As the Maple Leafs’ season continues to unravel, questions are naturally flying about their plans to sell and the franchise’s overall direction.

The on-ice downturn comes in the wake of an offseason where the Maple Leafs essentially saw Mitch Marner walk for free. They clearly can’t allow the same scenario to play out with Auston Matthews, who has two years remaining on his contract after this season. Another lesson from the Marner debacle is that the player had one foot out of the door for quite some time in advance of his UFA eligibility.

With the way the Leafs‘ season has gone to date and their likely plans to strip pieces off the roster before the March 6 deadline, it’s therefore fair and necessary for management to inquire about their 28-year-old captain’s current thinking about his future in Toronto. According to Elliotte Friedman on Saturday Night Headlines, team brass recently met with Matthews’ representatives to find out:

Friedman: First of all, nothing has changed.

There was a conversation this week between the Maple Leafs and Matthews’ representation. They just asked, “Is anything here different with the way this season has gone?” Is there any reason for the Maple Leafs to believe Matthews wouldn’t want to return for 2026-27, or for Matthews believe that the Maple Leafs wouldn’t want him to return for 2026-27? And both sides reaffirmed their commitment to each other.

I know it is a big question, but the answer is that there is no change — Matthews with them, and the Maple Leafs with Matthews.

As for the non-core parts of the team, it sounds like conversations have begun around feeling out the trade markets for the more obvious trade candidates:

Friedman: Now, something is different. Everyone sees the standings. Everybody sees that the Maple Leafs are in a position they didn’t expect to be in.

One thing they have done this week is begin the process of calling around the league and seeing what is available to them, with them being in a position where they might have to consider some things they didn’t expect to consider.

They haven’t discussed anything that anyone would call extraordinary, huge, or stunning. I think some of the early conversations are about things that you would expect, but they have begun conversations around the league about, “What do you think of our roster? What kind of things are you interested in?”

I don’t think it would be anything that anyone right now would consider earth-shattering or anything like that.

When it comes to all of their expiring contracts (Bobby McMann, Scott Laughton, Calle Jarnkrok, Troy Stecher) and those a year out from expiry (Brandon Carlo, OEL, Simon Benoit, and Nic Roy), laying out all the cards on the table regarding the price or logic to retain (at least in some cases, such as McMann, Stecher, and Laughton) vs. the potential yield from a fully-fleshed-out trade market is now the process Brad Treliving is in charge of undertaking, given there has been (as of yet) no changes among brain trust of the Maple Leafs except for one assistant coaching change. If the Leafs have the right individual in charge of making these calls and executing these trades is another discussion altogether.