Maple Leafs agree to 4-year, $53 million contract extension with star man

Six-time All-Star Auston Matthews has agreed to a contract extension with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The team announced that the extension will be four years.
Matthews posted a message to fans on social media after the deal was announced:

Via Elliotte Friedman, Sportsnet and NHL Network, Matthewsand#039 total value; the new four-year deal is $53 million ($13.25 million per season).
The extension makes Matthews the league’s highest-paid player in average annual salary:

Matthews entered the final season of his five-year, $58.2 million contract signed in February 2019. He will serve in 2023-2024. $750,000 in base salary during the 2018 campaign, but will also earn $7.2 million in a signing bonus. That extension keeps Matthews under contract with the Maple Leafs through 2027-28, but also allows him to hit free agency at age 30.
Matthews was selected first overall by the Maple Leafs in the 2016 NHL Draft. He signed a three-year entry-level contract with the team and appeared in all 82 games as a starter.
Matthews became the first Toronto player to win the Calder Trophy as the league’s top rookie since Brit Selby in 1965-66. In his debut season, he scored 40 goals and provided 29 assists. Since then, the Californian has been one of the best offensive players in the NHL. He led the league in goals scored in 2020–21 (41) and 2021–22 (60).
Matthews set a career high with 106 points in the 2021–22 season. He had his fourth consecutive 40-goal season in 2022–23.
Toronto made the playoffs in each Matthewsand#039; the first seven seasons, but the equipment did not advance beyond the second round. The franchise’s two best seasons in regular season scoring came in each of the previous two seasons (115 in 2021–22 and 111 in 2022–23).