What’s next for Auston Matthews and the Maple Leafs?

TORONTO — As extra groups are eradicated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the hearsay mill is heating up.

It is gotten to the level the place individuals are asking me if it is potential that I may put Auston Matthews on a commerce board this summer time. What I inform them is, what appeared unimaginable simply a short while in the past may develop some legs.

The Athletic‘s Chris Johnston was the first to report in a chunk final week that Matthews’ future was in query, writing, “Matthews has two years remaining on his contract, however nonetheless isn’t certain if he’ll be again in Toronto in the fall, in accordance with league sources.” It is notable that Matthews’ agent, Judd Moldaver, may simply have squashed this storyline however, as of but, has chosen to not.

In sure different conditions round the league, we have seen star gamers flex their muscular tissues. From Quinn Hughes, who ended up being traded to Minnesota, to Mikko Rantanen being traded twice in a contract 12 months, to Connor McDavid signing a short-term extension with Edmonton and defining a window during which to win with him.

It seems Matthews’ present state of affairs is not any completely different. There’s an expectation in his camp that gamers of his stature ought to get some assurances.

It has been famous that Matthews has two years remaining on his contract, which mirrors McDavid’s cope with Edmonton. One other similarity between the two is that Toronto and Edmonton have head coaches with unsure statuses. Each Kris Knoblauch and Craig Berube have but to get a vote of confidence from administration that they are returning next season, and on Tuesday there was a report from Frank Seravalli that the Oilers had requested Vegas for permission to talk with Bruce Cassidy.

It is silly to imagine that both administration workforce would decide to a coach with out first doing their due diligence and have a dialog with Matthews and McDavid.

Finding out these teaching conditions and, maybe, understanding that reinforcements are on the means must be sufficient for each Matthews and McDavid to imagine they’ll flip disappointing 2025-26 seasons round into true playoff pushes as quickly as next April.

If that’s certainly the case in Toronto, John Chayka and Mats Sundin ought to tackle the state of affairs with Matthews now, to allow them to publicly put this narrative to relaxation rapidly. One other in-person assembly with Matthews to determine issues out, and a easy but definitive assertion from the group that the franchise participant is not going anyplace, would put a nervous Leafs Nation extra comfortable.

At their year-end press convention, Chayka and Sundin did say that Matthews and William Nylander had an untouchable standing on the roster, however that will not cease the hypothesis after Johnston’s report.

If there’s one factor I’ve discovered on this market, it is that if you happen to do not management the story, the story will management you. Individuals take discover when your star participant would not instantly slam the door on any commerce chatter and reassure the fan base that he nonetheless believes this group can win.

The longer Matthews’ camp stays quiet about the path the Leafs are on and his future inside it, the louder the hypothesis will get.

That is simply life in Toronto.

To make certain, there may be nothing to recommend that Matthews is packing packing containers or will likely be demanding a commerce tomorrow, however the silence creates oxygen for this hearsay and stirs up heated on-air debates. And, as Mitch Marner shines for Vegas in its playoff push, the thought Matthews may additionally depart is understandably a worrying one for the fan base.

Matthews carries monumental weight in the Leafs group. He’s not simply the greatest participant on the roster, he’s the id of the franchise. So when there’s uncertainty round him, even when it’s unintentional, it sends shockwaves via the total NHL.

Different groups are paying shut consideration to what is going on on in Toronto. The Leafs simply went via one other spring collapse that felt painfully acquainted — too little offence when it mattered most, a subpar blue-line riddled with accidents all season, not sufficient grit. Rival executives know the Leafs, and their new administration workforce, are beneath immense strain, so that they anticipate some extent of change. Even when there is a trace that Matthews’ future in Toronto may turn out to be unsure in the long-term, telephone calls will likely be made. Hypothesis in my inside circle has the Utah Mammoth watching this example, as they’ve a couple of of Matthews’ shut mates on their roster, together with Clayton Keller.

Matthews and his agent most likely imagine they’re dealing with issues privately and professionally, and need to do it on their very own phrases. They’re entitled to that. However in the Toronto market, this kind of silence not often stays impartial and usually turns into eye-popping headlines and rumours.

And so, abruptly, an low season blockbuster involving Matthews turns from unimaginable to a distant risk, and will proceed to evolve from there till the participant’s camp — or the workforce in a follow-up assertion — places the hearsay to mattress.

Will I put Matthews on an low season commerce board? If this hearsay remains to be unresolved in the coming weeks as I work on it, there’s a rising likelihood that he’ll certainly be in consideration for it.