Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews reportedly maintained his commitment to the team as they began to become sellers at the trade deadline, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.
“Nothing has changed,” Friedman said during the latest Saturday Headlines. “ There was a conversation this week between the Maple Leafs and Matthews’ representation, and they just asked, ‘Is anything here different?’ With the way that this season has gone, is there any reason for the Maple Leafs to believe that Matthews wouldn’t wanna return for 26-27 or for Matthews to believe that the Maple Leafs wouldn’t want him to return for 26-27? And both sides reaffirmed their commitment to each other.”
With the Leafs likely to miss the playoffs for the first time since the 2015-16 season, it was fair for some fans to wonder if the captain would want to abandon ship at the first sign of trouble. It is certainly going to give the fanbase a sigh of relief that Matthews is in it for the long haul, despite how poorly things have unfolded this year.
The two sides being on the same page will no doubt give GM Brad Treliving the confidence to go full-steam ahead on the retool and do what he can to get the Leafs back in the playoffs for next season.
“ One thing they have done this week is begun the process of calling around to the league and seeing what’s available to them, and being in a position where they might have to consider some things that they didn’t expect to consider,” Friedman continued. “Now, the key thing I heard is they haven’t discussed anything that anyone would call extraordinary or huge or stunning. I think that some of the early conversations are about things that you would expect, but they have begun the conversations around the league of ‘What do you think of our roster? What kind of things would you be interested in?’”
Friedman reported on Friday that the Leafs were leaning towards becoming sellers, and this follow-up seems to indicate that they are all-in on this path heading into the trade deadline. It’s unclear if any major moves will occur before the Olympic trade freeze on February 4th, but there is certainly going to be plenty of action when play resumes up until the deadline on March 6th.
The Leafs have plenty of options they can dangle during this retool in an attempt to restock the barren cupboard of assets. Oliver Ekman-Larsson is having a renaissance year and should easily fetch a first-round pick if he is made available. Bobby McMann and Scott Laughton could be an ideal rental for contenders to target, especially with them being at just over a million each. While the Brandon Carlo trade has not panned out, they could redeem themselves with a second trade to get back some assets lost.
Whether it is Treliving or someone else navigating the next few weeks, the Leafs’ fire sale is fast approaching. No matter what comes next during a busy few weeks for the team, Matthews will not be going anywhere.
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