#1. Auston Matthews again: Four years, $53 million
Sorry. Brad Treliving strikes this list again.
We always had to account for the fact that the next Pettersson contract with the Canucks isn't one that's super long-term. Perhaps, like Matthews, Pettersson wants to make his money now while also leaving the possibility open for another lucrative contract at Age 30 or so.
On Aug. 23, Matthews signed a four-year, $53 million extension with the Maple Leafs - on the back of the deal from the last slide - which carries an AAV of $13.25 million. The 26-year-old will make $16.7 million in cash this season and then drop to $15.2 million, $11.08 million, and $10.02 million in the years that follow.
It's another front-loaded deal that the Canucks might look at, but they do have the Oliver Ekman-Larsson buyout handicapping them a little bit. Regardless, there's simply no chance these two Matthews contracts don't get brought up in negotiations between the two sides.
If the Canucks want to get a Pettersson contract done and keep their superstar in the city for a long-time, it's going to take a huge chunk of change at this point. This would have been done long ago if a team-friendly deal were on the table.
Note: All contract data used in this article comes from CapFriendly.