Auston Matthews pulls out of event at the last minute due to situation with Leafs!

The constant chatter of the Maple Leafs looking into dismantling the Core Four in Toronto might have gotten too loud for superstar forward Auston Matthews. Nick Kypreos pointed out in the Toronto Star that he was supposed to attend an event as an ambassador, but passed because of what Kypreos believes to be the focus on his contract situation.

“It’s believed RBC was hoping to get hockey ambassador Auston Matthews to participate in the pro-am Wednesday at Oakdale, but he decided to take a pass. I wonder if the media focus on his next contract played any part in his decision.”

Tension has risen ever since the Maple Leafs hired Brad Treliving as their new general manager seeing that the GM lost out on pending free agent Johnny Gaudreau when they were with the Calgary Flames. Fans have been pressing that Treliving needs to re-sign Matthews now in order to prevent the GM losing another star free agent for nothing on the market.

Matthews might have been fed up with the reports and didn’t want to face questions about it while representing RBC at the event. The star forward can be signed to a new contract by the Leafs as soon as July 1 and the belief is that Matthews wants to get it done, expressing his love for Toronto at the team’s season-ending media availability in May.

“My intention is to be here. I’ve reciprocated before how much I enjoy playing here and what it means to me, the organization and my teammates.”

On July 1st, his no-move clause kicks in on his existing contract as well. The ideal scenario for both sides would be for the Maple Leafs to know where Matthews stands before that date.

And maybe until he puts pen to paper or gets a clear answer on what happens with a new contract, Matthews prefers to limit his time out with the media to avoid the pressing questions that can only made the situation worse.

You can’t blame him…

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