Connor McDavid rumors are heating up again, and the Toronto Maple Leafs are suddenly the center of it.
A post from Rinky Report went viral Monday afternoon, relaying comments from Michael Augello on The Leafs Convo Podcast about McDavid's future.
Augello said he heard it from another reporter, one he wouldn't name, who called it strictly a theory born out of press box chatter.
The theory itself is simple. McDavid wants to play in Toronto, but only if the Maple Leafs actually become good enough to deserve him.
"If the Leafs are good, their chances of getting McDavid are good," the theory goes. If not, there's no shot at all.
That's a massive condition to hang a rumor on right now. Toronto is in the middle of a seven-game losing streak.
The Maple Leafs sit 32-36-14 on the season, ranked 28th overall in the league. Jim Hiller runs this bench, and it hasn't gone well lately.
Look at the photo attached to that post. McDavid's number 97 stitched onto a blue Maple Leafs sweater, with a captain's "C" sewn on right where Auston Matthews wears his own.
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That image alone tells you how far this whole thing has traveled from reality. McDavid isn't walking through that door anytime soon.
Toronto's losing streak makes the McDavid fantasy even more distant
Here's the problem nobody wants to say out loud. Toronto went 2-7-1 over its last 10 games. That's not a contender's form, and it's the exact scenario the anonymous reporter's theory says kills any chance.
Meanwhile, Edmonton keeps rolling. The Oilers sit 41-30-11, ranked 14th overall, winners of their last game and 6-2-2 over their last 10.
McDavid put up 138 points this season, 48 goals and 90 assists, and he's still the engine that makes Edmonton's attack function.
His $12,500,000 cap hit ranks fourth highest in the entire NHL, which tells you exactly how much value the Oilers still see in keeping him.
This is a rumor with no source willing to attach their name to it, filtered through a podcast, filtered through a repost. That's about as thin as it gets.
But every offseason, this exact McDavid-to-Toronto chatter finds a way back into the conversation. Why does it keep resurfacing every single year?
Maybe because Leafs fans need something to dream about while their team bleeds games. Maybe because it's just good content for a slow news Monday.
Either way, nothing here comes from McDavid himself, nothing comes from Edmonton's front office, and nothing comes from anyone willing to put their name behind it.
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Toronto would need a complete turnaround just to make the fantasy plausible. Right now, they're going the opposite direction, and the calendar isn't on their side.
Would Connor McDavid actually leave Edmonton for Toronto someday?
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