Canada Day looms large for Matthews and a team in need of a GM

Auston Matthews required just one game.

Just one game in his National Hockey League career to make it obvious he would be the kind of player to build a franchise around, the kind who doesn’t skate into the NHL every year.

Matthews hasn’t scored four goals in an NHL game since his debut in October 2016 in Ottawa against the Senators. Yet not only has he consistently filled the net since, he has developed into a fine two-way centre, using that magical night in the nation’s capital as a distinctive springboard to NHL stardom.

Matthews will turn 26 in September, not long after training camp begins. Despite what he has accomplished in the NHL — winning the Calder Trophy, scoring at least 40 goals in five of his seven seasons, winning the Hart Trophy in 2021-22 on the back of a 60-goal season — his best is yet to come. We know, for sure, that his best is yet to come in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

True, Matthews has not produced at acceptable levels in the post-season, scoring 22 goals and recording 22 assists in 50 games, all the while failing to help lead the Leafs on a deep run.

That’s not a pattern that will continue. Whether in Toronto or somewhere else, Matthews is a player who can not only help lead a team through a successful post-season, but one that culminates with the hoisting of the Cup.

The timeline for getting something done in Toronto, a contract extension that would start in the 2024-25 season, is fairly straightforward.

Once July 1 arrives — when Matthews can sign a contract extension — he will have a firm grip on control of his future as the final year of his five-year contract kicks in. With that final year comes a no-move clause.

If the new general manager and the rest of the Leafs’ hierarchy (i.e. president Brendan Shanahan) have a good idea before July 1 that Matthews’ desire will be to ride out the final year of his contract and hit unrestricted free agency in the summer of 2024, the avenues that come with trading a player of Matthews’ stature will have to be explored fully before Canada Day.

If it comes to trading Matthews, as much as it might be painful to see the No. 1 pick in the 2016 draft wearing another NHL sweater, keep in mind that nothing short of a substantial package would be the return. That’s if the Leafs go down that road prior to July 1. Beyond that day, when Matthews has greater say in the matter and perhaps makes it clear there would be just a handful of teams to which he would accept a trade, the Leafs will find themselves in a corner where the return might not be as bountiful.

Another option during the summer would be to keep working on a contract extension until a new deal is reached. But the longer that goes into next season, not that we think it would impact the play of Matthews, the more it could become a distraction for the team as a whole.

Speculation will persist, and let’s remember that it’s nothing more than speculation at this point, regarding Matthews’ future now that Kyle Dubas no longer is the Leafs’ general manager.

And there’s this: We don’t know who the new GM is, or what his plan for Matthews will be.

What we can go on for now is what Matthews said last Monday before the Leafs went their separate ways for the summer.

“My intention is to be here,” Matthews said. “I think I’ve (said) that before, how much I enjoy playing here and what it means to me.”

Matthews was asked how important it would be to get a new deal done before the start of next season.

“I think that it’s important and it will work itself out in due time,” Matthews said.