Maple Leafs’ Auston Matthews’ Post Sparks Trade Speculation

The Toronto Maple Leafs already have a lot on their hands when it comes to dealing with trade rumors.

Now, on top of all trade speculation around forward Mitch Marner, another member of the franchise’s Core Four has added more drama to the whispers floating around the Canadian organization.

Superstar forward Auston Matthews posted a picture of his dog on his Instagram stories on July 12, and according to Chris Gosselin to Hockey Feed that move has sparked “crazy” speculation about a potential trade involving Utah Hockey Club forward Clayton Keller.

The picture, captured and shared in an X post by @adam_la2karis, shows Matthews’ dog along with Keller’s, both “having a play date,” as Adam Laskaris of Daily Hive Toronto described it.

For the two dogs to appear in the picture next to each other, it’s fair to assume that both Matthews and Keller spent time together at some point in July. Fans flipped that little Instagram story into speculation about a potential reunion in Toronto via trade.

Adding more credence to the rumors, however, is the fact that Matthews and Keller attended UFC 303 together at the end of June.

Moreover, Gosselin speculates that the Coyotes’ relocation to Salt Lake City might have not sat well with Keller, perhaps leading to a trade request and forcing his way to Toronto.

“The whole relocation ordeal has been tough on Keller and other players in Arizona, and I’m sure he wouldn’t mind moving to Toronto to play alongside one of his best buds.”

Keller is entering the fifth season of the eight-year, $57.2 million contract he signed with the Arizona Coyotes (now relocated to Utah) in September 2019. He has played 520 games for the Coyotes scoring 166 goals and assisting 252 for 418 total points.

Maple Leafs Trade Pitch Send Clayton Keller to Toronto

Marner has made most trade-related headlines during the offseason, and a user of the website PuckPedia, using a new tool called PuckGM, floated a potential trade involving the disgruntled forward in a proposal that would send Keller to Toronto.

Keller, who is friends with Matthews, would land in Toronto along with Dylan Guenther and Juuso Valimaki. The Hockey Club, in return, would get Marner, Timothy Liljegren, and Topi Niemela.

PHNX Sports asked Keller about the rumors linking him to the Maple Leafs before the start of the 2023-24 season.

“Yeah, no, that’s not true. I’m just focused on myself and the team here, and I just love this group of guys. This is where I want to be right now,” Keller said on September 11, 2023.

Most recently, during the 2024 NHL All-Star Game held in February, Matthews and Keller teamed up as the former drafted the latter for his ASG team.

“We spend a lot of time in the summer hanging out, skating, and things like that, so it’s cool to be able to spend some time with him this weekend,” Keller said of Matthews on February 1.

In return, Matthews said that Keller is “an unbelievable player” and confirmed he “spends a lot of time with him in the summers.”

Furthermore, Matthews added, “We like to hang out, skate, train together… On the summer skates we always try to play together and we have pretty good chemistry.

“I really wanted him to be on the team.”

Mitch Marner’s Preference Is To Sign A Contract Extension

Whether the Maple Leafs (and their fans) like it or not, Marner made clear after the season was over that his preference is to sign a new contract to remain in Toronto.

Marner holds a full no-move clause as part of his current contract with the Leafs. He’s under contract for one more year carrying a cap hit of $10.9 million. He could reject any trade and play out his deal before becoming a free agent in 2025.

“I mean, that would be a goal. I’ve expressed my love for this place, this city. Obviously, I’ve grown up here,” Marner said to the media on May 6. “We’ll start thinking about that now and try to figure something out.”

Marner has skated in 576 career games scoring 194 goals and assisting 445 for 639 total points. He is coming off scoring 26 goals and 59 assists for 85 points in 69 regular season games with the Leafs in 2023-24.

NHL insider Chris Johnston believes that Marner will, in fact, remain with the team and try to convince the Leafs the best thing to do is to offer him an extension and re-sign him after the 2025-25 season.

“Mitch is–he’s been around long enough to know how fickle fans can be in both directions,” Johnston said on the July 8 episode of The Chris Johnston Show. “And I’m sure it’s in his mind. ‘I’m gonna play so well they got no choice but to love me again.’ Not to say people don’t love him. I think that he’s become kind of the lightning rod for this entire team.”