Reports of a stagnant salary cap bad news for the Leafs

The problem of course is that even though the cap is barely going up at all, players still expect, and deserve, their pay raises. Teams will be tighter than ever to the cap, having to use every loophole available to stay compliant next season. For new Leafs GM Brad Treliving, the uncertainty could cause issues when negotiating Auston Matthews' next contract.

It's possible, and honestly, smart for Matthews to wait to sign until after next season. The cap is now expected to jump by a large amount going into 2024-25, the same year Matthews' extension would kick in. If the cap jumps by several million, it could have a large effect on the value of Matthews' contract. Treliving will have hit a home run if he can sign Matthews to a long term deal on July 1st, but the NHL has just thrown him a bit of a nasty curve ball.

Even if the Leafs were to sit down with Matthews this summer to iron out a new deal, if Matthews is pushing for top dollar, there's really no way of knowing at this point just how big of a jump the cap will take for 2024-25 yet, which is when Matthews' new deal would kick in. There are some reports that the cap could jump significantly, but if the cap only comes up by $2M-$3M and the Leafs have already shelled out $14M or $15M per season to Matthews on his extension, it could leave them in a precarious position when it comes to William Nylander, who is also looking for a raise on his next deal.