Player Discussion Auston Matthews (Captain Edition)

[Ports]

Matthews is scared to engage physically. His hits are mostly passive bumps and if he’s challenged he retreats with a smile on his face as if saying “ you’re not worthy enough for me to respond to you”. Every team knows that he can be intimidated and put off his game. Add to that he’s a total choker and a not a leader. Watching that $13M waste of space from the bench in the playoffs would only demotivate a team. He’s the single biggest disappointment and reason that this team falls apart in the playoffs.

 

[Ports]

On the first shift of this game, Matthews had a guy on the wall at center ice with the puck. He skated down hard towards him and instead of just finishing the hit, he tried to fish, poke check from the attack side, which gave the other guy an exit up towards the Leads end.

I knew his night was not going to go well from that moment onwards. He didn’t commit to closing the body. Didn’t pay the price to initiate an honest puck battle. Went for the lazy stick play and put himself in a weak defensive position.

When he plays a dishonest game, you can see it will not lead to success.

That was a benchable offense. Especially for the captain and supposed leader of the team .

 

[usernamezrhardtodo]

I'm so terribly disappointed in Auston, wow man. Since the first chance he got, he's milked this team for every penny, never signing long term in order to get back to the table as soon as possible. Every other star in the league signed for the max 8 year extension. We've conceded to his every whim, even gave him the C when by the eye test he is not a leader.

His performance in the 4 Nations was not a fluke, it's what we see every spring...it's now his legacy. As I've said before, I'll be happy to eat crow when he shows up and delivers a signature, series defining moment. Almost a decade in and he's never delivered. What a letdown.

The last time he played well in a pivotal game was against Washington in game 6 when he played like a lion and roofed that breakaway against Holtby. Something inside of him broke after we lost to boston in the first game 7. He has wilted in big games since.

 

[Stephen]

That was a benchable offense. Especially for the captain and supposed leader of the team .

He has also coughed up that puck to the Tkachuk Stutzle line when he threw a pizza up the middle of the ice from the left goal line to Knies which Stolarz bailed him out on. There’s failing to score and hitting posts and then there’s just inexplicable self sabotage. And that’s our lame captain.

 

[Stephen]

The last time he played well in a pivotal game was against Washington in game 6 when he played like a lion and roofed that breakaway against Holtby. Something inside of him broke after we lost to boston in the first game 7. He has wilted in big games since.

I don’t think his rookie self would be very proud of what he’s turned into here in 2024-25. This is not an injury thing either, so let’s put those excuses to bed.

 

[1specter]

A coward and a loser, disgraceful that he's wearing the C. Say what you will about Tavares, but at least you knew he gave it his all.

 

[Kurtz]

As I've said before, I'll be happy to eat crow when he shows up and delivers a signature, series defining moment. Almost a decade in and he's never delivered. What a letdown.

Game 2 against Boston last year and a couple of times against Tampa he's looked like an MVP, but he's yet to do it for an entire series or even a long stretch of games.

 

[daethfromabove1979]

Matthews is scared to engage physically. His hits are mostly passive bumps and if he’s challenged he retreats with a smile on his face as if saying “ you’re not worthy enough for me to respond to you”. Every team knows that he can be intimidated and put off his game. Add to that he’s a total choker and a not a leader. Watching that $13M waste of space from the bench in the playoffs would only demotivate a team. He’s the single biggest disappointment and reason that this team falls apart in the playoffs.

He's definitely scared, but he also has no idea how to throw a hit. He attempted one early last night and he just bounced off the defenceman and Matthew's own helmet nearly came off and he had to readjust it, I just laughed.

He's just soft, there's no changing that. It's all about the $$$$ for him.

 

[NVious]

I'm so terribly disappointed in Auston, wow man. Since the first chance he got, he's milked this team for every penny, never signing long term in order to get back to the table as soon as possible. Every other star in the league signed for the max 8 year extension. We've conceded to his every whim, even gave him the C when by the eye test he is not a leader.

His performance in the 4 Nations was not a fluke, it's what we see every spring...it's now his legacy. As I've said before, I'll be happy to eat crow when he shows up and delivers a signature, series defining moment. Almost a decade in and he's never delivered. What a letdown.

2 goals in his last 15 playoff games, it's Auver.

 

[Stephen]

This guy is basically our Alexei Yashin.

 

[BraveCanadian]

He really is a playoff loser and I wanted to defend him.

Absolutely useless and he makes the most money in the league this year

He loves his nice clothes, handbags and purses but as a hockey player he is not built for the playoffs.

We were all fooled.

I wasn’t. These guys have huge entitlement issues because of the insanely bad mentors (Marleau and Thornton) brought in by the insanely bad management (Lou, Dumbass, Tre) that handed them the contracts and the keys to the kingdom without first making them earn it.

Now I really believe that they don’t understand just how much they need to step up to actually take wins from the other teams because they are so used to being handed everything. And when they fail they get to go enjoy a life of obscene luxury with their 8 digit contracts.. so it’s all good, right?

 

[MSZ]

This guy is basically our Alexei Yashin.

Very similar playoff numbers, like the Leafs core Yashin played in the 2nd round just once.

