With Craig Berube gone, Toronto Maple Leafs fans now await Auston Matthews’ decision. The future of the 28-year-old has been a subject of discussion among NHL fans, as many people believe he could be on his way out of the Maple Leafs to potentially try and win a Stanley Cup.
While a huge section of fans sees Matthews moving away from Toronto, NHL Insider Darren Dreger feels the opposite. On X, NHL Rumor Report uploaded a tweet which contained Dreger’s statement. According to Dreger, Matthews will play in Toronto unless one major thing.
The tweet from NHL Rumor Report read:
“Darren Dreger: I don’t think there’s any chance that Auston Matthews isn’t playing in Toronto unless they come to him and say…we are going full rebuild; he’s still committed…it’s just, little bit of pressure to…try and make the team better – OverDrive (5/14)”
Auston Matthews has been a Toronto Maple Leafs player throughout his NHL career and has proven to be an instrumental part of the team. While the Maple Leafs failed to make the Stanley Cup playoffs this year, Matthews had a decent season, scoring 27 goals with 26 assists and 53 points.
John Chayka recently spoke about “getting on the same page” with Auston Matthews
The Toronto Maple Leafs have made big changes to their management. After Brad Treliving was fired as General Manager in March, the Maple Leafs recently appointed the controversial John Chayka to take up that role. Along with Chayka, the Maple Leafs also appointed Mats Sundin.
The ex-NHL star will serve as Senior Executive Advisor of Hockey Operations. While Chayka has been under fire since being appointed GM, one of his recent decisions to part ways with Craig Berube received more scrutiny. However, Chayka will have to ignore the criticism as he has a bigger fish to fry.
The ex-Arizona Coyotes GM must deal with the situation surrounding Auston Matthews. In a recent interview, Chayka called Matthews an “accomplished player” who is world-class. He also spoke about the importance of Matthews and the Maple Leafs getting on the same page.
“”Auston is an accomplished player who is world-class. He wants to align with the vision and the strategy ahead, as do we. I don’t think there is any type of competing interest. I think it is about getting on the same page,” Chayka said.
Apart from the future of Auston Matthews, John Chayka and his staff must also decide who will occupy the role of head coach, which was left vacant by Craig Berube. Chayka mentioned that the Maple Leafs will conduct a thorough search and take their time to appoint a new head coach.
Edited by Varun Anand Bhat