Top 5 highest paid Maple Leafs players after Matthew Knies' $46.5 million contract extension ft. Auston Matthews

The Toronto Maple Leafs extended 22-year-old forward Matthew Knies to a six-year, $46.5 million contract on Sunday. The deal avoids Knies hitting RFA status on July 1, locking up Toronto’s most promising young player for the foreseeable future.

The deal comes with a $7.75 million AAV, making Knies the third-highest paid player on the Maple Leafs behind captain Auston Matthews and star William Nylander.

So, let’s take a look at the five highest-paid players on the Maple Leafs’ roster to date.

Top 5 highest-paid Maple Leafs players

#5. Jake McCabe

31-year-old blue liner Jake McCabe ranks fifth on the Maple Leafs in salary heading into the 2025-26 season.

McCabe will be entering the first year of a five-year contract extension signed this past season. The contract carries an AAV of $4.51 million until 2030.

McCabe is not known for being an offensive defenseman. He’s a bruising, shutdown blue liner who made a great pairing with fellow shutdown specialist Chris Tanev this past season.

#4. Morgan Rielly

The Maple Leafs’ top blue liner, Morgan Rielly, will be entering the fourth year of an eight-year deal signed in 2022 worth $60 million.

Rielly’s $7.5 million cap hit will run until 2030 when the most tenured player on Toronto’s roster turns 36. This past season, Rielly scored seven goals and added 34 assists for 41 points in all 82 games.

#3. Matthew Knies

Matthew Knies earned his contract extension on Sunday after setting career-highs in goals with 29 and points with 58.

Knies nearly doubled his goal output in his second full season. He was a second-round pick of the Maple Leafs, taken #57th in 2021.

The 6’3”, 227-pound winger debuted in the postseason for the Leafs, earning a spot on the top line with captain Auston Matthews. Matthews and Knies will be looking to continue putting up big goal-scoring numbers next season.

#2. William Nylander

William Nylander will be hitting the second year of an eight-year extension he signed in 2024. The deal came with an $11.5 million cap hit, making him the second-highest-paid player on the Leafs.

Nylander repaid the Leafs for their trust in him by scoring 45 goals this past season. He finished second in the league in goals. The career-high in goals was Nylander's third straight 40-goal season, and fourth straight of 80+ points.

#1. Auston Matthews

Auston Matthews will be the league’s second-highest-paid player when Leon Draisaitl’s contract kicks into effect next season.

Matthews will be entering the second year of a four-year extension he signed during the summer of 2024. The deal is worth $53 million and carries a cap hit of $13.25 million.

Despite an injury-filled season, Matthews managed to score 33 goals and notch 78 points in 67 games. Matthews has topped 40 goals six times in his NHL career and 100 points twice.

About the author

Nestor is an NHL and MLB writer at Sportskeeda with over 10 years of experience. Growing up in Toronto, he became an avid Maple Leafs and Blue Jays fan, but also admires the New York Islanders and Los Angeles Dodgers for their dominance in the 80s. Holding an Economics and Education major, Nestor’s passion for writing and sporting events led him to take up reporting about the sport professionally.

Nestor credits the Leafs’ playoff runs in the early '90s as having a lasting impact on him. His favorite players are Doug Gilmour and Mike Bossy, as he feels they were tough, talented leaders, while Pat Burns is his favorite coach of all time for always preaching a fast-paced game.

Growing up in Canada, it was natural for Nestor to become interested in ice hockey and he played Minor Hockey as a teenager, which has given him a unique perspective on the sport. Nestor has mastered the art of how to best present facts and he also has a knack for knowing which sources can be trusted, and which can't for stories.

When he is not writing about Canada’s national passion, Nestor enjoys running and hiking.

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Edited by Nestor Quixtan