The Toronto Maple Leafs, in signing Auston Matthews to a five-year, $58,150,000 contract extension loaded with signing bonuses, have changed the way teams do business with restricted free agents. This will almost certainly affect the Winnipeg Jets when it comes to Patrik Laine, Kyle Connor and their salary cap at large.



For me, the Maple Leafs as league leaders is a relatively new concept, but since Brendan Shanahan was named president in 2014 and Kyle Dubas GM in 2018, Toronto has been a source of innovation.



Tuesday’s contract extension, which pays Matthews the NHL minimum salary plus front-loaded, annual signing bonuses — Matthews will make $30.4 million in signing bonuses between July 2019 and July 2020 — is the result of Dubas’ creativity and Toronto’s deep pockets. In total, $149,690,000 of the $180,150,000 allocated to Matthews, William Nylander and John Tavares in recent Maple Leafs contracts has come in the form of signing...