Player Discussion Auston Matthews (Captain Edition)

[ULF_55]

Re: Title.

Still waiting.

 

[Stephen]

Can’t play a physical brand of hockey. I’ve said it before, he is the softest among the elite centers who has to be protected by smaller teammates. Sorry but you can’t count on him to be a leader when winning matters the most.

I always thought he needed to be a lot pricklier to play against and use his power more to create more space and respect out there. Needed to go to the consistent scoring locations the way Leon Draisaitl hits his mark rain or shine, the way Nathan Mackinnon gets there in a hurry with an attitude. Just have an attitude like you're the biggest guy in the fray and you're going to do whatever you want with your elbows up and out and your stick ready to clear the tracks. If he integrated those aspects to his game on a consistent basis he would be at a different level.

But with the mystery injury thing being what it is you don't know if he's a Christmas break away from being healthy again or if we've entered the Wendel years.

 

[Tie Domi Esquire]

I am so happy he only signed for 4 yrs.
His body is breaking down.

Don't worry he'll be healthy and dominate in his contract year.

 

[hockeywiz542]

Insider Reveals Power Struggle Between Auston Matthews and the Maple Leafs

Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman revealed on Monday that the Leafs and Auston Matthews are attempting to find middle ground on how to handle his nagging injury.

www.mapleleafsdaily.com

Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman revealed on Monday that the Leafs and Auston Matthews are attempting to find middle ground on how to handle his nagging injury.

Auston Matthews was scratched for a second straight game on Monday as he continues to deal with his season-long nagging injury.

According to head coach Craig Berube, Matthews re-aggravated the injury in Friday's win over the Buffalo Sabres after taking a cross-check to the back.

On Monday's edition of 'The Hockey Show', Elliotte Friedman was asked if the Leafs will attempt to manage the Arizona native's injury by resting him on back-to-backs or at various times throughout the season.

Friedman's response raised some eyebrows as he noted that while the Leafs may not want him to play, Matthews might be the one forcing their hand for a couple of reasons.

"I think that there's a couple of things here. Number one, it is very clear that Matthews wants to play through it. He wants to keep playing. I think a) because players want to play, and b) as the captain, he feels he needs to set an example and to me, it's clear he wants to play. I think then it becomes a question of if a player thinks he's healthy enough to play, can the organization force somebody not to play if they are really concerned about it. I'm sure the Four Nations is apart of this. I'm sure he wants to play in that and I'm sure everybody putting on that tournament would like to see him play in that. I think there is probably a little push and pull there... I think we'll see this develop on a game in, game out basis as the season continues. He's going to have a few days off now... I think the one thing that is obvious here is that everybody in the league saw that highlight where Gilbert cross-checked him and as the games get more meaningful we all know that is going to happen a lot more often."

 

[robertmac43]

What % of Matthews do we think we are getting right now? 65%, 755, 90%. etc.

At what point do you just pull him

 

[ULF_55]

I always thought he needed to be a lot pricklier to play against and use his power more to create more space and respect out there. Needed to go to the consistent scoring locations the way Leon Draisaitl hits his mark rain or shine, the way Nathan Mackinnon gets there in a hurry with an attitude. Just have an attitude like you're the biggest guy in the fray and you're going to do whatever you want with your elbows up and out and your stick ready to clear the tracks. If he integrated those aspects to his game on a consistent basis he would be at a different level.

But with the mystery injury thing being what it is you don't know if he's a Christmas break away from being healthy again or if we've entered the Wendel years.

Without ever playing a Wendel style.
Kind of seems like a roundball player attitude.

 

[BraveCanadian]

If it is something that will get better with rest or physio or whatever then shut him down and get it done.

Playing him at 80% or whatever is not worth it. Get better and come back at 100%.

Now if it is something that will be chronic then oof.. that $13 million extension is bad.

 

[Racer88]

What % of Matthews do we think we are getting right now? 65%, 755, 90%. etc.

