With Elliotte Friedman's latest reports on 'Saturday Headlines,' it seems that the Toronto Maple Leafs and captain Auston Matthews are on great terms regarding a future contract extension.
The Toronto Maple Leafs have experienced some trauma as multiple hometown players have either rejected or left the organization.
Most recently, Mitch Marner fled to the Vegas Golden Knights in a sign-and-trade last off-season. Years before that, Ryan O’Reilly refused to sign an extension and said he didn’t want the Toronto spotlight. They were even rejected by Steven Stamkos in their pursuit of him when he was about to become a free agent back in 2016.
The spotlight that comes with Toronto isn’t for everyone, but they should feel pleased to know that John Tavares and William Nylander feel the love of the city, and if a report from Elliotte Friedman is true, captain Auston Matthews feels the same way.
On Friedman’s ‘Saturday Headlines’ segment, he opened with the topic of Matthews and the Maple Leafs commitment to one another. The 28-year-old center is in the second season of a four-year contract that pays him $13.25 million annually, which will expire following the 2027-28 season.
For years, there has been outside speculation that Matthews would leave the Maple Leafs to play closer to home. However, that speculation has never come to fruition as he furthered his loyalty by signing two contract extensions with Toronto in his 10-year career.
It's worth noting that on Jan. 23, Friedman released an article surrounding Marner's Maple Leafs tenure. In that piece, it was mentioned that Matthews was willing to re-sign with Toronto as long as "the train didn’t suffer a fugitive-like crash." He kept that promise.
It was reported that Matthews' current deal was laid out to him two years before he could even leave as a free agent, and one year before he could even sign.
Auston Matthews (Bob Frid-Imagn Images)With the struggles the Maple Leafs are enduring this season, some may wonder if this is the crash that was alluded to earlier. Toronto is sitting in last place in the Atlantic Division and 22nd overall. Discussions have already begun about Matthews’ future.
“There was a conversation this week between the Maple Leafs and Matthews’ representation,” started Friedman. “They just asked, ‘Is anything here different with the way this season has gone?’ Is there any reason for the Maple Leafs to believe Matthews wouldn’t want to return for 2026-27, or for Matthews to believe that the Maple Leafs wouldn’t want him to return for 2026-27? And both sides reaffirmed their commitment to each other.”
I know it is a big question, but the answer is that there is no change — Matthews with them, and the Maple Leafs with Matthews.”
Friedman’s Saturday Headlines report should put Maple Leafs fans at ease about the uncertainty of their future with their all-time goals-scoring leader.
Matthews has always had the correct answers when discussing his tenure with the Leafs and has proven countless times that he wants to be nowhere else but Toronto.
Matthews will be 30 years old when his current contract concludes, putting him in a prime position to sign a long-term deal at a high price. A seven-year max contract would bring him to 37 years old and could make him a Maple Leaf for life.
With 26 goals and 46 points in 49 games, Matthews’ production has fallen a bit from previous years. But he seems to be slowly finding his game again after dealing with injuries last season.
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