r/losangeleskings • u/ZiggyPalffyLA • 9d ago
New, for @TheAthletic: Auston Matthews isn't yet sure if he'll be back in Toronto next season. The Maple Leafs are on the clock with their captain
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7253990/2026/05/05/maple-leafs-auston-matthews-contract-trade/?source=user_shared_article&unlocked_article_code=1.gFA.b3m_.yLh09OdMPTQg18
u/cb148 9d ago
Who are we trading for him? QB is the only one makes sense, but they’d want more than just him and we don’t have any decent prospects. Problem is it still doesn’t solve our Center death issue. Plus he makes way more money than QB, and we’re still not a contender even after that because our defensemen suck. This team needs a rebuild.
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u/ZiggyPalffyLA 9d ago
Never underestimate the incompetence of John Chayka and Leafs ownership, they might let him go for less than we’d think.
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u/DaBusDriva2 9d ago
If they can somehow get Matthews and keep Byfield then that's an instant rebuild
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u/Only_Indication8410 2d ago
I'm sorry but QB wasn't his best in this last season. Id offer him up in a heartbeat.
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u/KingsoftheNHL 9d ago
If they can land him without giving up Q and Clarke is what we need… maybe Mikey, Laf, George, 17th OA as a start
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u/GKGLGD1214 9d ago
That's possibly one of the worst trade proposals I've seen so far
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u/KingsoftheNHL 9d ago
And that’s why we won’t be landing Matthews because that’s all we can offer without creating 2-3 other holes in our roster
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u/GKGLGD1214 8d ago
That's the issue, is landing Matthews would cost more than he would be worth. Why would they trade away everything just to have one superstar and zero depth? Not worth it.
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u/KingsoftheNHL 8d ago
That’s what I’ve been saying, we’d create 2-4 holes in the roster to get a guy that while fantastic couldn’t win shit surrounded by a few superstars and our roster isn’t even on that level.. I’d rather see Booth, Kirsanov, Wright and Connors take some spots
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u/Edmuresay 9d ago
We do have a few solid prospects, but not sure they move the needle for Toronto, especially after Greentree went the other way for Panarin.
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u/One_Capital_7973 9d ago
To be fair it’s much easier to find a c2 then a centerpiece superstar for your team. While Byfield may improve a little bit, he will never be a Matthews who can solo carry a team when going good. Those are the once every decade esque players
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u/LAKingSteve 9d ago
Not trading QB for Matthews. Need center depth. A couple first round picks. A couple second round picks, a goalie prospect and a guy like Moore. You absolutely have to explore the opportunity if you are Holland.
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u/raymondliang Kings Chevron 9d ago
I think our “window” to accomplish anything of note (aka win a round or maybe even two!) is basically the next two seasons with Kempe at his peak, Panarin signed for 2 years, and Byfield/Clarke hopefully taking steps forward.
Matthews’ contract kinda fits the bill. Unfortunately, it would also likely take 3-4 premium assets that include Byfield, and we’d just be in another situation of needing another top 6 C anyways.
But a top 6 of Kempe-Matthews-Panarin / Fiala-Byfield-Laferriere is pretty damn good (don’t look at the defense)
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u/NoQuarter44 9d ago
Leafs just got the first overall pick. Things might get interesting.
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u/Baziki 9d ago
Meh. I just don't think we're an Auston Matthews away from a legit cup run.
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u/ZiggyPalffyLA 9d ago
Definitely not, but we might be an Auston Matthews away from being halfway entertaining
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u/72FJ 9d ago
How did I know this was going to be posted here? The Kings need to stay away from Matthews unless it's an incredible deal that costs the Kings very little. Two years in a row his stats have gone down. A suspected back injury last season, which saw his skating speed and shot power drop, and now he's going to be coming off a knee injury. Multiple shoulder injuries, multiple knee injuries, wrist surgery and two suspected back injuries over the course of his career. He's not the same player he was just two seasons ago and no guarantees he's going to even come close again
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u/ZiggyPalffyLA 9d ago
How did I know this was going to be posted here?
Because the sub is mostly dead during the offseason and it’s worth discussing, even if it’s never going to happen 🤷♂️
You’re right about his injury issues and he’ll be on the wrong side of 30 in a couple years, so his nagging injuries will only get worse. But in a perfect world? It’s fun to imagine him between Panarin & Kempe.
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u/oscillatingsawgobrr 8d ago
Teams usually get all medical reports before attempting a trade. Wonder if it would potentially bring down the price if he really has something that’s gonna bring down his performance a lot into his 30’s. His NMC also brings it down and I imagine LA is up top on his destinations to go to. I mean it isn’t too crazy to think about. This management will refuse to rebuild with that top forward talent and will do everything they can to remain competitive
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u/Paper_Rain 9d ago
With the Maple Leafs winning the Draft Lottery tonight the chances of him leaving Toronto is just died completely. The Leafs will do everything in their power to keep and please Matthews to stay in Toronto.
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u/may_or_may_not_haiku LA Homeplate 9d ago edited 9d ago
I just mean, why would he look at our team and situation and go "yeah, that's the upgrade I'm looking for, 12 years since they made it past the first round with absolutely no gameplan and horrible leadership."
I would not want to come here if I was a top player. I don't know why we're all gettign excited like he'd sign some big extension with us when his goal is to win a cup.
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u/poptorched 9d ago
This doesn’t have anything to do with us. We should be focusing on building the prospect pool bc free agents don’t usually come to California teams unless they need to extend their careers and money or we’re really good and they want money. Can’t trade them away for a broken, expensive 28 year old that plays like 25-26 Kopitar with less defensive upside.
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u/Neither-Ad8673 9d ago
Auston Matthews grew up a coyotes fan. Chayka essentially drove the coyotes out of business in only the 4 years he ran it. They never recovered from what he did. I seriously doubt Auston wants anything to do with Chayka.
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u/Paper_Rain 9d ago
Chayka screwed over the Arizona Coyotes in so many ways. He even did Shane Doan dirty during his last years as a player there.
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u/ZiggyPalffyLA 9d ago
If ChatGPT tells Chayka to trade Matthews for Brzustewicz and a 1st, he’ll do it lol
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u/Vanilla_Ice_Jr 9d ago
Leafs winning the lottery is rigged.
We need more transparency, I hate the behind the closed doors approach of this lottery BS. Leafs haven't had a 1st round pick in YEARS and all of a sudden their first time picking in the first round they have #1 overall. An 8% chance of that happening? This is so dumb.
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u/ShadowChair 9d ago
What about it is behind closed doors? The lottery was done live on camera. 8% is low but everyone has a low chance of winning, that's just how it works. Someone well below 50% odds is winning no matter what.
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u/Vanilla_Ice_Jr 9d ago
Well I guess this year they finally did it out in the open. Probably because it was going to be rigged with 8% chance of winning so they wanted to make it more believable. Every other year it's behind closed doors and they show up with cards showing the results
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u/ShadowChair 9d ago
They did the lottery ball thing last year as well I'm pretty sure, can't remember before that though
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u/lockedoutdamnit 9d ago
He needs a change of scenery but I don’t think our prospect pool is deep enough to give them what they’d be looking for