Analyst Foresees Trade Requests From Auston Matthews and Brady Tkachuk

The Canada–USA rivalry has taken on a life of its own of late, thanks to everything going on in the world right now. That was on full display when the Americans won gold at the Olympics — and particularly when captains of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators, Auston Matthews and Brady Tkachuk, returned to their NHL cities.

Matthews and Tkachuk have faced intense media scrutiny in the aftermath, and in their first games back home, were met with mixed reactions during Olympic tribute videos. Whether they are truly bothered by it all remains unknown; however, one analyst believes it could ultimately be what pushes both players to ask out of their respective situations sooner rather than later.

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Jeff O’Neill of TSN implied on Monday that he wouldn’t be surprised at all to see Matthews and Tkachuk request trades out of Toronto and Ottawa as early as this offseason, given the recent drama.

O’Neill said:

“It would not shock me if, at the end of this season, Brady Tkachuk and Auston Matthews said that’s probably enough for me. I’m not kidding you. Like it would not shock me if both of them said thanks but no thanks. Maybe it’s time to move on. And by the way, their tenures with their teams — that’s an eternity in sports. It’s not like they’ve been there for a couple of years. They’ve been there a long time, man. Auston Matthews has been here for 10 years. What’s Brady Tkachuk, seven or eight years in Ottawa? Yeah, it wouldn’t shock me if both of them said, ” Check please. “

Both players will enter the 2026–27 campaign in very similar situations — the second-to-last year of their respective contracts.

The 28-year-old Matthews is currently in year two of the four-year, $53 million extension he signed with the Maple Leafs in 2023, while Tkachuk, 26, is in year five of the seven-year, $57,564,958 contract he signed to stay in Ottawa back in 2021.

Matthews has tallied 51 points (26 goals, 25 assists) in 55 games this season. Tkachuk, on the other hand, has produced 39 points (15 goals, 24 assists) in just 39 games played.

Either player moving this summer remains unlikely, but the speculation isn’t new. Chatter about both potentially leaving Canada to play in their home country has floated around for years.

Matthews is often linked to teams out West like Los Angeles, San Jose, Anaheim, Utah, and Vegas, given his Arizona roots. Meanwhile, Tkachuk has been connected to Eastern markets like Philadelphia and New York — as well as the possibility of teaming up with his brother, Matthew, in Florida.

Nothing suggests anything is imminent or likely to ever happen, for that matter. But where there’s smoke, there’s fire — and there’s undoubtedly plenty of smoke surrounding these situations.

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