Kirill Kaprizov signed the richest contract in NHL history, which means Toronto Maple Leafs superstar Auston Matthews is due for a massive pay raise when he needs his next deal.
The term "highest paid player in the league" is always a funny one because it doesn't typically mean that you're the best player. We've seen this example in the NFL for years, where someone like Dak Prescott held that belt, despite Patrick Mahomes or Josh Allen being way better.
Speaking of Prescott, he's kind of a perfect comparable for Kaprizov. Both players were named Rookie of the Year, have been in MVP conversations and have also suffered significant injuries which has left them off the ice or field for months. Kaprisov plays in Minnesota, which is considered the state of hockey, while Prescott plays in Texas, which is the state of football.
Although both players are very good, it's most likely that neither of them will win a Stanley Cup or Super Bowl with their respective teams, but are now very, very rich.
If i'm Auston Matthews, I wouldn't be upset that Kaprizov is currently making $3.75 million more, but instead would be thrilled. As mentioned, Kaprizov is a fantastic player, but his career-high is 47 goals and 108 points.
Kaprizov's contract is about to make Matthews even richer
With Kaprizov's contract, you're obviously projecting for him to have much bigger stats and to take a major leap, but Matthews has the hardware to prove that he deserves to be a top paid player, right behind Connor McDavid. As it currently stands, Matthews also has a Calder Trophy, but has one Hart Trophy and three Maurice "Rocket" Richard's to go with it. Not only that, but he's scored 60 goals twice in his career, including a 69-goal season.
He's set to sign another contract extension after the 2026-27, which gives him two more seasons to add to that hardware. Could he have five Rocket trophies and one more Hart by then? What if he adds a Selke Trophy or let's get crazy with this: a Conn Smythe Trophy and Stanley Cup?
We know that the salary cap is going to reach $113.5M by 2027-28, but that's as far as we currently know right now. With Matthews' contract expiring that season, and the salary-cap having gone up $9M in the previous two seasons, I think it's safe to say that the 2028-29 salary-cap is going to be $122M at a minimum.
If that's the case, an NHL player currently has the ability to sign upwards to 20 percent of the salary-cap, so we could be looking at a $24.4M cap-hit for Matthews. And you know what, I'm totally fine with that. I'd give Matthews $50M a year if I could because he's the heart and sould of this team and someone you can rely on every night.
I don't care if the playoff results haven't happened with him as the leader, because I have way more faith in paying him than Nylander, Tavares, Marner or Rielly. Matthews is 18 months way from being one of the richest players in the NHL, and it's well deserved.