Auston Matthews (Captain Edition)
- Thread starter Aashir Mallik
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Actually I think that’s his problem but you’re not allowed to say it here
Matthews is not being held accountable for what he is vs what he demands. He has compete level issues, thats a fact but he wants to be paid a different way. He is the highest paid player this year in the NHL this year. A guy who takes a backseat to alpha dogs in the playoffs...see face wash vs montreal, quitting when things get rough. A passive 6-3 230 player who wont separate man from the puck knowing thats the difference in winning a playoff game. He has 1 first round win in his career, a fluky series win vs Tampa. He appears to have a chronic back issue he will not shoot the puck this year. 23 goals from a 13.25 player. We paid him for those 60 goal years. Is Matthews hungry in the playoffs? Not at all. Do I see a player who hates losing? No. He will want 20 million when his contract up. Is Matthews a top 5 player in the NHL ? No.
Looked pretty good in the playoffs last year but still needs to be better get him away from marner it’s better for both of them
There are some pretty gross inaccuracies in this post, but the overall sentiment that we need a lot more from him is one everyone would agree with.
Baseless and slanderous so you shouldn’t be surprised
It’s not. We’ve had multiple confirmations that he’s playing hurt.
Having been around numerous NHLers it’s much more common than you think. Guys that are great all of a sudden fall off a cliff in play there are reasons why but the league doesn’t want people to know
For real though? I do not believe this to be the case, especially not for any good reason.
1 GWG all season. That’s sad
For those that missed it. He woke up in the 3rd and looked pretty good. It looked like the Matthews of old. Just a small glimpse to show us what we are missing
His shot from last year and previous seasons is still missing
I remember 2-3 years ago his shot was so deadly it would be in the back of the net from crazy angles or little space to shoot at and the goalie wouldn’t even move. Not sure what happened but it’s nothing like it was. Maybe the best shot ever in the NHL is gone
His shot from last year and previous seasons is still missing
I remember 2-3 years ago his shot was so deadly it would be in the back of the net from crazy angles or little space to shoot at and the goalie wouldn’t even move. Not sure what happened but it’s nothing like it was. Maybe the best shot ever in the NHL is gone
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Well, except for the part of the OT where Marner set him up in the slot TWICE, and both times he decided to pass it back. Why is our best scorer suddenly allergic to shooting unless he has no passing options?
9 goals for the remainder of the season does not feel all that achievable at the moment.
I should clarify. We hope it's an injury that he can recover from, rather than a chronic problem.
Whatever is going on with Matthews has been going on for awhile. So without knowing specifics, we can only speculate, but if there's something physical that's ongoing I would love to know:
1) Why did he play in the 4 Nations?
2) Knowing Matthews isn't 100% and nothing he's done lately suggest that's going to change anytime soon, why go and give up one of our best prospects and 1st rounders at the deadline?
Even with AM at 100% this team is going to face a major test getting out of the first round, never mind the division. It then seems pretty crazy to make any significant moves at the deadline when Treliving can wait until the off-season where he'll have a clearer picture on the the team's needs (Marner staying/going? Tavares? Matthews long-term health, just to name a few).
(I get Carlo & Laughton have term but Treliving could've waited until the summer and saw what was available. Carlo quite possibly would have been, considering he was dealt in the final minutes on TDL anyway.)
The only rationale I can see is that he was getting pressure from the soon-to-be-unemployed Shanahan to make moves and/or Treliving was thinking that he has to do something to help convince Mitch to come back?
1) Why did he play in the 4 Nations?
2) Knowing Matthews isn't 100% and nothing he's done lately suggest that's going to change anytime soon, why go and give up one of our best prospects and 1st rounders at the deadline?
Even with AM at 100% this team is going to face a major test getting out of the first round, never mind the division. It then seems pretty crazy to make any significant moves at the deadline when Treliving can wait until the off-season where he'll have a clearer picture on the the team's needs (Marner staying/going? Tavares? Matthews long-term health, just to name a few).
(I get Carlo & Laughton have term but Treliving could've waited until the summer and saw what was available. Carlo quite possibly would have been, considering he was dealt in the final minutes on TDL anyway.)
The only rationale I can see is that he was getting pressure from the soon-to-be-unemployed Shanahan to make moves and/or Treliving was thinking that he has to do something to help convince Mitch to come back?
First time ever best on best I doubt he was missing it even though he should have
Makes you wonder if making him captain really screwed with his head and he can't take the responsibility when things aren't going well.
He never looked right from the beginning of the season. There was only one stretch of maybe 10 games in January that he looked good.
