Auston Matthews is staying - and Pierre LeBrun just revealed the long list of teams that were hoping otherwise.
The captain of Team USA, Matthews has been considered one of the best players in the league for over a decade, and throughout his career, he has been a Toronto Maple Leaf.
The Maple Leafs missed the playoffs for the first time in over a decade, and rumours swirled about Matthews wanting to see out the plan for the remainder of his contract, which has him a free agent two seasons from now on a $13.25 million AAV/2028.
Toronto has been placed in the weirdest spot ever: they have incredibly limited resources in prospects and picks, with both of their future first-round picks unprotected in 2027 and 2028 to Philly and Boston, despite having the number-one overall pick in the 2026 NHL draft.
The reality is that the Maple Leafs plan to win. And the easiest way you do that is with Auston Matthews on the roster; that is why, to the dismay of a laundry list of teams, he is going to remain a Maple Leaf for the foreseeable future.
LeBrun named the Kings, Ducks, and Mammoth among the teams keeping an eye on the Matthews situation
It is also important to point out that LeBrun said, "A long list of teams." Meaning that it was likely more than just those three that he named.
However, there certainly is an allure about the marketability, among other things, with having the captain of Team USA, who won a gold medal, playing in an American city. The ability to put butts in seats is incredibly important and is something owners and FO members think about.
That being said, if Matthews were to be traded, he would be one of the greatest centers to be moved in the last twenty-five years of the sport, certainly on the level of a Jack Eichel to Vegas Golden Knights calibre of trade.
Bona fide stud number one centers don't come on the market very often, and teams that don't have one will move a whole hell-of-a-lot to get hold of one.
So it certainly would be more than three teams in the mix for Auston Matthews' services, and the trade package to acquire him would be incredibly high, multiple first-round picks, prospects and maybe an NHL-calibre roster player or two going back the Leafs way as well.
Seravalli warns the trade talk could reignite if Toronto starts slow and that keeps every door cracked
According to Frank Seravalli, as relayed by "theMugNHL" Auston Matthews could find himself back in trade talks if the Maple Leafs start the season slow.
The Leafs are in what MLSE CEO Keith Pelley called "a re-tool," at his press conference after firing then-general manager Brad Treliving.
Meaning the Maple Leafs plan to be competitive going forward, and changing some parts of the team around might fix some of their problems.
This also means that trade talks are dead until something pries it open, like an incredibly slow start to the 2026-27 NHL season for the Maple Leafs.
Auston Matthews is considered a foundational piece by Toronto, and Toronto has given a lot to Auston Matthews. While last season was the first time they had not made the playoffs in a decade, they ended up with the number one overall pick.
Ultimately, it will take a whole lot for Auston Matthews to be traded, but it makes sense that people would be interested; franchise number-one centers are rarely made available, and when they are, it takes a treasure-trove type of package to pry it from a team's hands.
Where will Matthews start the 2028 NHL season
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