{"id":569684,"date":"2026-05-08T05:39:19","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T05:39:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/569684\/"},"modified":"2026-05-08T05:39:19","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T05:39:19","slug":"has-auston-matthews-mentally-left-the-maple-leafs-what-comes-next","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/569684\/","title":{"rendered":"Has Auston Matthews \u2018mentally left\u2019 the Maple Leafs? What comes next"},"content":{"rendered":"

The noise around Auston Matthews<\/a> is no longer limited to trade speculation or frustrated fan reaction. It is now being discussed openly by former NHL<\/a> players and insiders, following a disastrous 2025\u201326 season for the Toronto Maple Leafs<\/a> that ended with the club missing the playoffs for the first time in a decade.<\/p>\n

Speaking on TSN\u2019s \u201cOverDrive,\u201d former Leafs forward Jeff O\u2019Neill questioned whether Matthews is still emotionally invested in the organization.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI think if any of this stuff is starting to come out from credible people like our Chris Johnston, in my mind \u2026 I just think that the player\u2019s already visually kind of mentally left,\u201d O\u2019Neill said. \u201cHe wants to leave because this stuff\u2019s not coming out by accident, right?<\/p>\n

\u201cSo his buddy Mitch is gone, the team stunk last year, he\u2019s been here a long time. He\u2019s had some great memories. He\u2019s no kid anymore. Maybe he just wants to do something different, and that\u2019s fine. That\u2019s totally fine.\u201d<\/p>\n

MORE: Auston Matthews emerges as early focus for Maple Leafs\u2019 new GM John Chayka<\/a><\/p>\n

Those comments followed insider Chris Johnston reporting that Matthews may not be fully committed to staying long-term. Matthews still has a term remaining on his contract through 2027\u201328, but the discussion has shifted from cap management to organizational direction.<\/p>\n

\"Toronto<\/p>\n

Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews (34) looks up during a game<\/p>\n

Toronto\u2019s collapse created the perfect environment for this kind of speculation. The Leafs finished 32\u201336\u201314, allowed 299 goals, lost seven straight games to close the season, and fired general manager Brad Treliving before elimination became official.<\/p>\n

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The departure of Mitch Marner<\/a> to Vegas only deepened the sense that the franchise\u2019s core had reached its limit.<\/p>\n

Maple Leafs\u2019 core no longer looks untouchable<\/p>\n

For years, Toronto treated Matthews, William Nylander<\/a>, and Morgan Rielly<\/a> as the foundation of a championship window. Now, analysts are openly debating whether the organization should reset entirely.<\/p>\n

O\u2019Neill suggested, \u201cIt might be time for both sides, for all of them \u2014 Nylander, Matthews, Morgan Rielly \u2014 to just say you guys have been great soldiers. You\u2019ve been good people. You\u2019ve had some nice individual stat seasons, but it\u2019s probably time for us to go in a different direction.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThat\u2019s a scenario that I could see happening. I don\u2019t know what that organization down the street thinks of that idea, but it\u2019s definitely something that should and could be in play.\u201d<\/p>\n

That opinion would have sounded extreme one year ago. After this season, it sounds realistic. Especially since the group never found playoff success, and in nine playoff appearances, they have just won two rounds.<\/p>\n

Matthews\u2019 injury has also changed the conversation. A Grade 3 MCL tear ended his season in March, and Toronto looked directionless without him. Even before the injury, the team struggled defensively and lacked structure away from the puck. Additionally, the Leafs never replaced Marner\u2019s transition playmaking.<\/p>\n

MORE: Maple Leafs could solve Mitch Marner departure with Gavin McKenna at No. 1<\/a><\/p>\n

Winning the NHL Draft lottery changed the Maple Leafs\u2019 timeline<\/p>\n

The organization\u2019s outlook shifted again after Toronto won the 2026 NHL Draft Lottery<\/a> and positioned itself to select Gavin McKenna first overall.<\/p>\n

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On the \u201cSpittin\u2019 Chiclets\u201d podcast, former NHL winger Paul Bissonnette<\/a> argued that Matthews leaving would not necessarily cripple the franchise.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that they\u2019re gonna be in a solid spot,\u201d Bissonnette said. \u201cGetting that first overall pick changes everything. If Matthews does decide he wants to leave, it wouldn\u2019t be the worst thing if they stripped it to the ground because the return on even him and Nylander alone, you could build around Cowan, you can build around McKenna, obviously, and then the return you could get.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re sending those guys out the door, I\u2019d imagine you\u2019re getting three to four first-round picks. Hopefully, they\u2019re high first-round picks, and then probably two to three roster players, including a few prospects.
So you\u2019d get a boatload in return, and then the timeline would match up a little bit.\u201d<\/p>\n

MORE: New Maple Leafs GM John Chayka not concerned by external doubts<\/a><\/p>\n

That is the key point. Toronto suddenly has options. Prospects like Easton Cowan<\/a>, Matthew Knies<\/a>, and McKenna (potentially) give the franchise a younger timeline to build around. The rising salary cap also gives management more flexibility than previous Leafs front offices had.<\/p>\n

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\u201cFor the Leafs, going from where their cap\u2019s going to now getting the first overall pick, a lot has changed,\u201d Bissonnette said.<\/p>\n

None of this guarantees Matthews wants out. But for the first time in his career, the possibility feels connected to hockey reality instead of offseason drama.<\/p>\n

The Leafs are no longer asking whether their core is talented enough. They are asking whether this version of the team has already run its course.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The noise around Auston Matthews is no longer limited to trade speculation or frustrated fan reaction. It is…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":569685,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5106],"tags":[532,6865,8450,5,12922,59498,20,5172,797,533,885,4,1291,66,31,5171,1114],"class_list":["post-569684","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-toronto-maple-leafs","tag-auston-matthews","tag-chris-johnston","tag-easton-cowan","tag-hockey","tag-jeff-oneill","tag-john-chayka","tag-maple-leafs","tag-mapleleafs","tag-matthew-knies","tag-mitch-marner","tag-morgan-rielly","tag-nhl","tag-paul-bissonnette","tag-toronto","tag-toronto-maple-leafs","tag-torontomapleleafs","tag-william-nylander"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116537352196632933","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/569684","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=569684"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/569684\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/569685"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=569684"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=569684"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=569684"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}