Maple Leafs sign No. 1 pick Auston Matthews to maximum entry-level contract

In recent days, chatter has been building that there was a stalemate brewing between the Toronto Maple Leafs and first overall pick Auston Matthews. That Michael Perez Jersey apparently was never the case, though, as the Leafs signed Matthews to his entry-level contract Thursday. , Matthews' deal came with the maximum allowable salary and bonuses.The young forward received the standard three-year ELC, which comes with a maximum base salary of $925,000 per season. There is also a $92,500 signing bonus attached to each year of the contract and Matthews can earn up to $2.85 million in performance bonuses per season. That would bring his total potential earnings to $11.325 million over the life of the contract. CapFriendly.com has a good breakdown on what incentives Matthews needs to hit to max out his deal . He'll count only for $925,000 against the Maple Leafs' cap next season.It had been speculated that the hold-up may have been tied to general manager Lou Lamoriello Dustin McGowan Jersey 's traditional reluctance to give a rookie performance bonuses on their very first NHL contract. The most recent example was while Lamoriello was with the Devils. The team had drafted Adam Lar son fourth overall in 2011 and denied him any performance bonuses on his first deal.Lamoriello, however, told reporters that there was never a question about whether or not the deal would get done with Matthews and that it was only a matter of when. He also added this: Lamoriello says when he came to Toronto he decided that he wouldn't be operating the "New Jersey way." Chris Johnston (@reporterchris) So it appears that the growing panic surrounding the delay on this getting done was completely overblown. Matthews is getting the contract he deserves as a No. 1 pick and the central piece of Toronto's rebuild, no different than past first overall picks that commanded the same.Last season, while playing with the ZSC Nathan Eovaldi Jersey Lions in Switzerland's top pro league, Matthews put up 46 points in just 36 games. Additionally, he excelled on the international stage with Team USA. He had nine points in 10 games at the Men's World Championship, where he was named one of USA's three best players of the tournament. He also dominated at the World Junior Championship with 11 points in seven games as Team USA took bronze. His performances in the pro league and while playing with and against NHLers at the Men's World Championship showed he's ready for a quick transition to the top level. A native of Scottsdale, Ariz., Matthews has potential to be a franchise-altering player for the Maple Leafs. Joining high-end prospects like Mitchell Marner and William Nylander, the talented center will help really kick the Maple Leafs rebuild into high gear. The club can start focusing on how to build around those players after having a few years of fire-sale type trades to shed salary and basically hit the reset button.There is little doubt Matthews will be on the opening night roster and he'll likely be Adeiny Hechavarria Jersey playing a pretty significant role right off the bat. Matthews will have a late start to his first NHL training camp, however, as he was selected to play for Team North America, the team made up of players 23 and younger from the U.S. and Canada, at the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. He's going to get some unprecedented pre-rookie season prep with that kind of opportunity, playing Mallex Smith Jersey at or above NHL pace weeks before starting his first campaign in the league. Additionally, Toronto head coach Mike Babcock will be able to get a good look at him during the tournament as he'll be coaching Team Canada, with everything taking place right at the Maple Leafs' home arena, the Air Canada Centre. There's going to be a lot of pre sure on Matthews given his draft stature and the hype he's generated coming into the league. There are sure to be peaks and valleys in the season ahead, but there's no doubt that he is going to bring some much-needed excitement to the Maple Leafs organization immediately, and in a lot of ways, already has.