Maple Leafs Rumors: Auston Matthews Trade Closer Than Ever

The Toronto Maple Leafs are crumbling. The team is in turmoil as there's been multiple reports from Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet regarding the team's exit interviews and how some of the players aired out all of their dirty laundry regarding what went wrong this season. After the season Auston Matthews mentioned 'it's his intention to be here' as he's eligible for a contract extension on July 1. Turns out that extension is in major jeopardy now.

Friedman on 32TP: "I heard Toronto's exit interviews were pretty tough, I heard the Toronto players were pretty blunt about what they thought was said and that's something still to work on...he thinks some of the players were really blunt about why it didn't work".

— NHL Watcher (@NHL_Watcher) May 22, 2023

Friedman on 32TP: "I did have one player reach out to me and say that they weren't even sure if Matthews would have signed by July 1 with Dubas, cause if they made big changes around the draft, the question became how would Matthews feel about it?"

— NHL Watcher (@NHL_Watcher) May 22, 2023

Leafs Nation is on the edge of their seat seeing what's next for the team. Who comes in to be the GM? Is it enough to keep Matthews in town? Or will the relationship be severed thanks to how Dubas was thrown under the bus by Shanahan.

Star players go through changes, that's something that happens each and every season, but it's the timing here that's very important. With Matthews contract extension becoming a huge question in Toronto, will the team move him ahead of his no-movement clause kicking in on July 1? Still unlikely at this point, but it's certainly closer than it's ever been as the Maple Leafs are currently a dumpster fire. 

Photo credit:  Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports