The Maple Leafs already have issues with the salary cap since they have $53M split between only 6 players (Auston Matthews,
John Tavares,
Mitch Marner, William Nylander,
Morgan Rielly,
T.J. Brodie). Which leaves about $31M for the remaining 17 players. Increasing Matthews' AAV will cost a lot more than just a few bucks if the Leafs want to retain his services. Especially with former Calder Trophy nominee
Michael Bunting seeking an extension as soon as this summer.