Player Discussion Auston Matthews (Captain Edition)

[Niagara Bill]

This is à little political, but when trump pushes his tariffs and likely more, will the fans turn against American players like AM. Does he lose the benefit of doubt when he struggles?
If he plays for US in the tourney coming up, does that hurt his popularity if America beats Canada does that hurt.
Shortly nationalism is going to rise...just a thought.about how that effects his contract here.

 

[Dekes For Days]

He asked and received more money than McDavid for this.

Matthews got less on his UFA contract through his most expensive years than McDavid got on even his after discount post-ELC contract that was signed before he did any of that stuff. Contracts rise with the cap.

 

[Tie Domi Esquire]

This is à little political, but when trump pushes his tariffs and likely more, will the fans turn against American players like AM. Does he lose the benefit of doubt when he struggles?
If he plays for US in the tourney coming up, does that hurt his popularity if America beats Canada does that hurt.
Shortly nationalism is going to rise...just a thought.about how that effects his contract here.

Not a chance. The fanboyism for celebrities that don't care you exist is stronger than nationalism these days. Matthews will likely be smart enough to keep his Trump support under wraps so even the people that pretend to care about this stuff won't make a fuss.

 

[Racer88]

He doesn’t stay dialed in long enough. He was flying around for a few shifts going for 70 and we’ve seen spurts in few games in the playoffs over the years, but for a large portions ( playoffs) he’s just there.

I hope he gets a second or third place ribbon in the 4Nations.

Or 4th

 

[Nineteen67]

Or 4th

Nooooooo. Always want sweda finishing last.

 

[Racer88]

Nooooooo. Always want sweda finishing last.

Ok. Either scenario works, but right now I want everything American to fail miserably

 

[therealkoho]

This is the real information I come to this place for. This some solid real kyper, rings true. We need to get someone on the inside to sneak one into his locker. Get that man an Amulet!

Obviously you're an Overdrive guy

 

[therealkoho]

Had it been confirmed what the injury is? Back issues? hip pointer?
oblique injury?

Apparently, yes!

 

[therealkoho]

If you’re talking about Matthews, the nightmare scenario is he would be playing through a serious injury to play in an all-star level tournament and risk further injury that impacts the Maple Leaf season down the road…

...if he was still hobbling now and playing through pain at a low level just to get to that tournament that would be a concern.

If he’s playing well for the Leafs and looking healthy he can go to those games with no issue.

Not to worried about it really, don't the Leafs have a better record when he's out

 

[mclaren55]

Wow, that’s a great way of growing the game!….

It’s like this “Summit series” you guys had vs the Soviets back in the day - nobody cared about it except Canadians

I can assure you, no one cares about this either.

 

[Tie Domi Esquire]

This is à little political, but when trump pushes his tariffs and likely more, will the fans turn against American players like AM. Does he lose the benefit of doubt when he struggles?
If he plays for US in the tourney coming up, does that hurt his popularity if America beats Canada does that hurt.
Shortly nationalism is going to rise...just a thought.about how that effects his contract here.

Not a chance. The fanboyism for celebrities that don't care you exist is stronger than nationalism these days. Matthews will likely be smart enough to keep his Trump support under wraps so even the people that pretend to care about this stuff won't make a fuss.

 

[Jojalu]

What should he say?

 

[Leafsfan74]

This is à little political, but when trump pushes his tariffs and likely more, will the fans turn against American players like AM. Does he lose the benefit of doubt when he struggles?
If he plays for US in the tourney coming up, does that hurt his popularity if America beats Canada does that hurt.
Shortly nationalism is going to rise...just a thought.about how that effects his contract here.

No.

He shut that question down from a reporter today after calmly letting him finish. These guys play hockey getting involved in politics is a no-win situation 99% of the time so he is right to just stick with it. He is the first American captain of the Leafs and the fans love him and he wants to win. A 69 goal scorer who will one day have the goal scoring record for Toronto that could last a century.

Besides, these players are multi-millionaires. They aren't impacted by tariffs or other such issues. As I always say when people claim a player doesn't want to play in a certain city because "it's too expensive" etc. When you are making the kind of money they are, you are going to enjoy life in ANY city.

 

[mapleleaf979]

Matthews disappeared last year in the playoffs for 2 games wouldnt say why @ 13 million. He went on the injury list 2 times this year....I thought he was done for year type of thing. 4 nations is 6 weeks away, seems to made a quick recovery. His situation is shady, he is shady. Id be cool with an undersized guy like Konecny or someone like that, knocking him out, exposing him. 34 is a fake.