Plan to ensure captain remains a long-term Leaf was not laid out Monday nor was head coach’s future in Toronto<\/p>\n
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Published May 04, 2026 \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 4 minute read<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n You can save this article by registering for free here<\/a>. Or sign-in<\/a> if you have an account.<\/p>\n If there\u2019s a plan to ensure that Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews<\/a> remains with the team, it was not laid out on Monday.<\/p>\n Advertisement 2<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY<\/p>\n Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.<\/p>\n Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account.Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on.Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists.Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.<\/p>\n SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES<\/p>\n Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.<\/p>\n Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account.Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on.Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists.Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.<\/p>\n REGISTER \/ SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES<\/p>\n Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.<\/p>\n Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.<\/p>\n THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK.<\/p>\n Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.<\/p>\n Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authors<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n And if you\u2019re in the group that thinks coach Craig Berube\u2019s tenure behind the Leafs bench should be done after two years, you might be in for some disappointment.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Given the opportunity to explain how they might go about convincing Matthews that Toronto is the place to be, neither new general manager John Chayka nor Mats Sundin<\/a>, who now is lugging around the clumsy title of senior executive adviser of hockey operations, had much to say at their introductory news conference at Real Sports.<\/p>\n Both Chayka and Sundin went out of their way to compliment Matthews, which anyone can do. He\u2019s one of the best goal-scorers of his generation, if not the best. We get it. Few would argue with that.<\/p>\n Matthews was non-committal about his Leafs future<\/a> last month at the conclusion of the season, saying he couldn\u2019t predict the future.<\/p>\n Matthews is open to hearing what Chayka and Sundin have to say to him, but it remains a wait-and-see approach on his part regarding how the next few months unfold.<\/p>\n Your Midday Sun<\/p>\n Thanks for signing up!<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Advertisement 3<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Chayka thinks the Leafs can win with Matthews. How the Leafs go about doing that and how quickly it comes came with few answers after a season as poor as 2025-26 was and with so many issues to address.<\/p>\n Matthews, who has two years remaining on his contract, can\u2019t have been too confident if he happened to tune in on Monday. A text to Matthews\u2019 agent Judd Moldaver was not immediately answered.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is his team,\u201d Chayka said, referring to Matthews, during a post-podium scrum. \u201cHe lived it all year. I want to get together with him and hear his thoughts on things.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019ll kind of help sculpt our vision a bit as well. About communicating to him, it\u2019s about letting him know that there\u2019s still a window here where we feel like he\u2019s one of the best players in the world for a reason. We\u2019ve got some good pieces. We have a lot of work to do and we\u2019ll walk him through how we want to go about doing that.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s a 200-foot centreman who plays the game the right way. I came from an organization (the Arizona Coyotes) where we spent our entire existence looking for that exact player.<\/p>\n Advertisement 4<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s our job to sell him on what we\u2019re capable of and reaching the ultimate goal because I know that\u2019s what\u2019s most important to him.\u201d<\/p>\n Keep in mind that however they go about trying to improve the team, Chayka and the Leafs think Matthews can be the guy to lead the club to a Stanley Cup after having been a part of just two first-round wins in nine years.<\/p>\n RELATED VIDEO We apologize, but this video has failed to load.<\/p>\n Play VideoWhat\u2019s the plan with Berube?<\/p>\n Puzzling, too, was what sounded like the initial stages of a commitment to Berube<\/a>.<\/p>\n This past season doesn\u2019t need much rehashing other than to say that the team underachieved, the group was terrible defensively and Berube\u2019s acknowledgement late in the year that any changes he tried to make didn\u2019t work should have been enough to let him go.<\/p>\n Yet Chayka used \u201cgreat\u201d and \u201ctremendous\u201d to describe Berube as an NHL coach. That\u2019s the opposite of what Berube was as the Leafs missed the playoffs for the first time in 10 years.<\/p>\n We\u2019ve said previously that no one who has paid close attention to the Leafs would have so much as blinked if the incoming GM or hockey boss made an immediate decision to relieve Berube of his duties.<\/p>\n Advertisement 5<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n That\u2019s not going to happen, at least not right now, and perhaps not during the offseason.<\/p>\n Chayka said \u201cyes, of course\u201d when he was asked if he was open to bringing Berube back. He also wasn\u2019t adamant that Berube would be retained.<\/p>\n The Leafs\u2019 poor defensive numbers were raised.<\/p>\n \u201cI understand data,\u201d Chayka said. \u201cI think data is one part of the puzzle. You need to look at what a coach is given. You need to look at what he\u2019s good with.<\/p>\n \u201cCraig has been a respected leader for decades in the National Hockey League. We\u2019re going to get together later this week with Mats and go through it all. Mats and I are coming in as outsiders. (Berube) spent the past few years with the team. We want to listen and learn and understand his perspective and go forward from there.\u201d<\/p>\n You would think that Berube\u2019s two years remaining on his contract wouldn\u2019t play into the decision to keep him, considering Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment\u2019s deep pockets. That speculation, though, persists.<\/p>\n Advertisement 6<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n If Berube indeed returns, what kind of enthusiasm will Matthews have for that, no matter that he said in April that he respected Berube and has \u201ca ton\u201d of respect for him?<\/p>\n Matthews hasn\u2019t been the same player and hasn\u2019t had the same kind of production under Berube that he did with Sheldon Keefe as Leafs coach.<\/p>\n If the Leafs keep Berube, being able to convince Matthews that Toronto is the place to be might take some of that sell job Chayka mentioned.<\/p>\n In general, little of what was said on Monday by any of Chayka, Sundin and Keith Pelley should leave Leafs Nation feeling rosy about the club\u2019s future.<\/p>\n Clarity, whether involving Matthews, Berube or anything else, was not the order of the day.<\/p>\n![\"John](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/TS2026504ED20.TS_-e1777930059969.jpg\")
John Chayka is announced as Toronto Maple Leafs general manager during a news conference held at Real Sports Bar and Grill in Toronto on Monday May 4, 2026. Photo by Ernest Doroszuk \/Toronto SunArticle content<\/p>\n![\"Toronto](\"https:\/\/dcs-static.gprod.postmedia.digital\/21.1.1\/websites\/images\/identity\/logo-identity-tsun.svg\"){kind=logo}
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Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews talks to reporters during the end of season media availability. Ernest Doroszuk\/Toronto SunHow can the Leafs satisfy Matthews?<\/p>\n![\"Loading...\"](\"https:\/\/dcs-static.gprod.postmedia.digital\/21.1.1\/websites\/images\/common\/icon-spinner-animated.svg\"){kind=icon}
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Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube, centre top, speaks to the bench during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Dallas Stars, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025, in Dallas. Photo by LM Otero \/AP PhotoWhy does Chayka consider Berube to be great?<\/p>\n