Auston Matthews remains uncertain about his future with the Toronto Maple Leafs despite their recent NHL Draft Lottery win, an NHL source tells ESPN.
Matthews, 28, has two more seasons left on his contract with a salary cap hit of $13.25 million and a full no-movement clause. A source confirmed a report by The Athletic earlier this week that the star center is unsure if he'll return to the Maple Leafs for the 2026-27 season or seek a trade to a Stanley Cup contender.
Matthews has yet to meet with John Chayka, the new Toronto general manager who was introduced on Monday, although that meeting is expected in the next few weeks. Matthews is waiting to hear about the short-term and long-term vision of Chayka and Mats Sundin, the team's new senior executive adviser for hockey operations. That includes roster planning but also how the new management team plans to build out its hockey operations staff.
Toronto was the unexpected winner of the draft lottery on Tuesday, having only an 8.5% chance of securing the first overall pick heading into the draw. While winning the lottery, and the chance to potentially draft Penn State University star winger Gavin McKenna, doesn't hurt the Leafs' chances to retain Matthews, it didn't materially change his mindset entering the offseason.
There's no timeline on Matthews's decision regarding next season. Some reports suggested that Matthews would make a determination by mid-July, but there's no firm target date.
The Maple Leafs missed the playoffs for the first time in 10 years, in a season following star winger Mitch Marner's departure to the Vegas Golden Knights. Matthews had 53 points in 60 games with 2 goals, the second straight season his point totals have fallen. His season was cut short by a knee injury on March 12 on a hit from Anaheim's Radko Gudas.
"Everybody here wants to win. I love being the captain of this team. I think it's an incredible honor to wake up every day and put on this jersey. That isn't lost on me," he said in his exit interview.
But when Matthews was asked about his future with the Maple Leafs, he said: "I can't predict the future. Obviously, there's steps that kind of have to take place. They're going to hire new leadership in management and stuff like that. So I don't really know."
When asked if he'd "reject" talk that he wouldn't want to be in Toronto for the remainder of his contract, Matthews said: "There's always noise. Always chatter. I really don't pay attention to all that."
Matthews was drafted first overall in 2016 by the Leafs. He has 428 goals and 353 assists in 689 career games but has only made the second round of the playoffs twice, losing to the Florida Panthers both times. Matthews is the all-time leader in goals scored in Toronto, having passed Sundin (420) this season.