MTPS: Whoa Canada, Part Two: Dreaming Big—and Dumb—With Auston Matthews

Toby knew.

Josh and Toby knew.

As an avid fan of The West Wing, I knew what Toby and Josh knew. I knew and I didn't listen. I tempted the fickle hand of fate and I lost.

No sooner had I finish Part One of this story, outlining how the New York Rangers could use the Maple Leaf's desperation to kick off a soft sell, when reports like this started coming out:

Or this, from The Athletic's Vince Mercogliano:

"I’ll start by saying, yes, the expectation from Dolan is to make the playoffs this season. He didn’t sign off on making Mike Sullivan the NHL’s highest-paid coach or Igor Shesterkin its highest-paid goalie with the intention of losing for a few years. Same goes for the J.T. Miller trade...

"A reset of some sort seems necessary, but no one I’ve spoken to believes Dolan would sign off on a full-blown rebuild less than eight years after sending out “The Letter.” For now, Drury is trying to thread the needle, as he’s put it, by recouping assets for anyone who doesn’t factor into future plans, while simultaneously targeting players who can help this season and beyond. The days of trade-deadline rentals are being put on hold — or at least they should be."

Let's pause here for a second.

We have discussed numerous times whether the Rangers should push for the playoffs or take a step back. There are merits to both sides of the argument and I'm sure we will continue to debate and discuss going forward. All of that said, if James Dolan wants the team to buy and push for the playoffs, then that's what they're going to do. This is why I remain agnostic to the idea of firing Chris Drury. Yes, he's made plenty of mistakes, but he's also done some good. And just like Neil Smith, Glen Sather, Jeff Gorton, and Chris Drury, the next general manager will still have to execute the mandates of an owner whose only concern is playoff gate revenue and not the long term viability of the club. It's why I wrote this. Anyway, moving on.

In Part One, I talked about Matias Maccelli as a potential trade target. But he's certainly not a superstar. So, who from Toronto could qualify as a star who could help the team now, and in the future?

Gee whiz...I'm stumped...

Matthews, 28, is in the second year of a four year contract paying him $13.25 million per year, and is arguably one of the five best forwards in the National Hockey League. So, why would Toronto entertain trading their captain? Because Toronto is a really weird place, man. For the last couple of years fans and the media up there blamed Mitchell Marner for every one of the team's failures. Now it appears those same snipers have turned their sights on Matthews.

Now, look: Matthews is having a rough go of it, and at times he has looked disinterested and kind of like Chris Krieder did at times for the Rangers last year. And much like we said about Kreider, some of that sucks, but not all of that is on him. Brad Treliving's moves have replaced a lot of the offensive talent that used to take some of the pressure off of Matthews with miscast bottom six grinders, and Craig Berube's system is not doing Matthews any favors, either. He's being asked to do a lot more shot blocking and defensive work than he ever has before. Matthews has always been willing to block a shot, but under Berube he's doing it an almost unsustainable rate.

He currently is tied with Elias Pettersson and Adam Henrique for the league lead in shots blocked by a forward. Henrique has never been known for his offensive prowess (one specific moment we won't dwell on notwithstanding). Know what Matthews and Pettersson have in common? They're both elite offensive performers who have seen their offensive games evaporate as the physical demands of blocking shots have increased. Matthews has 23 points in 31 games, Pettersson has 22 points in 28 games. That's not a coincidence, nor is it a sign of an erosion of skill. It's just a natural result of the abuse that a body takes from having a frozen piece of vulcanized rubber slamming into you.

My point is, I'm not buying into Auston Matthews being in a premature decline, being a loser, or any of the other nonsense being spewed out of Toronto. I think it's as nuts as the Adam Fox debate that goes on around here. What I am buying into is, with the way things are going, that Matthews has a chance to be the first true star to hit free agency in years and, more than that, that Toronto may be dumb enough to move him before his contract even expires.

If so, the Rangers should pounce.