Toronto Sun Says That The Blackhawks Are The Favorites To Land Auston Matthews If He's Done With The Leafs

The latest odds have the Chicago Blackhawks to be the favourite to land Matthews if he has indeed played his last game for the Maple Leafs. Chicago, of course, won the 2023 draft lottery last week and Bedard is the consensus choice to be the first pick overall. Bedard has the potential to be a franchise-changing player. The greater chance is that Matthews remains in Toronto. Matthews wants to get an extension done this summer and there has been no indication from the Leafs that the club would rather move on than get a contract done.

A few caveats off the top here...I know this article is bullshit. It's Toronto Sun. They're not citing anything except for Vegas odds on his next city. Matthews didn't say he wanted out. Last, but not least I am trying to dial back the trolling after Bedard because I know its going to take some time for the Blackhawks to get back on track. 

Having said allllll of that...just feels good to read things like this. It's amazing how a little lottery luck, a gazillion dollars in cap space, and one of the best cities in the world can change the fortunes of a franchise. The Blackhawks are officially relevant again.

Having said THAT...the Leafs need to change something

I think it is pretty clear after years of running this experiment that the Matthews-Marner-Tavares-Nylander experiment doesn't work. I think Whit is right when he says that they never should've signed Tavares. It's hard to turn away a guy like that, but they had bigger issues than scoring. They probably would've been better off keeping Kadri at a lower number and using the $5M difference to find better solutions on the blueline. 

Tavares has a full NMC. The clock is ticking on Matthews' deal and his no-movement clause. Ditto for the other guys. They should probably be exploring a shake-up before it's too late because they have 6 regulars on more manageable contracts that are expiring now. And if you're looking to shed cap space the first team you should be calling is the Chicago Blackhawks. Going to be a VERY interesting summer in Toronto.