Realistically, is there even a chance of swinging a large trade for Matthews?
I know that it is extremely unlikely to occur, yet I also think we need someone who has some sort of depth to Arizona. Doan had it being tenured here for so long, but there is something about having the value of a player that has roots here.
If Domi is truly a player that we are looking to give a fresh start, would Strome, Domi, and the 2018 1st rounder be in the ballpark to get Matthews? We could take back a salary dump since Domi will be an RFA. (Horton?)
I would have no problem going into next year with center depth of:
Matthews
Stepan
Dvorak
Richardson
Left wing could be interesting, but I like what we have with Perlini, Keller, and Martinook (need to pick up a 3rd line LW) and a right side with Fischer, Panik, and Archibald.
The question would be how much would need to be sent back to Toronto to get Matthews. Slim chance of anything like this happening, but if this is truly still a measure of rebuilding next year, maybe we damage the team shirt term to get Matthews back here long term and make him the future ambassador for the team.