He never looked right from the beginning of the season. There was only one stretch of maybe 10 games in January that he looked good.
His career is in jeopardy. Surgeries, treatments in Europe, horrendous season, can’t shoot. I honestly think there’s way more that’s going on than people know.
There was absolutely no reason that he shouldn't have been put on LTIR before the deadline. The media keeps pushing the idea that he's going through an injury that wouldn't heal with time off, okay, but he's not getting better playing every day.
I understand the belief that Matthews at 50% is still better than the player that would be replacing him. That's likely true as the player in the lineup that goes in is probably closer to a 4th liner. However, that's not what the comparison should have been. The real question should have been is Matthews in the lineup at 50% more beneficial than the prorated amount of 13.5M of extra cap space going into the playoffs? That answer is likely no.
I'm sure Mark Stone could have played and been better than a 4th liner to finish off the regular season, but 9.5M extra space on the cap was deemed more beneficial knowing you can always get the player back for the playoffs. The Leafs dropped the ball here.
I understand the belief that Matthews at 50% is still better than the player that would be replacing him. That's likely true as the player in the lineup that goes in is probably closer to a 4th liner. However, that's not what the comparison should have been. The real question should have been is Matthews in the lineup at 50% more beneficial than the prorated amount of 13.5M of extra cap space going into the playoffs? That answer is likely no.
I'm sure Mark Stone could have played and been better than a 4th liner to finish off the regular season, but 9.5M extra space on the cap was deemed more beneficial knowing you can always get the player back for the playoffs. The Leafs dropped the ball here.
LTIR for being a p***y?
i guess he's been injured for all 6 game 7's because this is exactly how he's looked every time.
The guy is just a loser, even noted chokers like Thornton make Matthews look like a joke when it comes to playoffs.
Matthews gets judged unfairly because how many first year players make it to the playoffs, let alone going to a Game 7 nearly every year? Let alone a new divisional format where they're in the strongest divisional in the league during that time span.
Matthews get judged harshly because he makes the playoffs every year. Eichel in contrast gets praised for not being good enough to make it to the playoffs and only making it when he's in his prime after joining a team that went to the finals without him.
Did he miss 15 games and go to Germany during the season to see his friends? Clearly he's been injured.
The injury cover only goes so far.
Because he was involved with extra curricular Four Nations activities where he hurt himself in a brand new way, and also if he’s so banged up, why is he playing 20 plus minutes and penalty killing? Leafs are comfortably in a playoff sport and challenging for the division title on paper. He could be on LTIR like Matthew Tkachuk.
Plus Matthews has never stepped up in the playoffs before or taken his team anywhere. So even when 100% healthy he still has a poor reputation in that department.
This is just going to be one of those years where you just have to burn the tape and hopefully onwards and upwards come playoffs. But Leafs management will need to keep an eye on this situation in the future to honestly assess if we can build a winner with Auston Matthews as the centrepiece. The 8 years of track record says maybe not.
Matthews has scored 1 non-empty net goal against a playoff team since January 22nd
That 1 goal was the 5-1 goal in Vegas, a meaningless goal
We're not doing anything when our best player, making the most money in the NHL, does not do the thing he is being paid to do
That 1 goal was the 5-1 goal in Vegas, a meaningless goal
We're not doing anything when our best player, making the most money in the NHL, does not do the thing he is being paid to do
That was my entire point. Did you read my post? I don't understand it either but the media says the team believes it's an injury that won't heal with time off and won't get worse with playing. So effectively this is the version of Matthews we get until he heals and we're not even sure if he'll be 100% at all this season, including in the playoffs.
I disagree with Matthews has never stepped up. He was the best player in the Tampa series that the Leafs won. He was the best player in Boston in Game 2 last year, to the point the opposing coach said he's the best player on the ice. He gets injured in Game 3 and starts missing games - it was unfortunate because last year was the best version of Matthews we've ever seen.
I agree though, even if this current version of Matthews is better than the replacement, why not LTIR him and use 13.5M of cap space? You're making the playoffs anyway. The replacement players may even help you win the division.
Yeah I just don’t really see why he’s playing through injury when the real games are coming up. So he’s either being mismanaged, he’s mismanaging his injuries or he’s not really that injured but a combination of banged up, loss of confidence, frustration, apathy etc.
On the stepping up piece, the fact that you and I both know the exact couple of games where he did something special in the playoffs (just showed up) in an 8 year career is kind of telling.
He’s gotta figure it out and soon. He’s taking some reputational damage.
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