the captaincy off to Matthews if he agrees to sign 8 years instead of 5? | ||
| Yes | 415 | 55.4 % |
| No | 124 | 16.6 % |
| He should already be captain anyway | 80 | 10.7 % |
| He's not captain material | 130 | 17.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
