The Toronto Maple Leafs have massively underperformed this season and are not making the playoffs. That means a rather obvious move is for the team to become sellers at the trade deadline, something Auston Matthews has some thoughts on.
Any questions about whether the Leafs would sell at the deadline were sharply answered when center Nicolas Roy was traded to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for a 2027 first-round pick and a 2026 fifth-round selection. This comes after the team pulled multiple players from their game on Wednesday against the New Jersey Devils.
Before that Wednesday night game, Leafs captain Auston Matthews spoke about the team being sellers at the trade deadline. Matthews expressed disappointment, saying that it's "tough" and "obviously disappointing."
Auston Matthews discusses Maple Leafs selling ahead of trade deadline
"I'm not going to sit here & speculate on what went wrong. We've got a game [Wednesday] & that's where my focus is at," said Matthews, h/t TSN's Mark Masters. "Obviously you never want to be in this situation. It's tough. It's obviously frustrating..."
The Leafs never really got out of the starter's gate this season, strugglilng from the get-go. It was always going to be difficult to replicated their previous regular season successes considering the team and star Mitch Marner mutually agreed to part ways. Head coach Craig Berube called out the team multiple times this season for their lackluster play. Overall, the team was a mess this year, despite having stars in Matthews and William Nylander.
This season, the Leafs have surrendered an average of 3.42 goals per game, which ranks fifth worst in the entire NHL. As for scoring, they are 14th in the league after averaging 3.18 goals per game. As for the powerplay, they have a 19.9 success percentage, tied for 16th in the league. The Leafs just aren't producing enough or stopping the opposition to win the necessary games. That's why they are in seventh place in the Atlantic Division with 65 points through 62 games.
How the Leafs attack the offseason to try and climb back up to near the top of the Atlantic Division should be a priority. Will Berube and Treliving even be brought back for another season? That will be something Leafs fans will have to keep an eye on after the regular season ends on Apr. 15 following their game agianst the Ottawa Senators.
The Leafs had multiple names in potential trade rumors, including Bobby McMann, Scott Laughton, and Oliver Ekman-Larsson. Ironically, those three players were pulled from the team's lineup against the Devils on Wednesday night. So those are some more names to keep an eye on before the 3:00 p.m. ET deadline.
It's a season to forget for the Leafs. While Matthews is expressing his frustration with the team's performance, fans are going to want to see significant improvement next year.