Maple Leafs GM Brad Treliving addresses Auston Matthews' future

After winning gold at the recent Olympics in Milan, but not responding to expectations when he returned to the NHL with the Toronto Maple Leafs, the future of Auston Matthews has been called into question. General manager Brad Treliving addressed the topic.

Speaking to TSN, Treliving noted that Matthews, 28, is still under contract with the team and that any matters related to his future will be discussed in the offseason. For now, the GM's priority is the final 14 games.

"Auston's under contract. We'll continue like we do with all our players and talk about things as we get into the offseason," he said. "But our focus right now is just that we've got 14 games ahead of us and finishing out the year, and then we'll dive into all those issues later."

Auston Matthews out for season after knee injury, long-term relationship with Leafs under scrutiny

Matthews suffered a knee-to-knee hit from Anaheim Ducks defenseman Radko Gudas during the March 12 game. One day later, the Maple Leafs announced that the Mexican-American would miss the remainder of the 2025-26 season.

Although the Leafs captain had not been responding to expectations in the team's recent games, he was not a burden either.

Matthews' main problem was that it seemed he had forgotten what it means to be a captain, and he was not capable of pushing his teammates in moments of high tension.

However, it is clear that, sportingly, the Leafs' No. 34 still has much to give and remains a fan favorite. Even so, journalist Elliotte Friedman reported that, since so much has happened in such a short time, the coming months will reveal what the long-term relationship between Matthews and the franchise will look like.