Player Discussion Auston Matthews (Captain Edition)

[keonsbitterness]

I still think we should just have a hockey day parade and a Leafs float with the whole team and the cup with them and do it every year.

I pretend that happens during every Santa Claus Parade. Plus I get to push little kids out of the way

 

[Jojalu]

And you probably won't.

If they get by Florida it's probably not that much of a stretch. But 1 game at a time. Great start

 

[ToneDog]

Already got my spot reserved.

There is virtually no way they win the Cup with Matthews scoring only 3 more goals in the playoffs but I disagree that it would be a dilemma if it happened. It would take some big onions and heart and if they did it, and they would win back the fan base they lost due to their greed and unlikability.

 

[keonsbitterness]

There is virtually no way they win the Cup with Matthews scoring only 3 more goals in the playoffs but I disagree that it would be a dilemma if it happened. It would take some big onions and heart and if they did it, and they would win back the fan base they lost due to their greed and unlikability.

Wouldn't be a dilemma for me. Mess on the other hand......

 

[thewave]

There is virtually no way they win the Cup with Matthews scoring only 3 more goals in the playoffs but I disagree that it would be a dilemma if it happened. It would take some big onions and heart and if they did it, and they would win back the fan base they lost due to their greed and unlikability.

He is playing well. He needs to score. I mean the shot moves not bad but he isn't sinking anything

 

[Jojalu]

There is virtually no way they win the Cup with Matthews scoring only 3 more goals in the playoffs but I disagree that it would be a dilemma if it happened. It would take some big onions and heart and if they did it, and they would win back the fan base they lost due to their greed and unlikability.

It would be considerably more difficult. He has to continue to be PPG, even if he is only picking up primary assists. Especially on the PP. If he can hammer shots that Knies or JT can put a rebound in, or set up Willy it can work.

Eichel only had 6 goals when Vegas won. Mack had 13, but his assists were way down.

5 would be brutal. I think 7-10 in 22-25 games would be enough for the Leafs to win.

Regular season 18 in 25 would be preferred

 

[Willchel Marlynder]

What's the point of all this nitpicking when the team is winning?

If they want to keep winning Mathews need to be at his best.

 

[ACC1224]

If they want to keep winning Mathews need to be at his best.

Yes the best players need to play well.

 

[Jimmy Firecracker]

Yes the best players need to play well.

Hell of a concept.

 

[Leafsfan74]

Nobody can convince me he doesn't have a serious injury to his wrist. Something he can play through but if it doesn't ever get to 100% he will not be that same deadly sniper. 40 Goals a year is still great, especially with his defense and stick work; but I just see a different shot from him.

Last night for instance, the old Matthews scores a minimum of two goals from those looks. I'm not taking anything away from Bob but the Matthews of a year or two ago buries those looks with his deceptive sniper of a shot.

As long as the Leafs win and he is out there competing, so often dominating and winning, he will be the leader this team needs in the crunch. You hear many players talk about how hard he works and he constantly wants to improve. His defense has only improved which allows his line to compete against even the best defensive lineups 5v5.

That said, in his very first game in the NHL, when he did the insane and scored 4 goals, all of them were in close. So, instinctively, he has always used a good stick and scored in tight.

Perhaps last year he went overboard in his pursuit of 70 and injured his wrist or something I don't know.

 

[Mess]

Obviously Matthews injured himself last year and has never recovered.

Then he just has to find ways to help the team win without relying on his shot.

But saying Matthews isn't doing anything is flat out wrong. Fortunately Knies has taken a big step and helps mitigate Matthews inability to shoot.

Matthews can thank his GM Treliving for bringing in Domi GWG in OT, Simon Benoit GWG in OT and Max Patch for scoring late Leafs now playing in the 2nd round.

Its the team that is carrying Matthews ( & Marner) while they continue to struggle despite their lofty salaries.

If the Leafs want to have any hope of winning the Cup then Auston and Mitch better get out of the passenger's seat and behind the wheel and start steering this thing or the end of season autopsy is going to be like all the past and fans asking Where's AM and MM ?

 

[Stephen]

Huge dilemma for you if the Leafs win the Cup but he only scores like five goals.

No issues with that. Only anxiety here is how much farther we can go with Matthews firing on all cylinders vs not.

 

[kevsh]

The one upside of Matthews not scoring is that it forces other players to step up. They know they can't rely on Auston to score one when they need it, so they do it themselves.

And so far they are 5-2 in these playoffs with AM shooting 7.7% (and as Bourne pointed out that doesn't include over a dozen missed nets, the 2nd highest in these playoffs).

Logic would suggest they simply can't keep winning without him scoring but he just had the worst goal-scoring season of his career and they won the division ... So, maybe his inexplicable inability to score at the level we all know he's capable of is part of some mind game/master plan to help the team?

