Player Discussion Auston Matthews (Captain Edition)

[HellasLEAF]

I'm a huge fan of Matthews but at some point his gloves need to come off in a scrum. Don't follow in JT's footsteps.

 

[Aashir Mallik]

Nathan mackinnon now at 13 in 8
Nikita Kucherov now at 13 in 7
Artemi Panarin now at 13 in 7
Connor Mcdavid now at 8 in 7
Cale Makar now at 15 in 8

these are Matthew's comparables and he has a measly 5...this just isn't good enough.

 

[Tie Domi Esquire]

Nathan mackinnon now at 13 in 8
Nikita Kucherov now at 13 in 7
Artemi Panarin now at 13 in 7
Connor Mcdavid now at 8 in 7
Cale Makar now at 15 in 8

these are Matthew's comparables and he has a measly 5...this just isn't good enough.

Those guys aren't comparable since they all signed for 8 years. Matthews is unprecedented in his selfishness and lack of production.

 

[mapleleaf979]

Matthews has no compete level, its all about 13.25 million. He was responsible for 3 goals against last night. He didnt show up, didnt give a bleep. The team followed the captains vibe. The first 2 goals, were Matthews fault.

 

[sampollock]

#34 hss all the talent any team would want.
Brube maybe shake him up.
He is does play similar to Mitch
Which is who ihe is.. scoring 1st
60 goals is huge

 

[Stephen]

Matthews has no compete level, its all about 13.25 million. He was responsible for 3 goals against last night. He didnt show up, didnt give a bleep. The team followed the captains vibe. The first 2 goals, were Matthews fault.

So was the third Blues goal. He got a grenade pass from McCabe and bobbled it into the corner instead of moving his feet to turn north and went into the corner with his lazy stick checking instead of just pinning the Blue or getting his hands dirty competing for the loose puck. Just lazy garbage.

Matthews takes a lot of nights off on the 200 foot game. Usually it’s all okay because he’ll find a way to pot 2 and be a difference maker but man are the details ever poor with him sometimes. The way he’s going he’s not showing a reliable captain and leadership material.

 

[Stephen]

Also, using Matthews on the point PP1 unit is one of the dumbest things I’ve seen in a while. The guy has his preferred scoring mark and it’s not from the point. He doesn’t clap it from distance and isn’t the greatest facilitator so you’re taking away the sniper and you’re shoehorning him into a different role.

 

[thewave]

Also, using Matthews on the point PP1 unit is one of the dumbest things I’ve seen in a while. The guy has his preferred scoring mark and it’s not from the point. He doesn’t clap it from distance and isn’t the greatest facilitator so you’re taking away the sniper and you’re shoehorning him into a different role.

JT and MR are by far the worst. MM is doing a lot of dumb things on the PP. He is so easy to eliminate or not care about either because he doesn't score goals on the PP.

WN AM and OEL are locks on pp1 for me. Outside that they need to mix it up some.

 

[mjd1001]

I have seen nothing so far this year that changes my opinion of Matthews:

-He is a great goal scorer that has streaks of 5-7 games where his production is slightly lower, but he usually makes up for it with a hot streak.

-He generally is pretty good without the puck. At least positionally, he knows where to be and is there. On occasion he will look like he gives a bit of a lack of effort but overall he is good defensively.

-He will give you the same effort in the regular season and the payoffs. The problem with that is, it APPEARS many other stars reach down and go to a 'higher level' in the playoffs. Matthews doesn't (or hasn't yet) done that.

Again, nothing yet has changed my mind on him. He is what he is.

 

[Stephen]

I have seen nothing so far this year that changes my opinion of Matthews:

-He is a great goal scorer that has streaks of 5-7 games where his production is slightly lower, but he usually makes up for it with a hot streak.

-He generally is pretty good without the puck. At least positionally, he knows where to be and is there. On occasion he will look like he gives a bit of a lack of effort but overall he is good defensively.

-He will give you the same effort in the regular season and the payoffs. The problem with that is, it APPEARS many other stars reach down and go to a 'higher level' in the playoffs. Matthews doesn't (or hasn't yet) done that.

Again, nothing yet has changed my mind on him. He is what he is.

For a player of his calibre it often feels like he struggles to find inspiration to be at his best.

 

[647Hockey]

Nathan mackinnon now at 13 in 8
Nikita Kucherov now at 13 in 7
Artemi Panarin now at 13 in 7
Connor Mcdavid now at 8 in 7
Cale Makar now at 15 in 8

these are Matthew's comparables and he has a measly 5...this just isn't good enough.

IMO, Matthews is very similar to Draisaitl. Both will rack up goals and pts if given linemates who can feed him passes, or get opportunistic goals on the PP. Dany Heatley was similar when he clicked with Alfredsson and Spezza, with a solid PP.

They arent creators. They arent like the guys you listed above who can take the puck from one end and deke out the other team and score or create chances on their own (for themself or for teammates).

That's why when McDavid and Marner or whomever have a slow start on the team, so do Matthews and Draisaitl. Similar players are Hyman and JT. If crash and bang goals within 10 ft of the net arent there, their entire offensive numbers go down the toilet. You wont even notice them playing that game.

