NHL Trades and Rumors
Ex-NHLer Suggests Maple Leafs Get Star Defenseman for Auston Matthews
Do the Maple Leafs need to find an elite defenseman to help Auston Matthews return to 69-goal form?
Auston Matthews is always under the microscope as a superstar player and captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs — and when things aren’t going well, that scrutiny only intensifies.
In 2025-26, there have been far more downs than both Matthews and the Maple Leafs are accustomed to, including some dip in his individual play and production, with similarly inconsistent team results following suit. As a result, Toronto is now in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time in his NHL career, and because of that, the two-time 60-goal scorer has taken plenty of heat, both within the market and beyond.
While some feel that criticism has been deserved, former NHL legend Mike Modano sees it differently. He believes much of the blame is misplaced — and that Toronto needs to add something to better support the face of their franchise.
That “something,” according to Modano, is a star defenseman. He pointed to fellow superstars Kirill Kaprizov and Nathan MacKinnon, who benefit from having elite puck movers Quinn Hughes and Cale Makar driving play from the back end.
“I think it’s just a matter of trying to find some scoring around him, some depth — obviously some defensemen that can kind of, you know, it’s a luxury to have Quinn Hughes for Kaprizov and Makar feeding MacKinnon coming up the ice. I think it’d be nice for him to have someone that could kind of free him up, keep the skating, and open that game up offensively for him”
Having a player like that is certainly a luxury — but finding one is much easier said than done.
The closest thing Matthews has had to that during his time in Toronto is Morgan Rielly, though it’s been well documented that he’s not the player he once was. What he did have during his most productive seasons was one of the premier setup men in the world in Mitch Marner, who, of course, left for the Vegas Golden Knights this summer — a departure that could continue to haunt GM Brad Treliving and the Maple Leafs.
With a diminished version of Rielly and no Marner, far more of the offensive burden has fallen on Matthews’ shoulders. While he’s expected to be the type of superstar who can handle those expectations and rise to the occasion, Modano isn’t wrong. Matthews could absolutely use a true play-driving presence, either on the blue line or flanking him on the wing, to open things up and help him return to Rocket Richard Trophy-winning form.
Next: Does Rangers’ Major Free Agent Signing Already Want out of New York?
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gfinale
February 16, 2026 at 2:58 am
“Get Star Defenseman for Auston Matthews” <– definitely trade Matthews for an elite defender who is real captain material and a good leader! Oh, that wasn't what was meant?! For 10 years many people have said the problem is Rielly needs the right partner while I've all along said no, Rielly IS the problem. Rielly's partner has to be 1.5-2 defensemen because he is so absolutely lousy defensively. The Leafs spent so much cap on 4 lacking leadership, soft forwards with the same skills that they couldn't afford anything else they needed for 10 years. Even now that one is finally gone, they still can't! Think about it, the Leafs didn't.