The Toronto Maple Leafs missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2016 with a 32-36-14 record (78 points) last season under head coach Craig Berube.

After finishing eighth and at the bottom of the Atlantic Division in the 2025-26 campaign, changes have come thick and fast for them. The Maple Leafs appointed John Chayka as their new general manager last week, replacing Brad Treliving, who was fired in the aftermath of a tough season.

While the future of Berube is in limbo, with no decision made yet despite indications of him staying, Chayka’s biggest priority as GM right now must be to convince the team captain, Auston Matthews, to stick around.

The Maple Leafs are waiting for Matthews to clarify his future so they can move forward with their rebuilding plans after he scored 53 points (27 goals, 26 assists) in 60 games last season.

As part of the rebuild, Chayka brought Leafs legend Mats Sundin on board earlier this week as his senior advisor, a move that was largely unpopular with critics.

Moreover, with a salary cap hit of $13.25 million, Matthews has two years left on his current contract with Toronto, which includes a full no-movement clause. Although there is no word yet on what the 28-year-old is planning, a recent report published in The Athletic suggested that he is unsure about his future with the Maple Leafs.

With that, there is a possibility of him seeking a trade to a Stanley Cup contender ahead of the 2026-27 season. After scoring 780 points (428G / 352A) in 689 games for the Leafs, Matthews has more than earned the right to seek what’s best for him.

One thing that might tilt Matthews’ decision toward sticking around for the Maple Leafs’ rebuild is the first pick the franchise secured for the 2026 NHL Draft. Winger Gavin McKenna is the likeliest to join the Leafs roster, but his inclusion alone might not be enough to make them competitive in the short term.

This is especially true because Toronto finished last season with a -46 goal differential. Their 28th-place finish in the NHL coincided with a seven-game losing streak to end the season.

John Chayka to meet Craig Berube and Auston Matthews to discuss their future

As per Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic, who was speaking on TSN Overdrive recently, John Chayka is planning to meet Craig Berube in the coming days to discuss his future with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

LeBrun said, “John Chayka is gonna meet with Berube in the next number of days here, I think by the end of the weekend. Again, just to see where the coach and the new GM are in terms of whether they’re on the same page, whether they share a vision of where things need to go moving forward."

“I think that John Chayka will be comfortable with keeping Craig Berube as his head coach, but that’s just a gut feeling on my part,” he added.

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Written by

Arjun Sharma

Edited by

Sahil Prashar