Toronto Maple Leafs general manager John Chayka weighed in on Auston Matthews’ future with the team after recently visiting him.<\/p>\n
“What I saw was a happy captain,” Chayka said Friday, per ESPN’s Kristen Shilton<\/a>. “[Someone] who’s got a lot of pride in being the captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs, someone who wants to win in Toronto, which aligns with how we’re thinking about it.”<\/p>\n Pierre LeBrun<\/a> of The Athletic previously reported that Matthews was “most likely staying put” during the 2026 offseason, although he “can yet commit 100 percent to that.”<\/p>\n The 28-year-old was also noncommittal regarding his long-term future with the Maple Leafs in April.<\/p>\n “I can’t predict the future,” Matthews said at the time, via Shilton. “There are steps that have to take place. They have to hire new leadership and management. I don’t know what’s going to happen. I think that’s kind of … like I said, I can’t really predict the future.”<\/p>\n Matthews has two seasons remaining on the four-year, $53 million contract that he signed<\/a> with Toronto in Aug. 2023.<\/p>\n The Maple Leafs finished at the bottom of the Atlantic Division standings with a 32-36-14 record in their 2025-26 campaign, missing the playoffs for the first time since 2016. <\/p>\n