The Toronto Maple Leafs have enough on their plate dealing with transfer rumors.

Amid all the speculation surrounding a move for forward Mitch Marner, another member of the franchise’s Core Four has caused even more drama in the rumors swirling around the Canadian organization.

Superstar Auston Matthews posted a photo of his dog to his Instagram stories on July 12, and according to Chris Gosselin of Hockey Feed, the move has led to “crazy” speculation about a potential trade involving Utah Hockey Club forward Clayton Keller.

The photo, taken and shared in an X-post by @adam_la2karis, shows Matthews’ dog alongside Keller’s, both “on a play date,” as Adam Laskaris of Daily Hive Toronto described it.

Since the two dogs are pictured side by side, it’s reasonable to assume that Matthews and Keller spent time together sometime in July. Fans turned that little Instagram story into speculation about a possible reunion in Toronto via a swap.

What makes the rumors even more credible is the fact that Matthews and Keller attended UFC 303 together in late June.

Additionally, Gosselin suspects that the Coyotes’ move to Salt Lake City did not sit well with Keller, which could lead to him being asked to transfer to Toronto.

“The whole move has been tough on Keller and other players in Arizona, and I’m sure he wouldn’t mind moving to Toronto to play with one of his best friends.”

Keller is entering the fifth season of the eight-year, $57.2 million contract he signed with the Arizona Coyotes (now relocated to Utah) in September 2019. He has played in 520 games for the Coyotes, scoring 166 goals and adding 252 assists for 418 points.

Maple Leafs trade proposal sends Clayton Keller to Toronto

Marner made most of the headlines in trades during the offseason, with a user of the website PuckPedia, using a new tool called PuckGM, suggesting a potential trade involving the disgruntled forward in a proposal to send Keller to Toronto.

Keller, who is friends with Matthews, would land in Toronto along with Dylan Guenther and Juuso Valimaki. The Hockey Club would receive Marner, Timothy Liljegren and Topi Niemela in return.

PHNX Sports asked Keller about the rumors linking him to the Maple Leafs ahead of the start of the 2023-24 season.

“Yeah, no, that’s not true. I’m just focused on myself and the team here, and I just love this group of guys. This is where I want to be right now,” Keller said on Sept. 11, 2023.

Most recently, during the 2024 NHL All-Star Game in February, Matthews and Keller worked together, with Matthews drafting Keller to his ASG team.

“We spend a lot of time in the summer hanging out, skating and stuff like that, so it’s cool to be able to spend some time with him this weekend,” Keller said of Matthews on February 1st.

In return, Matthews said Keller is “an incredible player” and confirmed that he “spends a lot of time with him in the summer.”

Matthews added: “We like to hang out, skate together, train together… During the summer skates we always try to play together and we have pretty good chemistry.

“I really wanted him to be on the team.”

Mitch Marner prefers to sign a contract extension

Whether the Maple Leafs (and their fans) like it or not, Marner made it clear after the season that he prefers to sign a new contract and remain in Toronto.

Marner has a full no-move clause as part of his current deal with the Leafs. He has one year left on his contract with a $10.9 million cap hit. He could reject any trade and play out his deal before becoming a free agent in 2025.

“I mean, that would be a goal. I’ve expressed my love for this place, this city. Obviously, I grew up here,” Marner told the media on May 6. “We’re going to think about that now and try to come up with something.”

Marner has skated in 576 career games, scoring 194 goals and adding 445 assists for 639 total points. He is coming off scoring 26 goals and adding 59 assists for 85 points in 69 regular season games with the Leafs in 2023-24.

NHL insider Chris Johnston believes Marner will stay with the team and will try to convince the Leafs that it would be best to offer him a contract extension and re-sign him after the 2025-25 season.

“Mitch is — he’s been around long enough to know how fickle fans can be in both directions,” Johnston said on the July 8 episode of The Chris Johnston Show . “And I’m sure it’s in his mind. ‘I’m going to play so well that they’ll have no choice but to love me again.’ Not that people don’t love him. I think he’s become kind of a lightning rod for this whole team.”