Auston Matthews, Maple Leafs begin contract extension talks: report

With one full season still remaining on Auston Matthews’ entry-level deal with the Maple Leafs, the two sides have reportedly started negotiations aimed at keeping the team’s star in Toronto for the long haul.

Luke Fox of Sportsnet first reported the talks on Thursday:

The No. 1 overall pick in 2016 will be in line for a massive payday, one significantly larger than the current $925K cap hit he’s earning on his entry-level contract. Early speculation has Matthews making somewhere between $10.5 and $12-million annually, which would put him somewhere between what newly-inked free agent John Tavares was given in Toronto and what Connor McDavid is set to make in Edmonton for the next eight years.

Matthews has tallied 74 goals and 132 points during his first two NHL campaigns, putting him just under a point-per-game clip and slightly below 0.5 goals-per-game — both rank among the game’s best.

Though Matthews is obviously a top priority for Kyle Dubas and the Leafs’ brass, the team also has to think about future deals for Mitch Marner and William Nylander, who is still without a contract for next season.