Player Discussion Auston Matthews (Captain Edition)
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The Shadow
Registered User
- Feb 9, 2013
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You said he sucks defensively and I provided numbers that go against your argument
Sure, he had a good season, his first good one defensively as far as I know.
I will go with the large sample size of his playoff career and him putting up monster points but also getting scored on a ton.
Bad xGA numbers too every year besides this one (small sample size).
It has always been da case that players get paid for regular season points .. most guys have da extra speed/grit gear in playoffs and truly want a Cup .. there are a few which can't ramp it up and we have a couple .. da best players to sign are guys who don't care about regular season hockey and can amp up in playoffs .. those types are always better value for money contracts given current NHL CAP system to create mediocrity .. but i agree with your premise .. i don't think a Cup is likely with Matty and Mitch making this coin
It is just not Matty .. never has been .. he flat out does not have da extra gear .. same as Mitch .. what you see in regular season is flat out their best .. and it has been that way since they were 6 years old
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DarkKnight
Professional Amateur
- Jan 17, 2017
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I have no problem with his effort, he’s been really good tactically. Just need a little more moxy finishing and drive to the net.
Realistically you need a mixture of both but if you look around the league most teams top paid players lead them in the playoffs. The Leafs have had those players in the past too. Salming, Sittler, McDonald, Clark, Gilmour … The difference for me is those players could excel in any style of play. Wide open or tight checking, physical series. It didn’t matter. The difference is Matthews and Marner can disappear when the games get more physical and the opposition know it. That’s what happened against the Habs in ‘21. They were quoted as saying when Muzzin went down in that series, they knew they could come back to win it. The difference now is the Leafs have enough players who will initiate and stand up for each other. Still can’t stand Matthews try to smile his way out of a scrum but that’s who he is.
I feel like the lack of goal production is starting to get Matthews. He’s had some poor puck luck this season but the attempts were still there. I noticed a few instances in this series where he passed the puck rather than going for a shot when he debatably should have. The guy has one of the more dangerous shots in the league but he doesn’t seem to realize it anymore. It hasn’t been a big factor this series so I’ll reserve judgement for now but I hope he figures it out soon.
That said his defensive play is getting better. If this is his Yzerman transformation year I’d almost be ok with it anyway. Some forget that prior to evolving his game into becoming a two way center, Steve was also a premiere offensive center. This could be the case for Matthew’s.
That said his defensive play is getting better. If this is his Yzerman transformation year I’d almost be ok with it anyway. Some forget that prior to evolving his game into becoming a two way center, Steve was also a premiere offensive center. This could be the case for Matthew’s.
Tak7
Registered User
His shot, and his skating, doesn't carry the same pop currently - feels like he's deferring on shots less because of confidence, and more because he's not healthy enough to rip one past the tendy the way we've grown accustomed to.
I know we would all love to see him deliver a statement game and really stamp his authority on the series, but the more I watch him during this series, the more it feels like that's just simply unfair expectations on him right now given where his body seems to be at.
seventieslord
Student Of The Game
Driasaitl is nowhere remotely close to as good defensively as either Matthews or Marner.
Since the team refuses to disclose whether it's the back or the wrist that's bothering him (or both, or a comedy third option) we can only speculate until he finally goes and gets surgery in the offseason instead of trying to play through it every year.
Knowing the Leafs, they might just end up calling it "upper body surgery".
It's more on the Oilers for not getting proper D corps.
When you have guys who have the 2nd and 5th best playoff PPG of all time you work around it.
It's not like Drai or Mcdavid were crippling the cap or something. Dudes were underpaid.
1specter
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- Sep 27, 2016
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Incompetent ass management. These are the guys that couldn't make room / money for McLeod, Holloway, Broberg and Foegele because they decided to piss away their money on useless chodes like Skinner, Arvidsson, Brown, Henrique, Janmark etc.
ToneDog
56 years and counting. #FireTheShanaClan!
Whining about a guy who puts up 50+goal/100+points/year and is a playoff beast. We should be so lucky to have such a player. Yet some of the same guys who criticize Draisaitl worship Marner because he is elite defensively yet has never won a Selke or scored more than 35 goals in a season, and never will and disappears in big games.
TMLBlueandWhite
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- Feb 2, 2023
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Seems like the new norm for Matthews every time his game is sliding is to say he's hurt..
Wrist, shoulders, back, ego. It doesn't take much for Captain Band-Aid to go down. He missed games in the playoffs last year too.
The team's $13M Captain is completely useless if he's not playing.
Not that he's all that awesome in the playoffs anyway. He's still better than completely useless though. Even if it is only by the smallest increment.
I think it's safe to say the team didn't get what they paid for this first year of Matthews bank busting mega-million dollar deal.
The only one who could possibly be happy with his contract so far is Matthews himself. He got what he wanted... all his dreams came true. It'd be nice if someone took the fans dreams into considerstion for once though.
We're the ones paying for it all.
Wrist, shoulders, back, ego. It doesn't take much for Captain Band-Aid to go down. He missed games in the playoffs last year too.
The team's $13M Captain is completely useless if he's not playing.
Not that he's all that awesome in the playoffs anyway. He's still better than completely useless though. Even if it is only by the smallest increment.
I think it's safe to say the team didn't get what they paid for this first year of Matthews bank busting mega-million dollar deal.
The only one who could possibly be happy with his contract so far is Matthews himself. He got what he wanted... all his dreams came true. It'd be nice if someone took the fans dreams into considerstion for once though.
We're the ones paying for it all.
ToneDog
56 years and counting. #FireTheShanaClan!
They should shop him while his value is still high and he has term left. If this is the new norm, his value will drop and they won't be resigning him when his contract runs out.
Trade Matthews for the right package, dump Rielly and then sign Marner and we might be able to keep the window open longer. Marner does not walk for nothing and you do not run them back.
Too bold a move for this franchise, unfortunately.
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The funny thing is his lack of shot has allowed them to actually fix the PP. And he's been forced to give a more consistent effort rather than coasting and floating trying to score.
fahad203
Registered User
- Oct 3, 2009
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I didn't say you did, but there's a general understanding it seems that Auston turned out the way he did because of Marleau and Joe Thornton
Those two have nothing to do with his lack of success. That's where I was going with it
Perhaps it came out the wrong way
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