Maple Leafs Finally Get Some Power Play Opportunities And Make Good On A 5-on-3 To Down Oilers
After enduring a long drought without a man-advantage, the Maple Leafs capitalized on a 5-on-3 opportunity to secure their third consecutive win and keep their playoff hopes alive heading into the Olympic break.
Video Transcript
What should the Leafs do with Auston Matthews long term?
Or I will even throw this out there, short term, if you feel that maybe by the time this contract's done at 30, they should move on.
Well, here's the great thing, Ryan.
You don't have to make that decision now.
Like, the earliest- Mm-hmm ... you can re-sign Auston Matthews is the summer of 2027.
So that gives you a full year to prove to Auston that he's, you know, part of the long-term plan in Toronto, and also, you know, it gives you a year to really evaluate things and say, "You know, do we even need Auston Matthews?
Because we are about to take this right down to the studs, and why do we want a 30-year-old making arguably top three money in the NHL?"
So, you know, these next 12 months, or I guess it's a little longer than that, are gonna really tell the story in Toronto.
Obviously, you got some enticing pieces.
Like, you've got a core still around Auston Matthews, Matthew Knies, and William Nylander.
from there, I don't know who else is gonna be part of the team.
Like- ... is Morgan Rielly gonna be a Leaf in a couple years?
I would have to say probably not.
Same thing with John Tavares, I feel like he's not gonna be around when Matthews signs his next deal.
But I think the real testament is gonna be how many young guys are they gonna have in the system by then?
You know, right now it's Easton Cowan, it's Ben Danforth, and it's dot, dot, dot.
There's not a whole lot of guys aside of that where you're going, "Okay, this is gonna be a guy who, you know, makes an impact at the NHL level."
So, like I said, the next year is gonna be real important, and especially this trade deadline's gonna be real important as to what can Toronto recoup?
