Should Auston Matthews leave the Maple Leafs?

The 21st-century edition of the Toronto Maple Leafs has been a tough but fascinating team to follow. They haven’t won a playoff series since 2004 and spent more time drifting out of Stanley Cup contention for years. That all changed in 2016 when they drafted franchise center Auston Matthews first overall. Since then, the Leafs have assembled an elite core, and Matthews has flourished into perhaps the best or 2nd best player in the NHL only behind Connor McDavid. They’re the new faces of the league, but in the case of Matthews, he is suffering through the curse of the Leafs: no playoff success. Another first-round exit continues to haunt the Leafs. How much more needs to change for them to win a playoff series? More importantly, how much longer will Matthews put up with the lack of success?

2021-22 was Matthews’ best season since he was drafted. He scored 60 goals, the most by an American player, and set a franchise record in points. He’s easily the best American hockey player right now, on par with Patrick Kane in his prime. But unlike Kane and his 2010s Blackhawks teams, Toronto can’t crack it in the postseason. They are one of the best regular-season teams, but when they reach the first round, they falter. There’s no need to point fingers. It’s on everyone: Marner, Tavares, Reilly, Nylander, Campbell in net, and of course, Matthews. They have slipped in big moments. This season doesn’t seem to hurt as bad considering they lost to the Lightning, the two-time defending champs, but go back and look at the series loss to Montreal, and you can see that there’s something missing with this Leafs team. With cap considerations to take in, there’s going to be a talent shedding process in Toronto. GM Kyle Dubas will have no choice with his star center locked up long-term alongside 4 other massive contracts in Marner, Tavares, Nylander, and Reilly. Eventually, one of them will be traded. Rumors suggest it will be Nylander considering he would be a top-line center on just about every other team. But what if it’s Matthews who leaves?

I’m not suggesting the Leafs would trade Matthews. After his record-setting season, that would be asinine. However, in his first 6 seasons, he hasn’t won a single playoff series. He’s playing for the biggest NHL media market, an Original Six franchise, and (weirdly this is a true statement), the second most Stanley Cup wins. If the playoff failures continue to pile up, how much longer will the Leafs fanbase back their star center? He's got 2 more years on his 5-year contract, with unrestricted free agency on the horizon. If there’s one thing in Leafs modern history, they are notorious for pissing off star players. It’s part of a greater problem in the Canadian NHL media; just look at what Leon Draisaitl said this season when the Oilers looked lost amid a big losing streak in February. Matthews has been lucky to not get that treatment yet. Once the blame game starts, it will test whether Matthews is locked in for the Leafs. But if he gets unsettled, maybe he’ll ask to leave. Not to the Coyotes, like some people speculated he would. Somewhere he’ll be able to thrive without the Toronto media and fanbase making him carry the sky on his back. 

It seems impossible to think the Leafs would even consider trading their superstar. It probably won’t happen today or even next season. When Matthews hit free agency, though, what’s to stop him from joining a different team? One with less media pressure, one where he can focus on hockey? Will he take less money to join another contending team? The future remains unclear during another early offseason Leafs management and fans wanted to avoid. Maybe next year the Leafs will get over their postseason struggles. If they don’t, they could be wasting the prime years of the league’s next major superstar. Does Auston Matthews need to leave the Maple Leafs to find team success? Only time can answer that question.