The Toronto Maple Leafs have one goal this summer: Get Auston Matthews on board.
With everything they do, there is the motivation to keep the Maple Leafs captain with the team and committed to remaining in Toronto and not eyeing up his unrestricted free agency in 2028. There could be the small goal of him not requesting a trade from the Leafs, and the large goal of him wanting to sign a contract extension next summer.
Every single move is about that but first, with new Leafs general manager John Chayka now in charge, he has to get a read on what the player wants.
John Chayka having the biggest meeting of his life very soon
According to Pierre LeBrun, Chayka is going to travel down to Arizona to meet with Matthews and his agent Judd Moldaver, to have this meaningful first meeting between the star and his new boss.
"My understanding is that John Chayka is throwing out dates to Auston Matthews to meet with him in Arizona to see his view." 👀@PierreVLeBrun on Matthews' future with the Maple Leafs and the conversations with the team.#LeafsForever pic.twitter.com/1DoTGpnGyF
— OverDrive (@OverDrive1050) May 7, 2026
"My understanding is that John Chayka is throwing out dates back and forth with Auston Matthews and his agent Judd Moldaver, to get some face-to-face and for him to go down to Arizona, to spend time with Auston Matthews and get a sense of where things are," LeBrun said on OverDrive. "And obviously from the Leafs' perspective, they hope they can sell their side of things to a point where Auston Matthews is on board with the vision of this offseason and where it's headed."
LeBrun later mentions how Chayka could very well leave Arizona without a firm answer from Matthews and that it's just part of the process for this summer. Because, Matthews might need to just see more of what they do to make the team better. All the captain knows right now that is any different than before is that the Leafs now have the first-overall pick for the Draft this June.
It isn't just about having the chat and that's it. The Leafs will need to address the blue line -- could potentially add up to four (or more) new defensemen -- and scoring depth issues that they had this season. With every move, it will be trying to show Matthews the vision for this team going forward and how he can still win a Stanley Cup in Toronto.
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