Auston Matthews is not the Maple Leafs' urgent priority this week and the focus has shifted to someone else
Photo credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images
Auston Matthews should be the Maple Leafs' top priority this summer but it looks like they are trying to figure out what to do with Brandon Pridham first.
With the Maple Leafs expected to be making big changes shortly, the one focus at least for fans seems to be the future of Craig Berube. While that's still up for debate, the team still has one very important person to keep tabs on.
Auston Matthews is someone who has gotten a ton of attention lately especially given the inconsistencies regarding whether or not he is going to stick around or if he could be giving his farewells after this season.
He wants to stick around, and making sure that they give him the best coaching and teammates possible is going to be imperative to making sure he stays in the blue and white.
Toronto is prioritizing their new front office instead of their captain
However it seems like for the Maple Leafs, they aren't exactly keeping their captain as a priority right now as the team has decided to focus on figuring out the future of current interim co-GM Brandon Pridham.
Chris Johnston noted on TSN's FirstUp that John Chayka and company are trying to determine where Pridham fits in the front office and want to know what his situation is before focusing on other aspects of the team:
It's still up in the air, the biggest question is Bramdon Pridham, been here 14, 15 years; he's been under a number of GM's and has a huge amount of respect as the preeminent capologist.
By managing the Leafs books he had to dance a pretty good tango especially during the COVID era when [the cap] didn't move much. But they have to see whether they are going to move forward with him or not.
By managing the Leafs books he had to dance a pretty good tango especially during the COVID era when [the cap] didn't move much. But they have to see whether they are going to move forward with him or not.
Pridham has been part of the Maple Leafs since 2014-15 when he was hired as Special Assistant to the GM. Then he was promoted to Assistant GM in 2018-19 and became interim GM this year alongside Ryan Hardy when Toronto fired Brad Treliving.
I mean it's great that Chayka wants to perhaps bring in his own crew but Pridham isn't exactly a top priority as of now. He's still your salary cap guru, and he's as engrained within the life of the team as anyone; why not at least keep him around at first?
Auston Matthews and John Chayka have no meeting planned as of yet
But there is something even more alarming that Johnston brought to the attention of everyone which is the fact that John Chayka and Auston Matthews are not scheduled to meet right now.
According to Johnston there is no meeting this week prepared, and that's a bad sign if the team wanted to make sure they appease their captain. This is a meeting that will make or break Matthews' time here and without a real urgency - it seems like Chayka doesn't care.
We heard during the press conference that talking to Matthews was of utmost importance to the Maple Leafs front office and to already kind of turn around and prove otherwise isn't exactly a great way to endear yourself to the fanbase.
It's a strange way to approach the situation though it might be that Chayka wants to ensure he has all his reinforcements at his side before tackling the dragon that is Auston Matthews.
You can't fault him for wanting to prepare but perhaps his focus should lie less on his comrades and more on his captain.
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