A new worrying Auston Matthews report emerges that has Leafs fans on edge
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Auston Matthews might ask out of Toronto.
The overlooked part isn't whether he leaves - it's that his trade value is already shrinking.
The Bleacher Report warning, via veteran insider Lyle Richardson, is straightforward. If the Toronto Maple Leafs stumble early next season, Auston Matthews could push for a trade before the March 2027 deadline.
The coverage has settled into one question: does the captain still want to be here.
"Some observers wondered if he might request a trade if the Maple Leafs failed to improve their roster this summer. So far, there's no indication that Matthews wants out.
However, if the Maple Leafs stumble in 2026-27, Matthews could decide not to waste the final season of his contract with a club in need of a rebuild. A trade request before the March 2027 deadline wouldn't be out of the question, with the remaining year on his contract making him a more valuable trade target."
- Lyle Richardson
However, if the Maple Leafs stumble in 2026-27, Matthews could decide not to waste the final season of his contract with a club in need of a rebuild. A trade request before the March 2027 deadline wouldn't be out of the question, with the remaining year on his contract making him a more valuable trade target."
- Lyle Richardson
That framing buries the number that matters. Matthews has two full years left, not one, carrying a full no-movement clause and a $13.25 million cap hit through 2027-28.
His value is highest now, not at the deadline
The no-move clause hands Matthews the destination list, so Toronto's only real lever is timing.
And timing runs one direction.
A summer trade offers two years of a franchise center to every cap-flush suitor at once. A deadline request offers a rental-plus-one to a thinner market that already knows Toronto is stuck.
Chris Johnston of The Athletic flagged that low ceiling in May, likening a Matthews return to the futures Vancouver accepted for Quinn Hughes. Assets, not equal value.
Chayka's real deadline has already passed
The nightmare for John Chayka isn't Matthews asking out; it's Matthews asking out mid-season, when the leverage is spent.
Waiting to see how Jim Hiller's group opens the year is the emotionally satisfying choice. It is also the one that locks in the worst return if the answer comes back wrong.
If Toronto privately believes this ends in a trade, the fair-value window is this offseason, with two years of term and a full field of bidders. Each month of wait-and-see quietly converts a blockbuster into magic beans.
And that resets the math for every club circling him: the price only falls from here.
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