 

[1specter]

Matthews is scared to engage physically. His hits are mostly passive bumps and if he’s challenged he retreats with a smile on his face as if saying “ you’re not worthy enough for me to respond to you”. Every team knows that he can be intimidated and put off his game. Add to that he’s a total choker and a not a leader. Watching that $13M waste of space from the bench in the playoffs would only demotivate a team. He’s the single biggest disappointment and reason that this team falls apart in the playoffs.

The juxtaposition of seeing a kid like Knies bulldoze that clown Pinto with no fear vs our cowardly 'captain' retreating any time someone breathes in his direction is simply painful.

 

[1specter]

This guy is basically our Alexei Yashin.

Jesus, that's a grim but accurate comparison.

 

[Tak7]

A coward and a loser, disgraceful that he's wearing the C. Say what you will about Tavares, but at least you knew he gave it his all.

It's easy to say now, without hindsight, that giving Matthews the C was a mistake.

It was also easy to say, without hindsight, last summer, that giving Matthews the C was a mistake.

 

[Blanka]

I wasn’t. These guys have huge entitlement issues because of the insanely bad mentors (Marleau and Thornton) brought in by the insanely bad management (Lou, Dumbass, Tre) that handed them the keys without first making them earn it.

Now I really believe that they don’t understand just how much they need to step up to actually take wins from the other teams because they are so used to being handed everything. And when they fail they get to go enjoy a life of obscene luxury with their 8 digit contracts.. so it’s all good, right?

That's why I'm fine with them losing this series. I know that, if they do indeed blow it, there's no other recourse other than scorched earth. That means players and personnel will certainly have to go. Shanahan will be the first casualty. At the very least Pelley will strip him of his duties behind closed doors before officially terminating him. He can't afford to have Shanahan chime in on any decisions at this critical juncture.

The players will be next. I would hope they would let Marner go tbh. That cap space is precious and could be well-served to balance out our attack. If they can move Matthews, I'd make that happen too.

I'm sure there are other plays to be made here (outside of the obvious I've just mentioned) but I'm just not qualified to spot them tbh. I'll let the highly paid GM make those calls.

 

[Stephen]

The juxtaposition of seeing a kid like Knies bulldoze that clown Pinto with no fear vs our cowardly 'captain' retreating any time someone breathes in his direction is simply painful.

Matthews is a special kind of coward. Missed every character growth opportunity the past five seasons.

 

[VanW27]

He's basically a glorified version of Kampf now.

He's the very definition of a loser.

In game 7 fans should boo him every time he touches the puck. Fortunately for him he rarely even touches the puck these days.

Such an ugly player in every respect. Heartless. Soulless. A ghoul

With 23 minutes a game, 1st line usage and about 3 minutes of that on the PP - honest question, would David Kampf have outproduced Matthews in clinching games if given Matthews usage?

As much flack as Matthews/Marner get, I still don't think people understand just how bad their production in these games is. It's not just that they give you 3rd line level production, they give you 3rd line production with heavy first line usage.

3rd liners give you borderline 1st line production when their used as 1st liners. If you don't have 1st liners Matt Stajan and Alex Ponikarovsky still give you 60 points in those roles.

 

[Nineteen67]

He and Marner have been given chance after chance and have yet to deliver.
If they come up with a big game in this it’ll be the first time so you can’t take too much from it until it becomes a habit.

 

[Nineteen67]

The juxtaposition of seeing a kid like Knies bulldoze that clown Pinto with no fear vs our cowardly 'captain' retreating any time someone breathes in his direction is simply painful.

Playing college hockey was great for his development. Showcase hockey is great for skills competition but it doesn’t help you develop.

 

[Stephen]

With 23 minutes a game, 1st line usage and about 3 minutes of that on the PP - honest question, would David Kampf have outproduced Matthews in clinching games if given Matthews usage?

As much flack as Matthews/Marner get, I still don't think people understand just how bad their production in these games is. It's not just that they give you 3rd line level production, they give you 3rd line production with heavy first line usage.

3rd liners give you borderline 1st line production when their used as 1st liners. If you don't have 1st liners Matt Stajan and Alex Ponikarovsky still give you 60 points in those roles.

From an eye test POV over a full game, it’s like you get David Kampf level offense out of Matthews with a few eye popping spurts. There’s no urgency to get anywhere, no decisiveness to make plays and his PP work is like a sloppy ice dance when he isn’t actively hurting the team with turnovers. This is after everyone’s been praising him for being a defensive wizard going through some Yzerman butterfly transformation too. This guy is an absolute failure.

 

[Stephen]

He and Marner have been given chance after chance and have yet to deliver.
If they come up with a big game in this it’ll be the first time so you can’t take too much from it until it becomes a habit.

This series meltdown is such a good reminder of why letting Marner walk makes sense.

 

[Larcos_Unal]

This series meltdown is such a good reminder of why letting Marner walk makes sense.

If the goal is to only win regular season games, give Mitch his $14m.
If the goal is to win a cup you take that $14m and you round out your roster.

 

[Stephen]

If the goal is to only win regular season games, give Mitch his $14m.
If the goal is to win a cup you take that $14m and you round out your roster.

The deal with the devil is Marner gets you to this point but no further. But getting to the playoffs in a 32 team league isn’t that easy.

 

[Tak7]

This series meltdown is such a good reminder of why letting Marner walk makes sense.

As a fanbase, we won't even get the satisfaction of seeing this thing get "blown up" - it just withers to a pitiful end, as high end guys walk for nothing.