Auston Matthews signs four-year extension with Maple Leafs

The total value of Matthew's extension is for $53M, which would mean that through the duration of his contract, he would have made just under $112M over eight seasons.

The Leafs were certainly worried about retaining their former MVP, especially after a trying 2022-23 season where they fell short of their city's usually lofty expectations despite finally breaking through the first round of the playoffs for the first time since 2004. 

The new deal certainly calms the anxieties up north after the departure of former general manager Kyle Dubas — and the "he said, he said" public discussions that came from him and team president Brendan Shanahan.

Although the Stanley Cup currently resides out west with the Vegas Golden Knights, the Eastern Conference remains rather deep with Cup contenders. How the Leafs manage to keep playing at a high level with potential salary cap issues will be of note, something that our Adam Gretz brought up back in May when Dubas' contract was not renewed:

The Maple Leafs have three of the highest-paid players in the NHL in Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner and John Tavares and consistently spend to the salary cap. The expectations are for that group to be a Stanley Cup contender. They have yet to get even remotely close to that level in the playoffs. That meant change was inevitable. 

Matthews' running mate, William Nylander, is next in line for a new deal with the Leafs, and he expressed a desire to stay with the team beyond the upcoming season. Tyler Bertuzzi and Max Domi are also unrestricted free agents next season, so although the Matthews question has been answered, the team's perennial cap situation may put at least one of those under-30 players on the outs after this upcoming season.