John Chayka on Auston Matthews: 'One day he won't be a Leaf'

The Toronto Maple Leafs are kicking off training camp this week and with that, there was a whole lot of people talking for the first time since the offseason activity concluded. General manager John Chayka took the stand and while addressing a whole lot of the team's upcoming season, touched on the future of Auston Matthews.

It is no secret that the entire future of this team rests on the decision Matthews has in front of him. If the captain decides he wants to commit to the Leafs and stick around beyond the final two seasons of his current contract, then Toronto could return to be a serious Stanley Cup contender and it will be the status quo -- as in, they keep on trying to win hockey games. But if Matthews decides to take his talents to Los Angeles or something for a bigger and brighter American spotlight, then the Leafs' future might just go with him and we will be facing a rebuild as Gavin McKenna and Matthew Knies form the new core.

So when Chayka was asked about his captain's future during the very first day of the NHL calendar, he said something that we can certainly all agree on.

You had us in the first half, John.

To see this quote come across social media and start reading it word-by-word sends a shiver down your spine. What do you mean one day Auston Matthews won't be a Leaf? Are you talking about right now? Are you saying he's leaving in 2028? What do you mean? But thankfully, we can finish reading a sentence fairly quickly.

John Chayka hopes Auston Matthews never leaves Toronto

It would of course be absurd for the Maple Leafs general manager to talk about when Matthews is leaving Toronto in any specifity. The ideal outcome for everyone is that Auston Matthews is a Maple Leaf for the rest of his career, and maybe even hangs around to take up a post-playing career in the front office or something instead of retiring and heading immediately to Arizona.

We, frankly, don't even want to think of the day that Matthews stops playing hockey. It's a depressing thought and it might be even more depressing thinking about him putting on another team's sweater.

Everyone in and around the Leafs is obviously hoping for Matthews to stay and this season will certainly tell us a whole lot about this future decision. If the Leafs are good and maybe even make the playoffs, as Gavin McKenna wins the Calder and scores a bunch of points, then there is certainly incentive for Matthews to stay and to keep trying to win in Toronto.

But, in the unfortunate possibility that the Leafs are bad and once again find themselves in a heap of trouble with no real strong future, then Matthews might just think it's best to head elsewhere and the Leafs would kickstart this new era with the biggest trade in modern history.

For now, it's all about hoping we never have to see that.

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