Breaking: Leafs have officially signed Auston Matthews.

Leafs sign Matthews after ugly rumors of dispute over money.

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 7 years ago
Breaking: Leafs have officially signed Auston Matthews.
Keystone Press.

One has to wonder considering the timing here, if the pressure caused by media reports yesterday led to the Leafs getting this deal done very quickly.

For those out of the loop, rumors surfaced yesterday of Leafs general manager Lou Lamoriello refusing to budge on the performance bonus money for 2016 #1 overall pick Auston Matthews, with several NHL executives commenting off the record on how poor of a decision this seemed to be.

There's no need to worry any longer if you are a fan of the Leafs, the organization has officially signed Matthews to his first NHL contract, a three-year entry level deal. The question now of course is which side caved? 

According to a report from Sportsnet's Chris Johnston, the Leafs have included full performance bonuses as well as a maximum signing bonus for Matthews on the deal, and there's certainly no doubt as the top pick in the draft he's earned it.

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