Insider reports that Auston Matthews is leaving the Leafs in 2024

Toronto Maple Leafs superstar Auston Matthews got off to a bit of a slow start this season but he looks to be back to his usual self lately, which is surely excellent news for Leafs fans. After all, as Matthews goes so too do the Leafs.

The past few years the Leafs have maybe been a bit too reliant on Matthews' skill and goal scoring ability to help them get through wins, so much so that the team tends to come up short in the playoffs once things tighten up. Matthews is arguably the best goal scorer in the entire NHL and that comes with a price tag. Currently Matthews earns $11.64 million against the salary cap and you can bet that he'll be looking for an even bigger ticket in 2024 when he becomes a free agent for the first time. 

And just today, NHL insider Nick Kypreos reported that he believes Matthews could leave the Leafs as a free agent and that Kypreos' inside sources have told him that "a lot" of people think Matthews will leave.

Check it out:

Ehn... a "lot of people" "could" ... that's an awful lot of qualifiers there, Kyper...

To be perfectly honest, I don't think Kypreos is as tuned in with his sources as he leads us all the believe. I mean, I'm sure there was a time when he was dialled in, but lately all of his reports just seem so out of touch. Remember his report earlier this month linking the Leafs to San Jose Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson? Pure fantasy land stuff from Kyper...