"For Auston Matthews, it’s all about making as much $ as possible": Fans criticize leafs captain's comment on Connor McDavid's Oilers extension

Toronto Maple Leafs' captain Auston Matthews faced backlash from fans over his comments on Connor McDavid’s Oilers contract extension.

McDavid agreed to a two-year, $25 million deal on Monday, coming into effect from the 2026-27 season. With an average annual value of $12.5 million, the contract is below what many consider the market value for a player of his caliber.

On Tuesday, Matthews weighed in on the contract:

“I think for him it's all about winning and setting himself up for the best opportunity to do that." Matthews said

Fans criticized Matthews’ comment on social media. One fan wrote:

"And for Matthews, it’s all about making as much $ as possible, every time."

Steve Bonger

@SteveBonger

@TheFourthPeriod And for matthews, it’s all about making as much $ as possible, every time.

Another fan wrote:

"Matthews confirms... winning isn't for him. He just takes money from the leafs and go golfing by the end of April."

JESSE (The💧Drop)

@97OrangeCrush29

@TheFourthPeriod Matthews confirms... winning isnt for him. He just takes money from the leafs and go golfing by end of April 😍

Here are some fan reactions:

"It would seem McDavid is much more committed… by putting his money where his mouth is. Matthews gonna get dragged," one fan wrote.

"Well, this is definitely a very telling comment from the Leafs Captain. The Oilers Captain has his priorities right. Every young hockey players dream is to win the Cup regardless of the sacrifice. Then there's the Leafs captain that wants big $$ for his purses and pantsuits," another fan wrote.

"“But not for me it’s all about lining my own pocket” is the second half of the statement," a fan joked.

"So Matthews just admitted that his priority is the All-Mighty $$ and winning is nothing more than a bonus..That's the realistic attitude of 90% of athletes," another user wrote.

Auston Matthews is entering the second year of his own four-year, $53 million extension with Toronto, which carries an average annual salary $750,000 higher than McDavid’s new deal.

NHL Analyst David Pagnotta responds to fan backlash over Auston Matthews’ comments on Connor McDavid’s contract extension

NHL analyst David Pagnotta weighed in after fans criticized Auston Matthews’ remarks about Connor McDavid’s contract extension. Pagnotta said he didn’t understand the backlash for Matthews in a post on X:

"I’m not sure why everyone’s going nuts over this. Matthews was simply expressing how McDavid’s focus to winning in Edmonton (“everybody wants to win”) led him to taking significantly less to help his team. Which everyone else believes, too."

In his interview, Matthews expressed his respect for McDavid, noting that he’s been fortunate to get to know him over the years.