Will Auston Matthews Leave Toronto for the LA Kings in 2024?
This article was made all due to TSN’s Ottawa Senator’s very own Shawn Simpson’s tweet that stirred up major talk and controversy.
Yes I know it’s a bizarre tweet but can there be some validity to the statement? So let’s dive deep into this storyline.
Auston Matthews Contract
Auston Matthews just turned 25. He has two more seasons on his Toronto Maple Leaf’s contract. Currently, he is making 11,740,250 on average a season. He will become an Unrestricted Free Agent as soon as the contract is done in the offseason of 2024.
Kyle Dubas Toronto Maple Leafs General Manager will have the opportunity to renegotiate a contract with Auston Matthews after the 2022–23 season. We will revisit this story next year at this time whether or not Matthews stays or leaves Toronto.
The Salary Cap will Increase Soon
By the time Auston Matthews could become a UFA in 2024–25 the salary cap is expected to go up by 9 million dollars. With this news, it’s hard to tell where an iconic NHL player can go. The bump in the salary cap will help a lot of teams get that one star they need.
How good is Matthews? Well in the 2021–22 season he scored 51 goals in a span 50 games. He finished with 60 goals in 72 games played. It has been a truly long time since we seen a prolific goal score like Auston Matthews. He is in the start of his prime so he should have a repeat of this season for year’s to come.
The ball is definitely in Auston’s court. If he doesn’t get a contract done by 2024 then he could test the open market that could guarantee him 15 million dollars a year. Matthews is arguably the best Maple Leaf player of all time so it will be hard to see him go if he does.
Auston Matthews Possibly Going to LA
Here is the hypothetical question for this article. First off no one has put him in LA talk till now. The focus before Shawn Simpsons was on the Arizona Coyotes.
By 2024 the LA Kings will be looking a whole lot better than the Arizona Coyotes. Sure it would be great to see Auston go back home to play but the Kings look far more developed.
Just think about a team that has Auston Matthews and Kevin Fiala as your snipers. That would be a dream that would cause havoc for other teams for years to come. Also, add Left Wing Viktor Arvidsson and Center Philip Danault to the mix.
The point is the Maple Leaf’s haven’t been past the first round in about two decades. Matthews would loveLeafs the guy that gets them over the hump but he might want to take his chances on a younger more vibrant team like the Kings. He wants to be on a team that’s going somewhere and not a team that is one player away from a total rebuild.
Conclusion
It is fair to say that most likely we will see Auston Matthews on another team by 2024. Why get a new contract on a team that constantly can’t make it past the first round? He can make 15 million dollars a year on the open market and be on a team like the LA Kings that have the weapons to go past the first round constantly. Shawn Simpson may have found a controversial tweet hold to fruition. It sounds like a great fit for a Kings team that is ahead of schedule making it to the playoffs already last season.
