Matthews placing bets with Marner, Babcock over gold-medal game

Auston Matthews isn't lacking confidence.

The Toronto Maple Leafs rookie sensation told reporters, including TSN's Kristen Shilton, that he has a bet going with head coach Mike Babcock and another one with fellow phenom Mitch Marner over the outcome of Thursday's gold-medal game between the U.S. and Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championship.

Related - Winner gets gold: 4 keys to Canada vs. USA

Matthews, who hails from Arizona and who's represented Team USA internationally, joked that Babcock - who's won multiple gold medals behind Canada's bench - will have a predictable justification for a U.S. win.

"(It's) lose-lose for me, because he'll just make an excuse, like if he was coaching there's no way they'd lose," Matthews said Thursday.

Matthews' entry-level deal contains the "full permissible package" and he triggered a $212,500 bonus by scoring his 20th goal of the season to win Sunday's Centennial Classic in overtime.

Babcock's contract is reportedly worth $50 million over eight years, while Marner's entry-level deal is worth $850,000 per season with a similar potential $212,500 bonus.

All of which is to say, there could be some serious cheddar exchanging hands.