Identical scenario taking shape for Matthews and McDavid after LeBrun's latest report
Photo credit: Perry Nelson-Imagn Images
Pierre LeBrun went on Melnick in the Afternoon and said something the hockey world already suspected but needed to hear from a tier-one source.
Auston Matthews and Connor McDavid both have to decide whether they are staying put, and neither has made a final determination yet.
"Auston Matthews and Connor McDavid...have to decide if they're staying put, I think they both will stay put for at least another year, but neither one has made a final determination yet."
- Pierre LeBrun
- Pierre LeBrun
Two superstars, two franchises in flux, two parallel holding patterns. The framing around the league treats these as separate stories that happen to share a news cycle. They are not separate stories. They share an agent.
One agent, two franchise players, zero coincidence
Judd Moldaver represents both Matthews and McDavid. That single fact turns LeBrun's report from a status update into a negotiation signal.
Moldaver had a Zoom call with Leafs GM John Chayka and senior executive adviser Mats Sundin earlier this month.
According to LeBrun at The Athletic, it went well by all accounts, but Matthews and Moldaver want to see how Toronto's offseason plays out before committing.
The language from the McDavid side is nearly identical. Moldaver wants to see what Edmonton does over the next five to six weeks before signing off.
That symmetry is not coincidence. It is strategy. When the same agent tells two franchises the same thing at the same time, he is setting a market.
Every move Toronto makes now gets compared against what Edmonton offers, and vice versa.
Moldaver does not need either player to actually leave. He needs both front offices to believe the other might do more.
The leverage math Toronto should worry about
Matthews carries a $13.25 million cap hit through 2028. McDavid sits at $12.5 million through the same year.
The Leafs finished 28th overall with a minus-46 goal differential. Edmonton went 41-30-11 and made the playoffs.
If Moldaver is weighing organizational competence, Toronto is losing that comparison right now.
Chayka holds the No. 1 pick and a coaching search that has interviewed nearly 20 candidates without a hire.
The clock Moldaver set is not about patience. It is about pressure.
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