Insider suggests Matthews will follow Gaudreau's lead in 2 years
Johnny Gaudreau faced a lot of criticism (mainly from Calgary) for his decision to leave the Flames and move closer to home.
Now, Michael Traikos of The Toronto Sun brings up the possibility that Auston Matthews could be in a similar situation in two years.
Matthews has just two seasons left on his five-year, $58,195, 000 contract with an AAV of $11,640,250.
As per Traikos:
That's when Auston Matthews becomes an unrestricted free agent. And if you don't think the Arizona native would ever leave Toronto � much less leave a team as good as the Leafs for a chance to play for his hometown Coyotes, where he would go from being a national star to a closely-guarded secret � keep in mind that there are plenty of other NHL cities that are close to the desert.
After all, Gaudreau picked a city that is two states over and an eight-hour drive from his hometown of Salem, N.J. Depending on the traffic, that's even further than Los Angeles is from Matthrews' summer home in Scottsdale, Ariz.
And if not Los Angeles, there's always Anaheim or San Jose. Or even Vegas.''
SOURCE: Michael Traikos, The Toronto Sun: �'Could Auston Matthews pull a 'Gaudreau' and walk away from the Maple Leafs in a couple of years?''
Traikos does bring up some very good points:
The Coyotes could have Connor Bedard and a brand new arena in two years.
The Kings are just coming out of rebuild and could be a juggernaut in two years. Captain Anze Kopitar's $10 million cap hit is off the books at the same time as well.
Matthews was born in California and is a die hard Los Angeles Dodgers fan as well.
Realistically, it all depends on what the Toronto Maple Leafs situation is in two years. If they still haven't made it out of the first round it's definitely a possibility that Matthew leaves.
What are your thoughts?
| POLL | ||
Where will Auston Matthews be playing in two years? | ||
| Arizona Coyotes | 8 | 23.5 % |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 9 | 26.5 % |
| Los Angeles Kings | 10 | 29.4 % |
| Ducks, Sharks or Golden Knights | 7 | 20.6 % |
| List of polls | ||
