McDavid contract may have set up Auston Matthews for a monster pay day.

One of the biggest stories in the National Hockey League this week was the announcement of Connor McDavid's new eight-year deal with the Edmonton Oilers, but that deal may have a huge impact on another NHLer.

The Hockey News' Ken Campbell believes that McDaivd and Oilers general manager Peter Chiarelli have done all the heavy lifting for Toronto Maple Leafs superstar Auston Matthews and Leafs general manager Lou Lamoriello. In fact Campbell believes that Matthews will be rewarded with a deal that directly compares to the one signed by McDavid.

From Campbell:

But all the hand wringing really isn’t necessary here. A lot of people are overthinking this one. Because the Leafs can essentially right here, right now, put Auston Matthews down for an eight-year, $100 million contract that kicks in for the 2019-20 season and runs through 2026-27. All the heavy lifting has already been done for him by the Oilers and McDavid’s negotiators.

[pub]

Campbell admits that his hypothesis is based on the expectation that Matthews will continue the trajectory he began this past season, and if he indeed does it may be only a matter of time before Auston Matthews is the next $100 million dollar player.