‘You see teams adding and you want to add as well’: Auston Matthews on Leafs’ Trade Deadline plans
Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews sees what the rest of the league is doing. Now, he just wants his team to improve, too.
As divisional rivals, the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning get busy ahead of Friday’s NHL Trade Deadline. The Maple Leafs’ captain hopes general manager Brad Treliving can improve the team for the stretch run as well.
“You look at our division in particular, it’s obviously very tight,” Matthews told reporters Tuesday. “Management is going to do the best they can. All we can do is trust in them.”
“Of course, you’d love to see a boost, and I think with the way we’ve played this year, the position we’re in right now, we feel really confident, really good about our team, our group.”
The Maple Leafs lead the Atlantic Division by only a game in hand, tied with the Panthers at 79 points. The Lightning aren’t far behind with 76 points and the same amount of games played (61) as the Leafs.
In the week before the deadline, the Panthers traded for top defenseman Seth Jones from the Chicago Blackhawks and brought in backup goaltender Vitek Vanacek from the San Jose Sharks. Meanwhile, the Lighting were busy on Wednesday, adding forwards Oliver Bjorkstrand and Yanni Gourde from the Seattle Kraken.
Gourde returns to the Lightning after helping them to Stanley Cups in 2020 and 2021.
“This time of year, you see teams adding, and you want to add as well,” Matthews added. “So I’m sure management and staff are doing a lot of thinking right now, doing a lot of homework and stuff like that, and I’ll leave it in their hands.”
Having played 46 games in 2024-25, Matthews sits fourth in Maple Leafs team scoring with 22 goals and 52 points, while Mitch Marner leads the hockey club with 18 goals and 76 points. William Nylander has potted the most goals at 35.
According to PuckPedia, the Maple Leafs have just $101,562 of available cap space as the Friday, 2:00 p.m. ET deadline approaches.
The Maple Leafs will play the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday night, their final game before the deadline.