Disappointment has gone hand in hand with the Toronto Maple Leafs for the past 56 years, and now that they've been bounced from the Eastern Conference second round by the Florida Panthers in five games, sadness reigns yet again.
The difference between this year's failure and previous ones is that major consequences are likely on the way for falling short of winning the Stanley Cup. The futures of general manager Kyle Dubas and coach Sheldon Keefe are up in the air, and the disappearance of offense from the Leafs' biggest stars could mean someone is on the way out via trade.
There's something else much more ominous in the offing, however. At the end of next season, Auston Matthews can become an unrestricted free agent.
Matthews has helped Toronto make the playoffs each season since he's entered the league. In six of those seven seasons, it did not get out of the first round. This season…well, it goes to show that even after getting that weight off its back, not everything is golden.
The drama and scrutiny that comes with playing for Toronto might be enough for anyone to say they'd rather play elsewhere, and that's why we picked six possible future teams for Matthews if he hits free agency July 1, 2024.
Toronto Maple Leafs
Let's make the case for him to stay in Toronto before hitting anything else.
The Leafs getting bounced unceremoniously by the Panthers in the second round guarantees there will be changes in Toronto. It will likely start at the top with the GM and the coach, but the roster will need to be addressed. Of the quartet of star forwards who haven't performed well recently (Matthews, Mitch Marner, John Tavares, and William Nylander), Matthews is the least likely to be traded apart from Tavares because of his age and his contract (32 years old with two years left on his deal with an $11 million cap hit).
If there was one player you'd think would be guaranteed to have a contract extension done as soon as humanly possible, it's Matthews. That said, when the Maple Leafs signed Matthews to his five-year, $58 million-plus contract extension in February 2019, it was risky because it walked him right to unrestricted free agency at the end. It was a risk they felt was worth taking because of what was built in Toronto, and they appeared headed for massive success. After all, who would leave that situation?
Matthews knows this well enough and, more importantly, the Leafs know it, too. That is why they'll pony up a massive contract extension to keep him in The Six and figure out what they need to surround him with to get the Leafs to the Stanley Cup.
Arizona Coyotes
You knew this was coming. We all did, didn't we?
For the longest time, the Coyotes have been the butt of jokes across the NHL. From ownership changing constantly to the arena messes to taking on virtually any big contract from a team looking to unload one, it's been a never-ending source of entertainment for anyone who loves grabbing the low-hanging fruit of hockey humor.
But the laughing stops once they bring home Scottsdale, Arizona's own Auston Matthews.
No market in the NHL needs a marquee player more than Arizona. They're looking to build a sparkling new arena in Tempe so they can move out of their college digs at Arizona State, and building a community of fans takes time. The Coyotes have gone from playing in Phoenix proper to Glendale to Tempe, nomads in their own region. Bringing Matthews home to play alongside the oodles of young players they have present or on the way (Clayton Keller, Matias Maccelli, Logan Cooley, Dylan Guenther, Conor Geekie, Maveric Lamoureux) not only creates a great homecoming story for a market that's on the brink of becoming a haven for young talent but makes the Coyotes a team to be reckoned with.
Matthews returning to Arizona wouldn't just put the Coyotes into the national focus, but it would give them an absolute top player to bring their young prospects together. With all apologies to Paul Bissonnette, the Coyotes haven't had a major star player since Jeremy Roenick in the late 1990s, and Matthews would be even bigger and better than that.