At what point do you just pull him

50%
I say put him on LTIR until after the season. We can them go spend his 13.4 million on some upgrades and activate him when the cap doesn’t count

 

[Canadian Finn]

compared to Clark?

I wish.

 

[Tie Domi Esquire]

Insider Reveals Power Struggle Between Auston Matthews and the Maple Leafs

Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman revealed on Monday that the Leafs and Auston Matthews are attempting to find middle ground on how to handle his nagging injury.

www.mapleleafsdaily.com

Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman revealed on Monday that the Leafs and Auston Matthews are attempting to find middle ground on how to handle his nagging injury.

Auston Matthews was scratched for a second straight game on Monday as he continues to deal with his season-long nagging injury.

According to head coach Craig Berube, Matthews re-aggravated the injury in Friday's win over the Buffalo Sabres after taking a cross-check to the back.

On Monday's edition of 'The Hockey Show', Elliotte Friedman was asked if the Leafs will attempt to manage the Arizona native's injury by resting him on back-to-backs or at various times throughout the season.

Friedman's response raised some eyebrows as he noted that while the Leafs may not want him to play, Matthews might be the one forcing their hand for a couple of reasons.

"I think that there's a couple of things here. Number one, it is very clear that Matthews wants to play through it. He wants to keep playing. I think a) because players want to play, and b) as the captain, he feels he needs to set an example and to me, it's clear he wants to play. I think then it becomes a question of if a player thinks he's healthy enough to play, can the organization force somebody not to play if they are really concerned about it. I'm sure the Four Nations is apart of this. I'm sure he wants to play in that and I'm sure everybody putting on that tournament would like to see him play in that. I think there is probably a little push and pull there... I think we'll see this develop on a game in, game out basis as the season continues. He's going to have a few days off now... I think the one thing that is obvious here is that everybody in the league saw that highlight where Gilbert cross-checked him and as the games get more meaningful we all know that is going to happen a lot more often."

Set an example for the team? Is he (Friedman) serious about this? He wants to play to rise up the goal scoring list and to play for the US in the closest thing we've had in a best-on-best tournament since 2016.

 

[Stephen]

Not loving the reports out there about this “power struggle” between player and team. It does sound like Matthews wants to be ready and healthy for the four nations faceoff showcase while the Leafs want a shut down if Friedman is on the mark. I don’t see how the way he was playing was a benefit to the Leafs or showed that much in the leading by example department. He also didn’t hesitate to sit out during the playoffs when we again didn’t know what was wrong with him.

You also have to look back and see if any Matthews injury has ever gotten better with rest and relaxation or if every time there was something it always ended up with surgery, albeit after a lot of time wasted.

 

[Stephen]

compared to Clark?

I wish.

Just the injury hobbled part.

 

[Racer88]

Not loving the reports out there about this “power struggle” between player and team. It does sound like Matthews wants to be ready and healthy for the four nations faceoff showcase while the Leafs want a shut down if Friedman is on the mark. I don’t see how the way he was playing was a benefit to the Leafs or showed that much in the leading by example department. He also didn’t hesitate to sit out during the playoffs when we again didn’t know what was wrong with him.

You also have to look back and see if any Matthews injury has ever gotten better with rest and relaxation or if every time there was something it always ended up with surgery, albeit after a lot of time wasted.

I have maintained that the core 4 have been running the show and look at that. Evidence is starting to surface to support that

 

[Stephen]

I have maintained that the core 4 have been running the show and look at that. Evidence is starting to surface to support that

The way this is probably going to go is Matthews will miss regular season time and participate in the four nations faceoff - an all-star game. If there’s any lasting health and performance impact to this decision and it hurts the Leafs there will be a lot of blow back.

 

[Jojalu]

Not loving the reports out there about this “power struggle” between player and team. It does sound like Matthews wants to be ready and healthy for the four nations faceoff showcase while the Leafs want a shut down if Friedman is on the mark. I don’t see how the way he was playing was a benefit to the Leafs or showed that much in the leading by example department. He also didn’t hesitate to sit out during the playoffs when we again didn’t know what was wrong with him.