Dynamic players can still be noticed during a game even if they get zero pts. But players who rely on those players to help them score will be invisible when they get zero pts.

On the other hand, someone like Joe Sakic could get 100 pts all by himself playing on those dogshit teams early in his career. And when on good teams, still does good and makes players around him better.

 

[Stephen]

IMO, Matthews is very similar to Draisaitl. Both will rack up goals and pts if given linemates who can feed him passes, or get opportunistic goals on the PP. Dany Heatley was similar when he clicked with Alfredsson and Spezza, with a solid PP.

They arent creators. They arent like the guys you listed above who can take the puck from one end and deke out the other team and score or create chances on their own (for themself or for teammates).

That's why when McDavid and Marner or whomever have a slow start on the team, so do Matthews and Draisaitl. Similar players are Hyman and JT. If crash and bang goals within 10 ft of the net arent there, their entire offensive numbers go down the toilet. You wont even notice them playing that game.

Dynamic players can still be noticed during a game even if they get zero pts. But players who rely on those players to help them score will be invisible when they get zero pts.

On the other hand, someone like Joe Sakic could get 100 pts all by himself playing on those dogshit teams early in his career. And when on good teams, still does good and makes players around him better.

Matthews isn’t like Draisaitl at all.

Draisaitl is a great playmaker, absolutely hates to lose and plays with that hateable crybaby edge to his game. Matthews is a relatively poor facilitator even though he has the ability to make great passing plays and has low emotional energy and will be outcompeted every time it matters.

In terms of point production Draisaitl is on another level compared to Matthews and gap only widens year to year. Draisaitl stinks defensively. Matthews is a lot better on average.

Draisaitl is also a big game player. Matthews is opposite and shrinks in “big moments” even though we’re only talking about the first and second rounds.

Draisaitl’s game is also deceptively simple. Likes going north south and Matthews game can be “cute” made worse when he’s in his dynamic duo game with Marner.

Overall I think Matthews has a lot more ability than Draisaitl but Drai gets more out of his skillset consistently.

 

[mjd1001]

Matthews isn’t like Draisaitl at all.

Draisaitl is a great playmaker, absolutely hates to lose and plays with that hateable crybaby edge to his game. Matthews is a relatively poor facilitator even though he has the ability to make great passing plays and has low emotional energy and will be outcompeted every time it matters.

In terms of point production Draisaitl is on another level compared to Matthews and gap only widens year to year. Draisaitl stinks defensively. Matthews is a lot better on average.

Draisaitl is also a big game player. Matthews is opposite and shrinks in “big moments” even though we’re only talking about the first and second rounds.

Draisaitl’s game is also deceptively simple. Likes going north south and Matthews game can be “cute” made worse when he’s in his dynamic duo game with Marner.

Overall I think Matthews has a lot more ability than Draisaitl but Drai gets more out of his skillset consistently.

That is an interesting discussion.
-Draisaitl is a bit faster of a skater. Matthews has more size (doesn't hit much but uses it to position himself better). Matthews has a slightly harder/heavier shot but Draisaitl is just as accurate, if not more so. Draisaitl has very good hands (handling the puck in tight spots) but Matthews are better/elite.

In terms of pure talent, I'm not sure If I can pick one over the other. Draisaitl's speed and SLIGHTLY better accuracy, vs Matthews hands and size that help him get those prime shots by himself.

 

[IronHookem]

The only thing that matters is playoffs. This is his year to prove he can lead the boys to something better than round 2.

Nobody should care how many goals he scores this season.

We'll see if 13.25 is worth it.

Getting really tired of this argument, we have been so spoiled in terms of regular season success that people seem to take it for granted regardless of how we perform.

Lets pretend that it doesn't matter how many goals Matthews and the rest of the core scores in the regular season and that they've all just regressed to netting 20-25 each. How many of those games do you think we win when they take up almost 50% of the cap? Do you think it will be enough to make the playoffs considering how our bottom 6 is looking so far?

It is more important to perform in the playoffs, but you also got to reach the playoffs somehow...

 

[hurdemz]

Getting really tired of this argument, we have been so spoiled in terms of regular season success that people seem to take it for granted regardless of how we perform.

Lets pretend that it doesn't matter how many goals Matthews and the rest of the core scores in the regular season and that they've all just regressed to netting 20-25 each. How many of those games do you think we win when they make up almost 50% of the cap? Do you think it will be enough to make the playoffs considering how our bottom 6 is looking so far?

It is more important to perform in the playoffs, but you also got to reach the playoffs somehow...

I'm simply implying that playoff success is what matters. Of course i know that they still have to make it.

I couldnt care less if matthews finally breaks 70 goals, or whatever.

 

[Stephen]

That is an interesting discussion.
-Draisaitl is a bit faster of a skater. Matthews has more size (doesn't hit much but uses it to position himself better). Matthews has a slightly harder/heavier shot but Draisaitl is just as accurate, if not more so. Draisaitl has very good hands (handling the puck in tight spots) but Matthews are better/elite.

