The Toronto Maple Leafs welcomed in a new era of management in a way only they could on Monday. Now, they may be forced to say goodbye to the centerpiece player of their current team.
According to The Athletic’s Chris Johnston, superstar center Auston Matthews is unsure if he will be back with the Maple Leafs next season. Matthews reportedly needs to see how new general manager John Chayka and front office advisor Mats Sundin improve the team this summer before committing to another year.
“Matthews has two years remaining on his contract, but still isn’t sure if he’ll be back in Toronto in the fall, according to league sources,” Johnston writes. “At season’s end, the Leafs captain told reporters, ‘I can’t predict the future.’ That remains the case after Chayka and Mats Sundin were hired to run a revamped front office.”
Matthews, who will turn 29 in September, just finished his 10th season with the Maple Leafs and posted the worst point-per-game rate (0.88) of his career outside of his rookie 2016-17 campaign (0.84). The American centerman helped Team USA win a gold medal at the 2026 Winter Olympics, but then returned to Toronto to miss the NHL’s postseason for the first time in his 10-year stint with the club.
The beginning of the 2026-27 season will mark the start of a two-year countdown on Matthews’s contract, as he is set to become an unrestricted free agent in July of 2028. He has a full no-movement clause in his current deal, which pays him $13.25 million against the salary cap.
“We’re going to get together in the next couple of weeks and spend some time,” Chayka said of Matthews on Monday. “I think he deserves some answers about where we’re at and where we’re headed, and give him a forum to provide feedback and ask questions and then take it from there.”
As of now, Matthews is still rehabbing and recovering from a torn MCL and quad contusion, caused by a knee-to-knee hit from Radko Gudas, that prematurely ended his season in March. He is not expected to miss any time at the start of next season.
If Matthews determines that he no longer wants to stick around in Toronto, the list of trade suitors will likely be long. While he would completely control which team he ends up on with his no-movement clause, the Washington Capitals could turn out to be an attractive landing spot, as the team still seeks to make a big addition to their top-six forward group.
The Capitals have stockpiled prospects and draft picks for an opportunity like Matthews becoming available, and will have the cap space to take on a big deal. According to PuckPedia, the Caps are expected to have $36.6 million in open space ahead of the 2026-27 campaign.
Matthews would also have an immediate sense of familiarity with the Capitals, joining a team led by head coach Spencer Carbery. Before taking the bench boss job with the Caps, Carbery was an assistant with the Maple Leafs for two years, where he was responsible for the team’s power play, which Matthews was a huge part of.
In the potential scenario where the Maple Leafs offload Matthews, it could also trigger the team to consider moving some of their other big pieces in a rebuild, such as wingers William Nylander and Matthew Knies, who would also fit the profile that Washington wants to bring in.