You also have to look back and see if any Matthews injury has ever gotten better with rest and relaxation or if every time there was something it always ended up with surgery, albeit after a lot of time wasted.

If this is true it is very disappointing.

If Matthews wasn't injured I could care less if he played in the 4 Nations, Olympics, World's.

The team is paying him a small fortune. It has to come first.

 

[Apex Predator]

Insider Reveals Power Struggle Between Auston Matthews and the Maple Leafs

Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman revealed on Monday that the Leafs and Auston Matthews are attempting to find middle ground on how to handle his nagging injury.

www.mapleleafsdaily.com

Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman revealed on Monday that the Leafs and Auston Matthews are attempting to find middle ground on how to handle his nagging injury.

Auston Matthews was scratched for a second straight game on Monday as he continues to deal with his season-long nagging injury.

According to head coach Craig Berube, Matthews re-aggravated the injury in Friday's win over the Buffalo Sabres after taking a cross-check to the back.

On Monday's edition of 'The Hockey Show', Elliotte Friedman was asked if the Leafs will attempt to manage the Arizona native's injury by resting him on back-to-backs or at various times throughout the season.

Friedman's response raised some eyebrows as he noted that while the Leafs may not want him to play, Matthews might be the one forcing their hand for a couple of reasons.

"I think that there's a couple of things here. Number one, it is very clear that Matthews wants to play through it. He wants to keep playing. I think a) because players want to play, and b) as the captain, he feels he needs to set an example and to me, it's clear he wants to play. I think then it becomes a question of if a player thinks he's healthy enough to play, can the organization force somebody not to play if they are really concerned about it. I'm sure the Four Nations is apart of this. I'm sure he wants to play in that and I'm sure everybody putting on that tournament would like to see him play in that. I think there is probably a little push and pull there... I think we'll see this develop on a game in, game out basis as the season continues. He's going to have a few days off now... I think the one thing that is obvious here is that everybody in the league saw that highlight where Gilbert cross-checked him and as the games get more meaningful we all know that is going to happen a lot more often."

So rest up so he’s good enough to play in 4 Nations and then after that the maple leafs get whatever version of Matthews is left. If he wants to set an example rest and don’t participate in 4 nations.

 

[horner]

#regularseason #sh*tteams

Not to mention Keefe never demanded his top guys to be physical actually the opposite, the one year where a new coach demands physicality he can’t seem to handle it

He qas hurt un the playoffs last year.

 

[Stephen]

If this is true it is very disappointing.

If Matthews wasn't injured I could care less if he played in the 4 Nations, Olympics, World's.

The team is paying him a small fortune. It has to come first.

I think it all comes down to it being a problem of secrecy. If the nature of the injury was well understood, well communicated with different timetables associated with rehab and surgery everyone would be able to balance why decisions are made the way they are. Such as, they are putting off surgery because of Four Narions. Such as, it’s not an injury requiring surgery. Such as, maybe he will play Four Nations, maybe assess surgery but will be back in time for Game One of the playoffs. With all the secrecy, you just have no idea of knowing what the true motivations and priorities are.

End of the day, it hurts the team. Hurts the player. Hurts the connection between the fanbase and both. You act like there’s a state secret over an injury that probably isn’t a state secret, it starts to take on a life of its own.

 

[Stephen]

He qas hurt un the playoffs last year.

I think original problem here is they never took the opportunity to explain what his playoff injury actually was. Because you hear gruesome injury reveals after every playoffs and you gain an appreciation for what guys played through, have an idea of what kind of rehab they need in the offseason.

If you’re hurt in May and are feeling injury issues during the first scrimmage of training camp in late September, all that tells people is you might be dealing with something serious. Or the summer was not utilized to get right for camp. That’s almost 5 months of rest, relaxation and or surgery and rehab time.