In terms of pure talent, I'm not sure If I can pick one over the other. Draisaitl's speed and SLIGHTLY better accuracy, vs Matthews hands and size that help him get those prime shots by himself.

I think Draisaitl trucks better in straight lines which gives him better momentum to drive into traffic. He gets into his crouch, elbows out and drives.

Matthews will take his sweet time threading open ice and can over dangle even though he’s built to do the Sundin thing, drop the shoulder, pop out the hip.

Always thought that Matthews next level would be to get meaner and simpler like Drai but I don’t know if he’s wired that way.

 

[Stephen]

I'm simply implying that playoff success is what matters. Of course i know that they still have to make it.

I couldnt care less if matthews finally breaks 70 goals, or whatever.

It’s always presented as a false dichotomy that we have to choose between big star studded production and playoff success. Those things aren’t really a pick one. Our stars need to be a lot better.

 

[Menzinger]

That’s a defeatist mentality. Why wouldn’t we want the best or close to the best when we pay him the most money? From where I stand it looks like catching up to the likes of Mackinnon and Draisaitl are about as remote as winning the actual Stanley Cup at this rate. Be better. AM34 wanted the most in negotiations. Why shouldn’t fans want the best out of him?

Yep. He asked for the moeny he wanted the C and was given both..

He's now expected to deliver. I consider Matthews essentially the only irreplaceable part of the roster but that doesn't mean he shouldn't have to deal with criticism when he doesn't deliver in his part of the deal

 

[BraveCanadian]

Also, using Matthews on the point PP1 unit is one of the dumbest things I’ve seen in a while. The guy has his preferred scoring mark and it’s not from the point. He doesn’t clap it from distance and isn’t the greatest facilitator so you’re taking away the sniper and you’re shoehorning him into a different role.

I don’t like any of our forwards on the point.

Marner is the only one who is good there, but he still shouldn’t be because it makes him even more unlikely to shoot which is one of his biggest problems.

When defenders can cheat on Domi / Marner / Rielly etc and know that 99.9% of the time they will not shoot it really limits them offensively save on the PP. Same with Matthews shooting 99.9% of the time. Mix it up!

 

[Stephen]

I don’t like any of our forwards on the point.

Marner is the only one who is good there, but he still shouldn’t be because it makes him even more unlikely to shoot which is one of his biggest problems.

When defenders can cheat on Domi / Marner / Rielly etc and know that 99.9% of the time they will not shoot it really limits them offensively save on the PP. Same with Matthews shooting 99.9% of the time. Mix it up!

The Leafs are such dopes when they think they need to be deceptive on the PP. For example everyone knows exactly what Ovi or Stamkos would try to do on the Washington and Tampa PP’s but they still went ahead and executed, same set plays, same one time plays for over a decade. It doesn’t come down to tricking the opposition to be successful on special teams, you just need to be crisp and execute whatever it is you want to do. The whole organization just over thinks everything.

 

[Antropovsky]

Berube called out Matthews major malfunctions pretty directly, talking about soft plays, screens, blown coverage on the 1st and 2nd goals and the lack of battling on the 3rd. Awful performance from the captain.

The TSN broadcast, said goal 1 was on Marner. Marner goes too low and gives the easy shot to Broberg. Why did Marner go so low? BTW look at the effort by Tanev. Amazing.



Edit looks like goal 1 was on Marner, goal 2 and 3 was Matthews and goal 5 was Nylander.

 

[Nineteen67]

The TSN broadcast, said goal 1 was on Marner. Marner goes too low and gives the easy shot to Broberg. Why did Marner go so low? BTW look at the effort by Tanev. Amazing.

The TSN panel showed Marner wasn’t in the right position to defend the shot, but the bigger issue is the lack of foot speed on the Leafs. The quicker players created an opening and generated a scoring chance.
I don’t know how they can overcome that to be competitive.

 

[57 Years No Cup]

Haven’t seen one of these around and boy do we have a lot to discuss

Captain has been awful, border line unwatchable. Fraud defensively and disappeared offensively

5 in 7 and counting.

13.25m for that

The Muskoka 3 are in full revolt against their new coach because he's making them actually play playoff type hockey.

Trade the malcontent known as MM. Now. Might wake Matthews up.

 

[thewave]

The TSN panel showed Marner wasn’t in the right position to defend the shot, but the bigger issue is the lack of foot speed on the Leafs. The quicker players created an opening and generated a scoring chance.
I don’t know how they can overcome that to be competitive.

Use money down the line to get quicker players.

 

[Antropovsky]

The TSN panel showed Marner wasn’t in the right position to defend the shot, but the bigger issue is the lack of foot speed on the Leafs. The quicker players created an opening and generated a scoring chance.
I don’t know how they can overcome that to be competitive.

On all 4 goals, the Leafs "core" made pretty dumb errors and cost the team. The rest of the team did their jobs. The leafs outshot the Blues 42-26.

It really is the same issue as we have in the playoffs. The Leafs core, some way more than others, simply lack the mental toughness to play a safe, disciplined game when it matters and make critical errors.