It’s one of the longest-running rumors in hockey: Connor McDavid eventually winding up with his hometown Toronto Maple Leafs. According to one insider, there’s truth to it — but only under one major condition.
Speaking on The Leafs Convo Podcast, reporter Michael Augello relayed what he says came from a conversation with another reporter in the press box.
“I will die on the hill that McDavid wants to play in Toronto. I was told by another reporter — that’s just his theory, and I won’t share his name — but we were talking in the press box about McDavid, and he said, ‘McDavid wants to play in Toronto, it’s just a question of what type of team the Leafs are.’ If the Leafs are good, then their chances of getting McDavid are good, because I think he would want to play in Toronto if they paid him. If they’re not good, there’s not a chance,” Augello said.
Connor McDavid ‘wants Toronto’
That condition puts a lot of weight on how Toronto performs over the next couple of seasons, and Augello pointed to one player in particular as the key to it all: Auston Matthews.
“I think that their chances of getting McDavid rest on Matthews staying. He wants to go to a team that can win the Stanley Cup. And you can’t win a Stanley Cup all by yourself,” Augello said.
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Matthews and McDavid both have two years remaining on their current contracts, meaning the timelines could line up in a way that makes the rumor at least theoretically possible.
McDavid has spent his entire career in Edmonton chasing a championship alongside Leon Draisaitl, coming up just a goal or two short on multiple occasions. Toronto, meanwhile, landed the first overall pick in the 2026 draft, selecting Gavin McKenna, along with several other promising prospects, giving the organization at least some reason for optimism about its trajectory.
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