Auston Matthews Unlikely to Leave the Toronto Maple Leafs

Toronto Maple Leafs fans ought not to fear; there are no clear signs that Auston Matthews will pull a Matthew Tkachuk move at the end of his contract.

While it’s understandable that Toronto Maple Leafs fans may get angsty after seeing Johnny Gaudreau and now seemingly Matthew Tkachuk depart Calgary, fears of Auston Matthews departing may be over-blown.

Simply put, he has the opportunity to create a remarkable legacy with an Original Six team and by remaining with the one team for his career, should successfully re-write the Leafs’ record books.

Indeed, the alternative is to return home, which is Arizona. Unlike Tkachuk, who would be returning to St. Louis, Matthews would be heading to a team that shows no clear signs of contention right now.

Auston Matthews Wouldn’t Do It to the Toronto Maple Leafs

Auston Matthews has a clear focus on his image, on his brand and indeed on playing hockey for a successful side. Right now, the Toronto Maple Leafs tick all of those boxes.

His image is elevated by hanging out with the likes of Justin Bieber, another of Toronto’s own. If Auston Matthews headed back to Arizona, he becomes the celebrity presence unto himself. You get the feeling he might not quite be angling for that sort of celebrity presence right now.

Likewise, heading to an alternative big market like New York or Los Angeles; yes, he absolutely becomes the face of a franchise, but would be competing with the already crowded celebrity scenes in those markets.

Toronto lends itself perfectly to Auston Matthews; he is a national personality in Canada and is picking the right people to hang out with to ensure he is seen in the United States too. Let’s also not forget that Toronto is the 4th largest city in North America; it’s a pretty decent market!

So far Auston Matthews has already set himself apart with the Toronto Maple Leafs; he’s one of just three Hart Trophy winners in franchise history, one of just ten Calder Trophy winners and the franchise’s first ever Ted Lindsay Award winner.

This year, he eclipsed a long-standing record for goals in a season, is already halfway to becoming the Toronto Maple Leafs leading point and goal scorer of all-time and may even one day eclipse Doug Gilmour’s 127-point haul back in the 1992-93 season.

Right now, Auston Matthews has a chance that very few teams in the league can offer up, at least when you consider the price tag he carries. He is playing for a Toronto Maple Leafs team that is legitimately in the hunt for the Stanley Cup right now.

Achieving that would immediately propel him almost to the peak of his stardom in Canada, while it certainly wouldn’t be overlooked in the United States, nor in his mother’s homeland, Mexico.

He is playing on a team with some good friends; Auston Matthews has been seen to hang out with Mitch Marner outside of hockey and plenty has been said about how he bonded with Michael Bunting upon the latter’s arrival from Arizona last season.

Finally, there aren’t that many teams in the league that are willing to pay such significant salaries in terms of signing bonuses. Very few teams can afford to shell out the money immediately, but the Toronto Maple Leafs can. Money does indeed talk and we don’t think that’s lost on Auston Matthews.

The reality is Auston Matthews may one day play for the Arizona Coyotes, but it feels very unlikely he’ll seek to mastermind a situation like Matthew Tkachuk has in Calgary.

Auston Matthews, we believe, will care about leaving a certain legacy with the Toronto Maple Leafs after they’ve dedicated so much time and energy to his development. We think he will still show favour to the team as a result.