"Nobody should be safe" - NHL analyst urges Maple Leafs to make bold decisions, floats shock Auston Matthews trade

With how things went for the Toronto Maple Leafs, one hockey insider thinks not even Auston Matthews' place should be safe. He's not a free agent, but Sean McIndoe believes it should be a consideration.

After Toronto was outscored 12-2 in Games 5 and 7, both of which were at home, during their eventual playoff series loss, McIndoe thinks nothing should be off the table when it comes to changes.

The NHL insider said via The Athletic:

"Nobody should be safe after those last few games. That includes Matthews, by the way – yes, he has no-trade and no-movement protection, but that’s not no-discussion protection, so go ahead and see what’s out there. William Nylander and Morgan Rielly, too. Don’t close any doors."

Mitch Marner and John Tavares are free agents, so their exit could be clean. Matthews, William Nylander and Morgan Rielly, however, are not. Still, McIndoe believes it behooves Brad Treliving to at least see what they could get.

Nylander, Matthews, Marner and Tavares have made up the "Core Four" in Toronto since 2018, when Tavares came back to the Maple Leafs. They've had no playoff success since and there are mounting calls for a huge change.

NHL insider rips Maple Leafs after Game 7 failure

The Toronto Maple Leafs have lost seven straight Game 7s. The current iteration of the team has failed on the biggest stage repeatedly and it may result in a total organizational overhaul.

NHL analyst Sean McIndoe, a Leafs fan, won't be sad to see them go. He said via The Athletic:

"At this point, I could not care less about this version of the Toronto Maple Leafs. In my four decades as a fan of this team, I’ve never enjoyed cheering for any edition of it less than this one. This is not fun, and hasn’t been for a long time."

He added:

"The good news is that the 2025-26 Leafs will be significantly different, so that won’t be an issue anymore. Will whatever comes out on the other side be any more fun? It almost has to be. So that’s something."

What the Leafs do in the offseason remains to be seen, but McIndoe is expecting a totally new team in 2025-26.

About the author

Zachary is a journalist covering NFL, Professional Golf, esports, and Major League Baseball at Sportskeeda. He has a degree in writing/editing from Southern Adventist University (USA), and in his spare time, he likes to play games such as Minecraft, Pokémon and Fortnite, or watch sports.

Ever since he was a youth football wide receiver, Zachary has been an avid NFL fan. He loves the Carolina Panthers, with Cam Newton being his all-time favorite player (with respect to the close second, Steve Smith). If you ever meet Zachary, prepare to hear all about how underrated Newton was and how he single-handedly dragged the Panthers to Super Bowl 50.

Zachary is also a big fan of top golfers like Tiger Woods, Wyndham Clark, and Scottie Scheffler. He enjoys watching them and hopes that Woods can return to form soon and win again.

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Edited by Chaitanya Prakash