Toronto Maple Leafs: Critics of Auston Matthews Deal Ignore Basic Fact

Like always, Toronto Maple Leafs fans are the brunt of media beating them down at any type of good news.

It is no different after the announcement of Auston Matthews and the Toronto Maple Leafs agreeing to a four-year extension at $13.25 Million per season.

First it was Sid Seixiero who has made a career of agitating the Maple Leaf world with his takes on how bad the team has been.  Minutes after the news of Matthews signing the deal, Seixiero chimed in with his comments on how the organization made the league’s best goal scorer the highest paid player while only getting him four years.

The most recent media member to post his view is former NHL defenseman Marc Methot who also likes to take jabs at the Maple Leafs.  Methot stated in a tweet “Tough situation for the Leafs. 13.2 for one player, followed by potentially 14+ for his sidekick, never mind Nylander being up as well. I don’t see this team winning anything in the near future”.

Don’t Listen to the Noise Surrounding the Toronto Maple Leafs

Along with these two media members there is a lot of comments across social media that keep commenting how the Maple Leafs were not smart by making Matthews the highest paid player in the NHL.  What they don’t understand is that while he does received the highest dollar amount, he wasn’t given the most available money ever.

The $13.25 Million deal for four years is both a steal for the club and a great deal for the player.  The Toronto Maple Leafs got the best goal scorer in the league since entering the league seven seasons ago, a two-time Rocket Richard Trophy winner, a 60-goal scorer; and that is despite battling through injuries almost every season.

The organization only had to give Matthews 15.87% of the current cap, which will likely drop to 15% by the time his contract starts.  For comparison sakes, the following players were all signed to higher cap percentages, which means it put their team in a tougher fiscal situation than the Maple Leafs:

1. Alex Ovechkin 18.96%
2. Connor McDavid 16.67%
3. Patrick Kane 15.22%
4. Jonathan Toews 15.22%

Alex Ovechkin signed his 18.96% cap hit deal in the midst of the 2007-08 NHL Season for $9.54 Million.  To compare that, Matthews contract at that time would be for $7.98 Million and if he would have taken the same deal that Ovehckin took today, he would have signed for $15.83 Million. (info from capfriendly.com).

Connor McDavid signed his 16.67% cap hit in the summer leading into the 2017-18 NHL Season for $12.5 Million with one year remaining on his entry level contract.  To compare that against Matthews new deal, the contract would be worth $11.9 Million and if he would have signed for the same deal that McDavid took today, he would have signed for $13.9 Million.

Both Kane and Toews signed their $10.5 Million contracts with one year left with their previous contracts at a 15.22% cap hit in the summer of 2014.  If Matthews signed for his same cap percentage that summer, his deal would be for $10.9 Million and if he took the same deal the Hawks duo took it would be for $12.71 Million.

People commenting on the salary need to focus more on the cap percentage over the cap value.  Toronto Maple Leafs fans can rest assured that the Matthews contract is a steal at $13.25 Million and does not put the team in any danger moving forward.  They are able to sign a Hart Trophy winner and two-time Rocket Richard Trophy winner over the prime years of his career for a great deal.

The team is now set up to sign both Marner and Nylander to long-term deals that will not restrain the organization from surrounding them with a solid team.