- Elliotte Friedman says the Maple Leafs have no plans to trade Auston Matthews
- Toronto still views its captain as “the elite of the elite”
- Read below for what Friedman said and how the Leafs look around Matthews
Auston Matthews isn’t going anywhere.
The trade talk that followed the Maple Leafs all summer got a firm answer this week. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman said on his latest 32 Thoughts podcast that Toronto has no plans to move its captain and still sees Matthews as the player everything runs through.
Friedman was asked where the organization stands on Matthews.
“I think the whole organization feels this way,” Friedman said. “They really believe that Matthews is still the elite of the elite. They are hoping he shows up healthy and ready to go, and he drives the bus.”
Health is the whole thing here. Matthews tore his MCL in March on a knee-on-knee hit from Anaheim’s Radko Gudas and missed the rest of a rough season in Toronto.
Before the injury, he was still piling up goals. Matthews passed Mats Sundin as the franchise’s all-time leading goal scorer back in January, so the elite label isn’t a stretch.
Toronto looks different around him now. The Leafs cleaned house up top, hired Jim Hiller as head coach, and landed the No. 1 overall pick in Gavin McKenna.
McKenna made his arrival in Toronto pretty clear:
Everything hinges on health. If Matthews comes back and looks like himself, the trade noise disappears. If the goals don’t come, Toronto will be right back where it started.
