Maple Leafs Could Send Auston Matthews to the Sharks in Draft Day Blockbuster

The hockey world is still in a state of shock after the Toronto Maple Leafs won the 2026 NHL Draft Lottery. Right away, fans around the league started calling it rigged. However, within the fan base, a lot of the conversation quickly shifted toward what comes next. One of the ideas that started making the rounds on social media was a trade proposal involving Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews.

The idea itself is pretty simple. Matthews would be dealt to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for the second overall pick so the Maple Leafs could also draft Ivar Stenberg. Again, simple, and probably not enough on its own for what Matthews brings. So, for the sake of the argument, let’s add a little extra to the package to address a need or two for Toronto and make the deal feel more realistic.

Maple Leafs Send Matthews to Sharks for Youthful Package

When you take into consideration the magnitude of a trade like this, it is not an easy deal to make. One of the two teams is probably going to feel like they lost the trade at first. That said, when you are talking about a player like Matthews and the level of talent he brings to a roster, the return is going to be massive.

The biggest thing to remember here is the Maple Leafs would not just be trading their captain and best player. They would be moving a proven superstar and a former 69-goal scorer who is still in the prime of his career. Because of that, the asking price should be extremely high.

If Toronto were seriously entertaining a move like this, the return should include William Eklund; Kasper Halttunen, the second overall pick in the 2026 NHL Draft; and a 2028 second-round pick.

The Sharks are at a point where they have an abundance of prospects and not enough room for all of them long-term. Meanwhile, the Maple Leafs are in desperate need of getting younger. If they had the opportunity to land the second overall pick alongside Eklund and Halttunen, it would honestly be a very strong return for Matthews.

Eklund is still just 23 years old and already looks like a legitimate core piece. He is signed to a bridge deal carrying a $5.6 million average annual value (AAV), which would also help Toronto financially. He could fit nicely alongside Easton Cowan, Matthew Knies, and potentially Gavin McKenna or Stenberg moving forward.

Everyone already knows what Stenberg could bring. He has the potential to become a star forward for a long time and would obviously be the centrepiece of this type of package.

The underrated piece in the deal might honestly be Halttunen. The former London Knight and teammate of Cowan would probably fit very well inside Toronto’s top six long-term. He also brings a physical edge to his game, which is something this roster has been missing for a while.

Obviously, it still feels extremely unlikely that the Maple Leafs move Matthews, or even seriously consider it. But after winning the draft lottery, conversations like this are naturally going to happen. It is always interesting to throw around hypothetical trades and see what a realistic package could actually look like.