I have heard from several sources this summer that several teams are keeping a very close eye on how much Auston Matthews eventually ends up making in term and cap hit in his inevitable long-term contract extension with Toronto. The real intrigue lies in the domino possibility that Mitch Marner could have his pick among several potential offer sheet suitors next summer, putting the Leafs in salary cap hell if they match.

The reasoning: Even though the Maple Leafs could figure out a way to afford Marner in addition to the mega-contracts given out to sign John Tavares and eventually to extend Matthews, the team also has to address its blue line for the long-term beyond Morgan Rielly and Nikita Zaitsev. If the Leafs -- who are also trying to figure out an extension for William Nylander -- end up tying up Tavares, Matthews and Marner, the team's positional depth could be compromised with so much of the cap tied up in three players.

There has not been any RFA offer sheets in the NHL since Calgary signed Ryan O'Reilly to one, which the Colorado Avalanche matched. The last successful offer sheet was the Edmonton offer sheet to Dustin Penner in 2007.

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