Auston Matthews screwing new Leafs management ahead of NHL Draft.

Spirits were very low in the Toronto Maple Leafs fan base at the end of the 2025-26 National Hockey League regular season but that has quickly turned around thanks to some incredible fortune at the NHL's Draft Lottery.

Only days after announcing their new front office the Maple Leafs were blessed with the first overall pick in the draft, drastically changing the somber narrative that had surrounded the team. While things are o looking promising for the Maple Leafs once again, the current situation with their franchise player now risks putting a dark cloud back over the franchise.

This week, NHL insider Elliotte Friedman made a surprising revelation when he revealed that Matthews was planning to effectively leave the team in limbo through both the NHL Draft and the start of the NHL's Free Agency period later this summer.

"I had heard over the last week or two that Matthews might decide to wait until around July to see what the Leafs do at the Draft and Free Agency before making a decision," said Friedman on the 32 Thoughts Podcast.

That would of course throw a major wrench into things for both general manager John Chayka and senior advisor Mats Sundin, with the team likely paralyzed by Matthews' indecision. As I'm sure you can imagine, what Chayka and Sundin will choose to do at the Draft and during Free Agency would likely change drastically depending on whether or not they expect Matthews back next season.

"If you're the Maple Leafs and the new regime it makes no sense to wait that long to get an idea of what he's thinking," said Friedman.

The question now of course is how the Maple Leafs will proceed given that Matthews appears to be making things drastically more difficult. While I have no doubt that Chayka and Sundin will try to get a better idea of which way Matthews is leaning prior to that timeline, there is no guarantee that Matthews will make a decision one way or the other.