Auston Matthews' jaw-dropping signing bonus for July 1st revealed
Four Maple Leafs are due massive signing bonuses on July 1st, but Auston Matthews' signing bonus is absolutely jaw-dropping.
With Auston Matthews, William Nylander, John Tavares and Mitch Marner being among the highest paid forwards next season, the questions persists; how will the Maple Leafs be able to balance the roster while paying 4 players so much?
The answer may be as simple as moving Mitch Marner or John Tavares this summer, but full no-movement clauses may stand in the way of that, leaving the Leafs on the hook for one more year of roster imbalance before the expiry of the Marner and Tavares deals frees up $21.9M in cap space for the Leafs to do with as they please.
As far as this summer goes, the NHL's free agency on July 1st shares a date with another important event - signing bonus payout day. For Auston Matthews, the biggest single payday of his career is almost here.
In approximately six weeks, Matthews will cash a cheque for nearly $16M. Here's a full list of the top signing bonuses owed on July 1st.
Between Matthews, Nylander, Tavares and Marner, the Leafs will be shelling out more than $40M in signing bonuses.
The interesting thing to note here is that with the size of the bonuses due to Marner and Tavares ($7.25M and $7.04M, respectively), it's highly unlikely that we'll see either player traded before the bonus payout is made by the Maple Leafs ahead of the final seasons on their current contracts.
| POLL | ||
MAI 22 | 673 ANSWERS Auston Matthews' jaw-dropping signing bonus for July 1st revealed Do you think the Leafs will wait to try and trade one of Mitch Marner or John Tavares until after their signing bonuses are paid on July 1st? | ||
| Yes, once the bonuses are paid, they're gone | 195 | 29 % |
| No, they're not trading either player | 144 | 21.4 % |
| They may trade one, but not both | 268 | 39.8 % |
| They'll trade one before July 1st | 66 | 9.8 % |
| List of polls | ||
