Auston Matthews said he could not predict where he will play next season as the Toronto Maple Leafs try to reset under new leadership. The star center, who has two years left on his contract, is still not sure he will be back in Toronto in the fall.
League sources said Matthews wants to see the roster meaningfully upgraded through trades and free agency before he commits to another season in Toronto. That puts the team’s next few weeks at the center of his decision, with draft week in late June and free agency opening July 1.
John Chayka, who was hired as general manager, said on Monday that he and Matthews will get together in the next couple of weeks and spend time talking through the team’s direction. Chayka said Matthews deserves answers about where the Maple Leafs are and where they are headed, but he would not put a timetable on when he needs a decision from the player.
The timing matters because Toronto is coming off a 28th-place finish and a 30-point decline in the standings, a collapse that left the franchise searching for answers from the top of the hockey operations chart down. The club also has little room to maneuver, with the Boston Bruins owning the Maple Leafs’ first-round pick if it falls outside the top five selections.
Mats Sundin, who was brought in to help run the revamped front office, offered a blunt assessment of the franchise centerpiece. He said Matthews is the best goal-scorer in the league over the last 10 years, called him a superstar in his own right and pointed to his Olympic success, saying he won gold and captained the U.S. to the gold in Milan.
Matthews, drafted No. 1 by Toronto in 2016, is now approaching his 29th birthday in September with the franchise at a crossroads. League sources said he is expected to take stock of the team after the draft lottery on Tuesday, then again after the late June draft and the July 1 opening of free agency before deciding what comes next. For now, the biggest question around the Maple Leafs is not whether they need help. It is whether Matthews will wait to see it first.