Auston Matthews' reported deadline for the Maple Leafs has officially arrived

Auston Matthews gave Toronto an ultimatum to fix things with moves in free agency and trades, and with mid-July the perfect midway point - it's time to decide.

The ongoing storyline this past offseason has been whether or not Auston Matthews has felt John Chayka has done enough to get the Maple Leafs back to competitiveness, and that if he didn't make enough changes - Matthews was gone.

Well, they've certainly done their best to transform everything from top to bottom with them firing over a dozen long-term executives and slowly replacing them with people that GM John Chayka prefers in his cabinet.

They also added a ton of help lineup-wise, with a transformed bottom-six, a new star goalie and one of the best goalies in the world between the pipes. Things are looking up for the Maple Leafs and one can only hope that they made a difference for the captain - though it's time for Matthews to audit his team.

July 15th was a rough deadline for Matthews to see how Toronto has improved

We heard in early May that Matthews was going to wait and see what moves the team was going to make in free agency as well as trades, and suffice to say they did their work. Add Gavin McKenna into the fold and things look different.

Let's see exactly what changes the team made and breakdown what Matthews is going to work with:

IN:

- Sergei Bobrovsky
- Darren Raddysh
- Gavin McKenna
- Nick Paul
- Colton Sissons
- Jack Roslovic
- Teddy Blueger
- Brandon Duhaime
- Emil Andrae

OUT

- Joseph Woll
- Simon Benoit
- Dennis Hildeby
- Nick Robertson
- Matias Macelli
- Brandon Carlo

Also to note, the entire coaching staff was overhauled with Craig Berube and his assistants given the pink slip, while Jim Hiller brought in his own crew including Daniel Alfredsson to many people's surprise.

While we don't know how these changes will actually improve the team on the ice until they start playing, on paper it's a great start.

They added a true starter who can handle a 50-game season, they got a lot more mobile and puck-movement oriented, added Roslovic to give Matthews a familiar face, beefed up to bottom-six into a defensive nightmare with some heavy hitters and only really lack one more top-six piece.

Suffice to say, the Maple Leafs have genuinely improved overall though there are still a few holes to fill and deals to figure out. Matthews should at least feel confident that even if it doesn't succeed - they tried their damndest.

But now comes the real test - getting on the ice

This is no longer about whether the team did enough or not. Clearly, they added where they needed to and brought in a coach who is able to unlock the offensive side of things once again.

Only being on the ice though is how we can truly determine if this is worth it. While we don't have to worry about guys like McKenna because a) he's a rookie and b) needs time to acclimate to the NHL, we do have to see how others respond.

Is Darren Raddysh going to immediately show everyone why he was signed to a $68-million contract? Will Colton Sissons and Teddy Blueger become the best PK duo in the league? Can Nick Paul be the player Toronto needs him to be in the clutch? Will Sergei Bobrovsky bounce back?

All of this, and then about a dozen more questions can only be answered as the season goes on. The preseason schedule doesn't allow for a ton of time prior to the regular season opening up, but they can at least get a good handle on who should line up with who to start.

But beyond even the roster, coaching, and front office changes...what about Matthews himself?

Will he be healthy and able to get back into form or is his knee injury last season going to play a factor? He has a lot of pressure to be a leader and produce like he used to, and if he pushes too hard, he's at risk of breaking and imploding this entire offseason.

Toronto has done what they could with the assets they have, got extremely lucky with Gavin McKenna, and managed to rebuild their roster from the ground up for the most part.

It's all well and good but it doesn't matter whatsoever unless the standings reflect those changes and that's never a guarantee.

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