What is the Leafs’ plan if Auston Matthews leaves?

In the aftermath of a wild night in Winnipeg involving former Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, some in another Canadian market are becoming a little concerned about the possibility of their star American leaving town.

With the Toronto Maple Leafs struggling once again, many are questioning whether this group is good enough to even compete for the Stanley Cup Playoffs. On top of that, there’s wonder if captain Auston Matthews wants to continue to grind through another long and tiring year. While the Olympic gold medalist can sign an extension next July, he might choose to wait it out.

It begs the question: what would the Maple Leafs do if Matthews were either traded or moved on.

On Wednesday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Tyler Yaremchuk and Steve Peters discuss what the Leafs would do if Matthews decided to leave town.

Tyler Yaremchuk: Think they’re caught almost between two timelines here, where it’s like you want, to keep the window open for as long as you can because you want Auston Matthews to sign another contract, and you know the hope was, or the hope should have been, I should say, that this core of McKenna, Cowan, these other young pieces keeps everything nice and open, so Nylander and Matthews are happy and they stay Leafs forever.

I’m sitting here right now going, “Hey, you have this Matthews contract situation lingering over you. If he tells you this summer he’s not signing an extension, are you forced to move him?”

Steve Peters: This is one of the bigger issues for Toronto. You pointed it out. It’s not just now that they’re struggling and they’re just outside of that playoff double line. It’s where you go. Everybody’s signed for next year. They’re already in cap trouble for a year from now. … The problem with an organization like Toronto is the expectations are to win every single year, and it’s so hard to keep that window open with players like Matthews, Nylander, or Tavares, and then try to interject that young, youthful group and make it work.

The Boston Bruins are doing it right now with Pastrnak and that top-heavy, but man, they got their young players buzzing, and that’s why they’re at the top of the standings, is because they’ve got that mix. Toronto can’t find the mix right now. Their younger players aren’t providing enough of that offense, and moreover, to your point, Auston Matthews. What if he leaves? Then where is this team? This team is near the bottom of the standings over the last two seasons. Now, if you include this 20-game stretch with one of the top scorers in the league, where are they without him?

You can watch the full segment and entire episode here…