Matthews turned down this Leafs’ offer before they finally got it right

Leaked information reveals more about the Leafs’ money struggles…

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 4 years ago
Matthews turned down this Leafs’ offer before they finally got it right
Zuma Press

While it seems like the Auston Matthews contract extension that was announced back in February didn’t take much effort to the Toronto Maple Leafs, NHL insider Elliotte Friedman revealed in his latest 31 Thoughts podcast that the first offer was declined by the star player. 

According to Friedman, the Leafs wanted to sign Matthews to a three-year bridge deal that would’ve taken him one year away from unrestricted free agency. However, Matthews’ camp was seeking a $9M annual hit, which the Leafs weren’t interested in doing. 


In the end as we know, Mathews finally agreed to a five-year contract back in February. The deal is worth $58.17 million, meaning Matthews will have an annual salary cap hit of $11.634 million beginning in 2019-20 and running through the 2023-24 campaign.

In a way, Leafs fans should be relieved to know that there were some issues with re-signing Matthews seeing that the same thing is expected to happen with his teammate Mitch Marner. 

After leading the Leafs with 94 points this seaosn,  it is believed that Marner’s agents have been prepared to ask for Matthews money — $11.6 million a year. The Leafs, meanwhile, probably don't want to see him surpassing Chicago Blackhawks’ Patrick Kane’s price tag of $10.5 million. They would prefer something similar to Vegas Golden Knights' Mark Stone or Tampa Bay Lightning's Nikita Kucherov ($9.5 million)... however they have the luxury to play in no-tax states.  

There might be an offer refused too in Marner’s case… Let see how the Maple Leafs managed to get this one done like they did with Matthews in the end. 

Source: Sportsnet