The Auston Matthews contract extension speculation has officially begun

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Ryan Smitheram
September 15, 2022 (9:52)

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It started the day after the Leafs were eliminated in the first round by the Tampa Bay Lightning. Kyle Dubas and Brendan Shanahan said they wanted to make Auston Matthews "a Leaf for life". The discussions about his next extension lasted the rest of the week and then cooled off for the majority of the summer as teams were busy enjoying their offseason and preparing for the upcoming season. Now that we're a week away from training camps opening, Matthews, and to a lesser extent, William Nylander, are about to begin a season of constant questioning about their upcoming contract extensions.

"We're fortunate to have one of the best players in hockey under contract for two more years. He's a great player that we'd like to see play his whole career with Toronto. He wants to win more than anybody."

-Kyle Dubas on Auston Matthews earlier this summer

Nylander, who as of this week was still in Sweden skating with David Pastrnak and his brother Alex Nylander, won't have to answer any of the repetitive questions until he gets to camp next week. Matthews on the other hand, will certainly be asked about his next contract today in Vegas as he is scheduled to make an appearance at the NHL/NHLPA Player Media Tour there. The good news is that there isn't too much to say about it since he can't sign any extension until July 1, 2023 anyway. Not a free agent until July 2024, the betting odds would say that his future in Toronto will be decided on or shortly after July 1, 2023. As Chris Johnston mentioned in his piece, an extension in Toronto is the likeliest outcome.

"Based on what we know today, there's every reason to believe the sides will end up being incentivized to work collaboratively on a new Matthews contract. They'll have to find the sweet spot on term and dollars during the period following the Leafs last game in the spring and July 1."

-TSN's Chris Johnston on how he believes the Matthews contract negotiations will unfold

Nathan MacKinnon is expected to become the league's highest paid player at some point over the next 10 months, but that distinction won't last long as you can bet that the Leafs will hand Matthews a blank cheque when the time comes.

POLL
SEPTEMBRE 15 \| 534 ANSWERS The Auston Matthews contract extension speculation has officially begun What will Matthews' AAV be on his next deal?
$13M-$13.5M	126	23.6 %
$13.6M-$14M	117	21.9 %
$14.1M-$14,5M	118	22.1 %
$14.6M-$15M+	173	32.4 %
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