A deal that splits the difference
Matthews gets paid now plus early free agency; Leafs get some cap space
Take less. Win more. Cash in later. That appears to be the message Maple Leafs GM Kyle Dubas delivered to star centre Auston Matthews as the two sides signed a five-year, $58.17-million (U.S.) extension that will allow for enough salary-cap flexibility to keep the team’s core together.
“Excellent move by the player, good for the Leafs,” said Brian Lawton, a former player, agent and GM who is now a television analyst. “The Leafs bent just enough to make (things) just a little bit nervous: $11 million would have put the Leafs in a much better position. But I have been there on both sides, and (this is) still a good deal for both parties.”
The prevailing logic surrounding Matthews’ contract talks was that he would get close to the same percentage of the cap — 16.67 per cent — that Edmonton’s Connor McDavid received, or about $13 million to $14 million on an eight-year deal. But the Leafs didn’t have that kind of cap space, or wouldn’t have without shedding some good young players and hurting their chances at a championship.
Leafs head coach Mike Babcock said Matthews was a “significant” part of the franchise when speaking with reporters after Leafs practice, less than a half-hour before the team announced the extension.
“Those guys (Matthews and Mitch Marner) are all going to be signed,” Babcock said. “They’re smart guys and they want to be here for a long time and they want to win for a long time.
“In order to do that, it’s pretty simple, you have to do the math. … We have to work with them and that’s what (Dubas) and his group are doing with their people, so that its best for (the players) and best for us.”
Matthews yearns to be the best in the league. That’s McDavid’s title for now. But the two seem destined to be compared to each other the rest of their careers.
Leafs centre John Tavares underlined just how important Matthews’ skill and presence are to the Leafs.
“He’s got a presence in our locker room and around the team and even probably around many guys in the league who were around him at the all-star game,” Tavares said. “He has tremendous potential … guys love being around him.”
The Oilers paid a premium on McDavid (eight years, $12.5 million as the annual average value) to buy three years of his unrestricted free agency years. But it might have hurt his team. “Connor McDavid made a tragic error, in my opinion, by taking the money he took,” Lawton said. “Not because he’s not worth it — he’s worth more — but ultimately he may have done some harm to having that fun winning.
“For him, it’s even bigger than that, because he’s a legacy-type player. Ten years from now, if Connor McDavid hasn’t won a couple of championships, it really dims the brightness of this incredible player. Sorry, that’s the reality. He will be judged on championships at the end of the day.”
The Oilers don’t look much like a playoff team right now, much less a championship-calibre team. “If McDavid had taken $11 million, Leon Draisaitl ($8.5 million) would be at $7 million,” Lawton said. “It trickled through the rest of the roster. There have been some other moves that have hurt them, but (McDavid’s longterm deal) really truly hurt them as an organization.”
For now then, it’s advantage Matthews.
At $11.634 million a year, Matthews becomes the highestpaid player on the Leafs, and he can strike it rich as an unrestricted free agent earlier than McDavid, while allowing his team to keep as many of its good young players as possible.
“After money, the most important thing for a player — the most fun you can have — is going around kicking everybody’s butt, a la the Detroit Red Wings on their run with Chris Chelios, Brett Hull, Steve Yzerman and Brendan Shanahan,” Lawton said. “That was the most fun I ever saw a team have. Those guys were rock stars.”