The Toronto Maple Leafs reached the start of the 2026-27 NHL season without having to come up with any massive Auston Matthews solutions.
It certainly didn’t hurt that they got the No. 1 overall pick in the lottery and ended up with Gavin McKenna. They also made logical moves in the offseason, including signing goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, and then pulled off the blockbuster trade for Kirill Marchenko.
This certainly is a Maple Leafs team trying to move things in the right direction, and so most Matthews trade rumors and discussions have settled down.
That doesn’t mean they’ll be quiet forever, though. There’s long been speculation that the star from the state of Arizona in the United States may not stick around Toronto forever.
There’s still a very real timeline where the rumors return, as well.
When to Watch for Auston Matthews Trade
The general expectation seems to be at this point that there won’t be some kind of mid-season Matthews trade, barring another disaster season for the Leafs.
He has a full no-move clause, and so he wouldn’t be too incentivized to sign off on a trade in the middle of the season.
The Athletic’s James Mirtle does see a future where Matthews wants to move, though — he just thinks the offseason is more likely.
“To me, the Matthews question is going to be way more of a focal point in the offseason than the coming months,” Mirtle writes. “He has a full no-movement clause and can control his destiny — not just with where he’s willing to go but when a move would happen. As long as there’s a chance of competitiveness, I believe he sticks it out rather than going somewhere in the spring.”
Matthews has accomplished a lot for Toronto, even if he hasn’t been able to break the long-standing Stanley Cup drought, either. If the Leafs are in the hunt, it’d make sense for him to stick around to the end of this season, at least.
What a Trade Might Look Like.
Mirtle, in the mailbag piece in which he discussed Matthews, was also asked about the idea of the Minnesota Wild trading Kirill Kaprizov straight-up for Matthews.
The NHL insider pushed back on that.
“It feels like the NHL has moved beyond the era of superstar-for-superstar trades,” Mirtle writes. “There are just so many factors and complications, including every star having a NMC, making the money work and lining up extensions and UFA status. Kaprizov is locked in long-term at a number that now seems surprisingly reasonable ($17 million), whereas Matthews likely commands more than that and can go wherever he wants in 2028.”
The Maple Leafs, if they got to the point of trading Matthews, would probably be looking more into the future.
“I suspect the Leafs would be looking at futures packages more than getting a big name back,” Mirtle writes.
The most likely scenario that leads to a Matthews trade would also involve Toronto shifting its whole contention timeline around McKenna. They wouldn’t want players too far along in their career. They’d want to align with their newest No. 1 pick.
Here’s When an Auston Matthews Trade Comes Into Focus for Maple Leafs