With the NHL trade deadline set for Thursday, March 7, speculation is intensifying around some of the league’s biggest names — and the Los Angeles Kings have emerged as the betting favorites to land Auston Matthews if the superstar center is dealt.

The occasion of Toronto Maple Leafs fans booing their own captain on home ice — once unfathomable — came to fruition Saturday. All it took was Auston Matthews leading Team USA to a gold medal at the 2026 Winter

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,

Toronto Maple Leafs fans in Canada are not happy about their American captain Auston Matthews possibly missing his NHL return.

The Toronto Maple Leafs did as millions of North Americans did Sunday morning: They watched Canada play the United States in the Olympic men’s hockey gold medal game. The Leafs had a practice set to begin in a few hours, but one by one, most of the team gathered around a screen at their practice facility. They had national and personal allegiances.

For the first time in his career, Auston Matthews is reportedly no longer considered untouchable at the NHL trade deadline. While Toronto isn’t shopping him, teams are preparing offers and there has already been back-and-forth discussion.

Maple Leafs reporter Matthew Berger believes that it could very well be time to end the Matthews and Nylander era in Toronto and that both should be traded when the offseason arrives. Berger said, “Neither Matthews nor Nylander could lead an army of ants to syrup.

Former ESPN host Keith Olbermann called his former “SportsCenter” colleague Linda Cohn a “self-obsessed politically motivated clown” following her remarks about Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews visiting the White House after Team USA’s gold medal win over Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics.