Rielly hopes Matthews, Keefe part of future for Maple Leafs

TORONTO -- Morgan Rielly said he hopes center Auston Matthews and coach Sheldon Keefe are part of the future for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Matthews, a center who tied William Nylander with 40 goals to lead the Maple Leafs this season, is entering the final season of a five-year contract and is eligible to sign another contract July 1. The final season of his contract contains a no-movement clause, which kicks in July 1.

"As a friend, a teammate, you name it, you want that guy on your team," Rielly told NHL.com Thursday at a pop-up ball hockey game in support of Kellogg's Vector Unsubscribe for Sports campaign, an initiative geared towards encouraging people to get active and rediscover the sports they grew up loving to play. "I think he loves playing in Toronto so if he comes back, long-term deal, short-term deal, whatever it is, we'll take it. He's a great player and helped our team tremendously over the years.

"I've got to know him and obviously his skill level and who he is as a player is extremely high level."

However, unlike when Matthews signed his current contract Feb. 5, 2019, he will not be dealing with Kyle Dubas, who was fired as Maple Leafs general manager May 19. Brad Treliving replaced Dubas as GM on May 31.

Rielly said he was not expecting a GM change after Toronto's season ended with a Game 5 loss in the Eastern Conference Second Round against the Florida Panthers on May 12.

"I think at first I was surprised," Rielly said. "I am a believer in Kyle and how he operates, but I think with change in this business, you almost get used to it and it really doesn't take long before you move on and start thinking about what you need to do to improve on yourself and with your own game and to prepare for next season. I've had conversations with Brad and the other staff members that have been around and it really doesn't take much to move on and reframe your thinking and shift gears."

Whether Sheldon Keefe remains Maple Leafs coach remains to be seen. Keefe is 166-71-30 in four seasons since taking over for Mike Babcock on Nov 20, 2019. Though Toronto has seen regular-season success under Keefe, it has won one round in the Stanley Cup Playoffs during his tenure, defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round this season.

Treliving said May 31 that he had no preconceived notions of Keefe and that he wanted to "work with him and get to know him" before determining if he would return. That process remains ongoing, although if it were up to Rielly, he would like to see Keefe continue.

"[Sheldon] has been great," Rielly said. "If you look at the standings the last few years since he's been in charge, we're right there. Have we had that ultimate playoff success? No, not yet. But you just keep knocking on the door, keep trying to push through. He's been a good leader for us and you can't really deny the results. So what he's done for our group has been outstanding, just to have that opportunity to compete in the playoffs every year since he's been in charge, that's awesome and we're grateful to have him. As players, you just want to do your best to perform for him and I have extreme faith in him."

The Maple Leafs will experience some changes on the roster prior to next season. They have seven forwards under contract on the current roster, and seven can become unrestricted free agents July 1 (Ryan O'Reilly, Michael Bunting, Alex Kerfoot, Noel Acciari, David Kampf, Zach Aston-Reese, Wayne Simmonds). Defensemen Justin Holl, Luke Schenn and Erik Gustafsson also can become UFAs, and goalie Ilya Samsonov can become a restricted free agent.

Despite the offseason of uncertainty, Rielly is confident Treliving will keep the team in a position to contend again next season.

"Ultimately it's on us as players to perform and win games," Rielly said. "How [the roster] looks is up to him but the players on the ice are the people in charge of the outcome of the game so for us, we just have to prepare for next season and do what we need to do to be in a good spot come training camp. We believe in him and he's going to do what he can to put the best team on the ice. He's been doing this job for a long time so I don't think there will be any issues there."