Toronto Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews isn’t sweating his current contract situation as his entry-level contract expires at the end of the season, and as his representatives continue to negotiate a new, long-term contract with the team.
“I don’t know if I’ll sign a new contract before the season or not,” Matthews said Sunday (h/t NHL.com). “I’m not really involved with the talks. That’s something being dealt with by my agents and team management.
“They’ve told me that it will get done when it gets done, and that’s fine.”
Matthews is also looking forward to playing alongside John Tavares, who signed a seven-year, $77 million contract with Toronto this summer.
“I’m very excited,” Matthews said. “We’ve picked up a great player in [Tavares], and that makes us a much better team. He’s a special player and I’m looking forward to playing with him.”
“We skated a couple times in July, and then he was gone for a while, but he’s back now,” Matthews continued. “I already knew from playing against him that he’s a great skater and he’s so skilled. Everyone in the League knows what kind of player he is.
“He gives us so much depth at center. It’s going to cause a lot of matchup problems for the other teams.”
