Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews reiterated Thursday he believes he can win a Stanley Cup with the franchise.
“I do,” Matthews said, speaking to reporters for the first time since suffering a season-ending knee injury in March. “I believe in the guys in the room and the people we have here… we’re all hopeful this is kind of a one-off.”
“We have some good players here, and we have to make some adjustments,” echoed head coach Craig Berube, who said he expects to be back next season. “We have to make some moves to bring in maybe some different players or different people, but there’s a good core here and good players and good people, so I do believe we can bounce back.”
Matthews posted 27 goals and 53 points in 60 games before taking a knee-on-knee hit from Anaheim Ducks captain Radko Gudas that forced him to undergo surgery.
“I think you probably know how I feel about the hit,” Matthews reflected on the incident. “Up until a couple days ago I was standing on crutches.”
The 28-year-old centre has faced speculation on his on future with the club amid a lost season that saw the franchise’s nine-year streak of postseason appearances come to an end. He remains signed through the 2027-28 season at a cap hit of $13.25 million.
“I can’t predict the future,” Matthews said of looking forward Thursday. “... They have to hire new leadership at management and stuff like that. So, I don’t really know. Like I said, I can’t predict the future.”
The chart forward for the Maple Leafs is unclear as the team conducts their search for a new head of hockey operations after firing general manager Brad Treliving last month.
“This was a tough year, it was a frustrating year,” Matthews added. “We didn’t meet the goals or the expectations that we set out at at the start. Ultimately, that’s on me, that’s on us as players. We’re the ones that have to go out there and compete and play the game.”
Selected first overall in 2016, Matthews has 428 goals, a franchise record, and 780 points in 689 games over his 10-season NHL career.
He served as captain of the US Olympic team that captured gold at the Olympics in February.
Rielly hopes to return, Tanev eyes bounce back
Morgan Rielly, the longest-tenured member of the Maple Leafs, has faced significant speculation on his own future with Toronto.
The 32-year-old blueliner remains signed through the 2029-30 season at a cap hit of $7.5 million, but declining production has put his future in the spotlight.
“I’ve always wanted to stay. I still want to stay,” Rielly told reporters Thursday.
While it has been suggested that the new front office, once in place, could ask Rielly to waive his full no-move clause, the defenceman was not willing to comment on speculation.
“Hard to comment when that conversation hasn’t happened,” Rielly said.
Selected fifth overall in the 2012 NHL draft, Rielly has appeared in 951 career games for the Maples, sitting seventh all-time in games played.
He posted 11 goals and 36 points in 78 games this season for his lowest total since the NHL returned to an 82-game schedule in 2021-22. At minus-18, he posted the worst plus-minus since 2016-17 this season.
Fellow defenceman Chris Tanev was limited to just 11 games this season with various injuries, but the 36-year-old vowed he will be back on the ice next season.
Tanev underwent core muscle surgery in March, with the team stating he is expected to be ready for raining camp.
A native of Toronto, Tanev just completed his 16th NHL season and second with the Leafs, having signed a six-year, $27.5 million deal with the team in the summer of 2024. He carries a cap hit of $4.5 million.
Tanev has appeared in 878 career games with the Leafs, Dallas Stars, Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks.
Berube expects to be back behind bench
Berube’s future as head coach remains in limbo as the team searches for its next head of hockey operations, but the 60-year-old said Thursday he expects to be back behind the bench next season.
“Yes,” Berube simply told reporters when asked during Toronto’s locker room cleanout if he expects to return. He added, however, that he has not been given any indication from the club as of yet.
MLSE president and CEO Keith Pelley said last month that Berube’s future with the team would be determined by the new leader of the front office, who he was hoping to have in place at some point in May.
The Maple Leafs will finish fifth-last in the NHL this season as their nine-year streak of playoff appearances has come to an end. Toronto posted a 32-36-14 record on the season, finishing with 78 points, 30 fewer than their 2024-25 total.
Uncertainty around Berube’s future has lingered throughout a disappointing campaign and reached a fever pitch when Pelley fired Treliving just over two weeks ago.
“I don’t think about it, guys. I mean, I really don’t. You probably think I’m bullsh--ting you, but I’m not,” Berube told reporters after Treliving was fired. “I feel for Brad right now and his family. That’s what I feel right now.”
TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger reported at the time that Berube had been given no indication on his future from the franchise, but was given a heads up on Treliving’s fate.
In his first season with the club, Berube helped guide Toronto to an Atlantic Division title with a 52-26-4 record, also securing the team’s second playoff series win over the past decade, defeating the Ottawa Senators in six games.
The Maple Leafs would fall to the eventual Stanley Cup-champion Florida Panthers in the second round, losing 6-1 on home ice in Game 7.
Prior to his time in Toronto, Berube had coached the Philadelphia Flyers for two years, before spending six seasons in St. Louis, where he led the Blues to their first Stanley Cup title in franchise history in 2019.
