The Toronto Maple Leafs are in the middle of a brutal stretch, and the pressure is starting to mount. Wednesday night’s 5-2 loss to the Seattle Kraken marked their sixth straight defeat, a skid that’s left them sitting 15th out of 16 teams in the Eastern Conference standings. Only the New York Rangers are below them, and with each passing game, the playoff picture grows dimmer.
This isn’t just a slump-it’s a crossroads. With the NHL trade deadline looming, questions are swirling around the direction of the team, and naturally, the spotlight has landed on their franchise cornerstone: Auston Matthews.
Now, when a team is sliding like this, it’s only a matter of time before people start wondering if the star player might be eyeing the exit. But according to NHL insider Elliotte Friedman, that’s not the case here. Speaking on the 32 Thoughts podcast, Friedman addressed the chatter head-on and made it clear he doesn’t believe Matthews is going anywhere anytime soon.
“There’s been a lot of talk about [Auston] Matthews and whether or not he wants to stay,” Friedman said. “I don’t think that’s a question.”
Friedman acknowledged that some have questioned whether the situation in Toronto has “gone off the rails,” but emphasized that things would have to deteriorate much further before Matthews would even think about asking out.
“I think it would have to get a lot worse than this before he would ask to be traded,” Friedman added. “So I don’t think that he’s going anywhere right now.”
And frankly, Matthews’ play backs that up. While the team has struggled to string together wins, the captain hasn’t taken his foot off the gas.
Through 48 games this season, he’s racked up 26 goals and 19 assists-good for 45 points. That’s elite production by any standard, and it’s coming despite the noise and the mounting losses.
After the latest defeat in Seattle, Matthews didn’t sugarcoat the team’s issues. “Similar stuff,” he said postgame. “Costly mistakes cost us, and the puck’s in the back of our net.”
It’s a familiar refrain for Leafs fans, who’ve seen this team stumble in key moments before. Defensive lapses, untimely turnovers, and an inability to close out games have plagued Toronto all season. And now, with the standings slipping away, the frustration is boiling over.
Still, for all the speculation, Matthews appears locked in. He’s not just producing-he’s leading. And while the team around him searches for answers, he’s continuing to show up, night after night, doing what he can to right the ship.
The Maple Leafs’ season may be teetering, but their captain isn’t going anywhere. Not yet.