The whole thing is a mess.

 

[BrannigansLaw]

If it is something that will get better with rest or physio or whatever then shut him down and get it done.

Playing him at 80% or whatever is not worth it. Get better and come back at 100%.

Now if it is something that will be chronic then oof.. that $13 million extension is bad.

When is he ever 100 percent? Thats a unicorn scenario with this guy

 

[capfit9]

He qas hurt un the playoffs last year.

So physicality brings the best out of him. Is that the argument here ?

 

[Stephen]

So physicality brings the best out of him. Is that the argument here ?

From what we've seen it's clear that a more direct attack style, more speed and physical play elevates his game. But whether he's willing or comfortable playing that way is another question.

 

[Leafs98]

Insider Reveals Power Struggle Between Auston Matthews and the Maple Leafs

Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman revealed on Monday that the Leafs and Auston Matthews are attempting to find middle ground on how to handle his nagging injury.

www.mapleleafsdaily.com

Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman revealed on Monday that the Leafs and Auston Matthews are attempting to find middle ground on how to handle his nagging injury.

Auston Matthews was scratched for a second straight game on Monday as he continues to deal with his season-long nagging injury.

According to head coach Craig Berube, Matthews re-aggravated the injury in Friday's win over the Buffalo Sabres after taking a cross-check to the back.

On Monday's edition of 'The Hockey Show', Elliotte Friedman was asked if the Leafs will attempt to manage the Arizona native's injury by resting him on back-to-backs or at various times throughout the season.

Friedman's response raised some eyebrows as he noted that while the Leafs may not want him to play, Matthews might be the one forcing their hand for a couple of reasons.

"I think that there's a couple of things here. Number one, it is very clear that Matthews wants to play through it. He wants to keep playing. I think a) because players want to play, and b) as the captain, he feels he needs to set an example and to me, it's clear he wants to play. I think then it becomes a question of if a player thinks he's healthy enough to play, can the organization force somebody not to play if they are really concerned about it. I'm sure the Four Nations is apart of this. I'm sure he wants to play in that and I'm sure everybody putting on that tournament would like to see him play in that. I think there is probably a little push and pull there... I think we'll see this develop on a game in, game out basis as the season continues. He's going to have a few days off now... I think the one thing that is obvious here is that everybody in the league saw that highlight where Gilbert cross-checked him and as the games get more meaningful we all know that is going to happen a lot more often."

Seems like a bunch of made up ideas. All logical and thoughts that may have crossed the minds of the involved but seems like the author is talking out of his ass. But i dont follow the local media there much so not sure about him.

 

[Apex Predator]

Seems like a bunch of made up ideas. All logical and thoughts that may have crossed the minds of the involved but seems like the author is talking out of his ass. But i dont follow the local media there much so not sure about him.

Friedman is well connected around the league. He chooses his words carefully and if he is saying this then I take it as the truth.

 

[Evilhomer]

I think it all comes down to it being a problem of secrecy. If the nature of the injury was well understood, well communicated with different timetables associated with rehab and surgery everyone would be able to balance why decisions are made the way they are. Such as, they are putting off surgery because of Four Narions. Such as, it’s not an injury requiring surgery. Such as, maybe he will play Four Nations, maybe assess surgery but will be back in time for Game One of the playoffs. With all the secrecy, you just have no idea of knowing what the true motivations and priorities are.

End of the day, it hurts the team. Hurts the player. Hurts the connection between the fanbase and both. You act like there’s a state secret over an injury that probably isn’t a state secret, it starts to take on a life of its own.

The part that grinds me more about this is that there is no question that the media in this city know exactly what the injury is. All of the players on the team know. Everyone on the coaching staff knows. Everyone on the physio/medical side of the team knows. There is no way that at least one person in that very large group of people hasn't gone off the record and told someone in the media what is happening. But the media in this city is so soft that they are keeping it under wraps to not get on the team's bad side.