Toronto Maple Leafs: Matthews Extension Offers Leadership Opportunity

High on new Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving’s offseason “to-do” list is getting star centre Auston Matthews inked to a contract extension.

That task and an agreement for homegrown winger William Nylander are critical to determining the future direction of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

An extension for both means the team has secured its most important foundational player to build around, along with a gifted scoring winger. The longer it takes to sign either player, the larger the distraction throughout next season, especially in the Toronto market.

Lost in the offseason chatter is the chance for Matthews to shift the dynamic of the Leafs player contracts. It also provides him with a huge leadership opportunity.

Toronto Maple Leafs: Matthews Extension Offers Leadership Opportunity

Recent history shows that Toronto Maple Leafs management tends to overpay its players. Rare is the incident where they have signed a key player to a multi-year deal that will benefit the team.

It should be noted, however, that this is likely because the last time the Leafs had their core contracts come up, Covid wasn’t a thing yet, and the league was set to have a skyrocketing cap due to the convergence of a new TV deal, gambling revenue and expansion.

Prior deals for Matthews, Mitch Marner,  and unrestricted free agent John Tavares were not team-friendly, but the Nylander deal was a bargain.

The most dominant NHL team in recent years has been the Tampa Bay Lightning. Many of their players signed extensions that worked to the organization’s advantage. Nikita Kucherov, Steven Stamkos, and Brayden Point took a little less to help the team. Yes, they are taxed less in Florida, but they could have demanded more.

Atlantic division rivals the Boston Bruins have a history of doing the same on deals with Brad Marchand and Patrice Bergeron. The Colorado Avalanche contracts for Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar are other examples of players leaving a little something on the table.

Superstar players and team leaders in other sports have done the same. Patrick Mahomes and Tom Brady have led the most recent dominant franchises in the NFL while sacrificing some income to help their teams in other areas.

All of them took up a smaller percentage of the cap for the sake of the team.

This brings us back to Matthews’ situation. The Toronto Maple Leafs will be looking for a new captain once Tavares’ contract expires.

Whether it be term or a slightly lower average annual value, he can set an example for his teammates to follow. The playoff version of defenseman Morgan Rielly has already done this with his new deal. He is Matthews’ biggest contender for taking over as captain.

Rather than trying to outdo each other with their new deals, Nylander, and soon Marner, might notice Matthews trying to lend a hand to the organization. Perhaps, they follow suit with their own extensions.

It has to start somewhere. Auston Matthews can be that player. It’s the most significant job in Treliving’s opening act.