Tkachuk patiently waiting for his big payday

Seeing Auston Matthews sign a big-money deal with the Maple Leafs doesn’t seem to have changed Matthew Tkachuk’s schedule for signing a new contract himself.

Like Matthews was before Tuesday, the Calgary Flames youngster is set to become a restricted free agent this summer. He’ll be coming off his rookie contract and has earned himself a hefty raise, just like his counterpart in Toronto.

Speaking Wednesday, Tkachuk insisted that while he was happy for his friend, seeing Matthews sign didn’t change his timeline for getting a new deal done.

“I think if we just keep playing this (season) out, my mindset’s not to sign in the season or to not sign in the season,” Tkachuk said. “If it were up to me I’d probably just want to keep playing and not talk about that stuff, not even discuss anything and just figure it out in the summer, probably.”

With the Flames in first place in the Western Conference, Tkachuk said his focus is purely on improving the team and, hopefully, going on a deep playoff run at this point.

He has already set a career high for points this year with 57, and it’s inevitable that when Tkachuk and his agent do sit down to negotiate a new deal with the Flames, he’s going to get a substantial raise from the US$925,000 he’s earning now.

Realistically speaking, Tkachuk isn’t going to be in line for a fiveyear, $58.17-million contract that Matthews signed with the Leafs, but most experts predict he’ll get somewhere in the $7-$8-million range, making him the highest-paid player on the Flames roster.

Tkachuk obviously wasn’t discussing his financial expectations Wednesday, but he certainly knows the money Matthews received and how it affects the market.

“I feel like every year there’s a couple guys, a couple big names every year who kind of change the way a little bit. I think Auston changed it, too, going with the approach (of ) a five-year deal, too. Maybe people haven’t seen that in a couple years, but it’s not like, uncommon. Guys used to do that all the time. He definitely set the bar.”