Why Wouldn't Auston Matthews Want To Be With The Maple Leafs?
The future of Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews is the subject of speculation. But a renewed Leafs vision from a new management team should be enough to keep him.
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, 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
