‘For him, it’s all about winning’: Leafs’ Auston Matthews reacts to Connor McDavid’s contract

Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid sent shockwaves through the hockey world on Monday when he agreed to a two-year contract extension with the club at an average annual value of just $12.5 million.

Considering the staggering $17 million cap hit Kirill Kaprizov received from the Minnesota Wild last week, the new McDavid deal comes in at a shockingly team-friendly price, though it reflects a shorter commitment to the Oilers.

Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews got the best of both worlds on his most recent contract extension, a four-year pact that pays him $13.25 million per year and allows him to hit the market as an unrestricted free agent at the age of 30.

During a media availability on Tuesday, Matthews weighed in with his thoughts on McDavid’s extension.

“I think for him it’s all about winning,” Matthews said. “I obviously have a lot of respect for him, and I’ve been fortunate to get to know him over the years, and I know that in my time around him, that’s the main thing that he wants to do. That’s what everybody wants to do, is win, and he’s as committed as anybody to it.”

The 2022 Hart Trophy winner as the league MVP was then asked if he felt McDavid’s decision would put pressure on other star players to start taking team-friendly deals to set their clubs up to win.

“I think everybody’s situation is different,” Matthews said. “The cap’s going up. It’s tough to envision what the landscape’s going to look like, but I think you always want to try to find a happy medium between what puts the team in a good situation as well as yourself.”

Both of Matthews’ prior extension negotiations have involved a degree of drama, though not to the extent of some of his current and former teammates, and by agreeing to a four-year pact last time around, he opened the door to hitting the July 1 market while still very much in his prime.

Matthews and the Leafs are set to get their regular season started on Wednesday at home against the Montreal Canadiens.