FROM KEVIN MCGRAN’S MAILBAG

Auston Matthews could and probably should re-sign with the team with a short-term contract. It will sound to some like a slap in the face in a sport where teams lock up their core pieces on long-term deals. But Matthews is in a slightly different position because he’s largely irreplaceable and he can make himself an unrestricted free agent at just 25, a year from now. Three years at $39 million (U.S.) would give him the highest average annual value ($13 million) but it would be lower than if the Leafs had to buy some of his prime freeagent years, perhaps paying up to $15 million a year on a sixor seven-year deal.