The Toronto Maple Leafs know that trading Auston Matthews is no easy task. In fact, he’s practically untradeable. It’s not that no one wants him. It’s not that his contract is necessarily a problem.
The issues lies in the fact that very few teams could afford the price tag the Maple Leafs could set for him. Players like Auston Matthews don’t hit the market very often. And when they do, the price goes through the roof.
What would that price be?
Well, it’s really tough to figure out. But there could be comparables out there. For instance, the St. Louis Blues had set a huge price tag for Robert Thomas. Reportedly, the Blues wanted a high-end prospect, a first-round pick, and other pieces to offset the loss of Thomas.
Another comparable could be the Quinn Hughes deal. The Minnesota Wild gave up the equivalent of four first-round picks for Hughes. That’s a pretty high price to pay.
It’s the type of price any team would have to pay for Auston Matthews.
That situation makes Matthews practically untradeable. Even if the Maple Leafs wanted to sell off tomorrow, and while teams would line up, making a deal wouldn’t be that easy.
But beyond the acquisition cost, there’s another major reason why Matthews is practically untradeable.
Auston Matthews’ Cap Hit Is Not Easy for Team to Handle
The acquisition cost to land Matthews is high enough. But then, there’s also the matter of his current contract. His current deal has two more years remaining at $13.25 million. That’s not the sort of cap hit that just any team can fit in.
Contenders that would love to land Auston Matthews would have a heck of a time fitting him in under the cap structure.
In fact, only a handful of teams with playoff aspirations could pull off such a deal. For instance, the Detroit Red Wings are one team with enough cap space to fit Matthews into their salary cap scheme.
Beyond that, the Utah Mammoth or Anaheim Ducks could make the math work. But even if these teams had the pieces to pay the acquisition cost and the cap space to make the math work, there is one more obstacle that could eventually make Auston Matthews untenable for just about every team in the NHL.
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Matthews Has Full No-Movement Clause
So, even if a team had everything in place to land Auston Matthews, his full no-movement clause will undoubtedly get in the way. That situation means that the Maple Leafs could be limited to a specific number of teams to trade with.
While it doesn’t seem like Matthews would paint the Leafs into a corner the way Artemi Panarin did with the New York Rangers, the options to make something happen could be extremely limited.
If that were the case, a Matthews trade could come down to a handful of teams. In the worst of cases, Auston Matthews could force the Leafs to trade him to one team. Like the Panarin situation, the acquiring team would have all the leverage in the world. Such a scenario could pretty much destroy any potential return the Leafs could get for Matthews.
Lastly, the team that lands Auston Matthews would face a similar situation as the Wild have with Quinn Hughes. That club would need to push for a contract extension.
But that’s conversation for another day.
Auston Matthews Is Untradeable, and the Leafs Know It