Seriously though, at the very least the team is clearly adapting to the post-Elite Sniper phase of Matthews' career.

 

[leafsfan5]

Imagine how good we would be if Matthews wasn't obviously hurt.....

Drop a ~70 goal AM34 on this team and we're the cup favourites imo

 

[arso40]

Imagine how good we would be if Matthews wasn't obviously hurt.....

Drop a ~70 goal AM34 on this team and we're the cup favourites imo

Yup cause marner would probably be leading the league in points wouldn’t even be close

 

[fbuford]

Great players go through injuries all the time and they still pull through with monster playoff runs.

He's being paid 13.5 Million for a damn reason.

 

[Willchel Marlynder]

Yes the best players need to play well.

Not just well, at their best. I think that's where the nitpicking lies. Thank goodness we beat the 7 seed and are up 1-0 on the defending champs, but we all know how quickly things can change. Every player won't play at their best every game, but personally I think we're going to have to see more out of Matthews if we want to make it to the ultimate goal. Hopefully he elevates his game.

 

[M21]

His miss on the empty net in game 1 begs the question. Choke under pressure or injury. Nobody on this board knows the answer but the last 9 years says choke however watching an elite player over the years says injury. Hopefully it’s not something that affects him the rest of his career.

 

[thewave]

Yup cause marner would probably be leading the league in points wouldn’t even be close

What if its as simple as Matthews can not cope with playing with Marner who plays up high(which annoyed McDavid ). Maybe he is actually fatigued of doing all the heavy lifting. Can you imagine a little wimpy guy sitting there up high while you have work your ass off along the boards, behind the net up the middle all so you can get him the puck for 2seconds of zone time in the hopes he gets the puck back to you to score.

That is the Marner miracle right there. It's a miracle Matthews doesn't demand a new linemate.

He is the fakest elite player I have ever seen. He is going to leave and have a drastic decline.

 

[arso40]

His miss on the empty net in game 1 begs the question. Choke under pressure or injury. Nobody on this board knows the answer but the last 9 years says choke however watching an elite player over the years says injury. Hopefully it’s not something that affects him the rest of his career.

He plays too good to be pressure still strong on his sticc him and holmberg and marner have been our best defensive forwards in that order Hes definitely not scared he’s been intense on the bench too

 

[Stephen]

His miss on the empty net in game 1 begs the question. Choke under pressure or injury. Nobody on this board knows the answer but the last 9 years says choke however watching an elite player over the years says injury. Hopefully it’s not something that affects him the rest of his career.

I think it’s feeling rushed in the moment. Kinda panic blasted that Knies set up earlier in the game too so I would think he wanted to score, felt the urgency and pressure everywhere and just didn’t take a breath or his time. But he’s gotta be better. We need a massive Matthews game to go up 2-0 in the series.

 

[Beaumaris]

The one upside of Matthews not scoring is that it forces other players to step up. They know they can't rely on Auston to score one when they need it, so they do it themselves.

And so far they are 5-2 in these playoffs with AM shooting 7.7% (and as Bourne pointed out that doesn't include over a dozen missed nets, the 2nd highest in these playoffs).

Logic would suggest they simply can't keep winning without him scoring but he just had the worst goal-scoring season of his career and they won the division ... So, maybe his inexplicable inability to score at the level we all know he's capable of is part of some mind game/master plan to help the team?

Seriously though, at the very least the team is clearly adapting to the post-Elite Sniper phase of Matthews' career.

Nonsense.

 

[fbuford]

He plays too good to be pressure still strong on his sticc him and holmberg and marner have been our best defensive forwards in that order Hes definitely not scared he’s been intense on the bench too

He's not being paid 13.5 Million to be intense on the bench.
He's the 2nd highest paid player in the league.

He's supposed to offensively take control of the game like MacKinnon, Rantanen, Kucherov, McDavid, Kaprizov, Draisaitl, etc ....

Defensively play is expected of all centers.

Philip Danault gets paid 5 million a year to be a top 10 defensive center in the league.

This year, Danault has 2 goals and 6 assists for 8 points in 6 games.
He's pacing slightly better than Matthews.

 

[fbuford]

What if its as simple as Matthews can not cope with playing with Marner who plays up high(which annoyed McDavid ). Maybe he is actually fatigued of doing all the heavy lifting. Can you imagine a little wimpy guy sitting there up high while you have work your ass off along the boards, behind the net up the middle all so you can get him the puck for 2seconds of zone time in the hopes he gets the puck back to you to score.

That is the Marner miracle right there. It's a miracle Matthews doesn't demand a new linemate.

He is the fakest elite player I have ever seen. He is going to leave and have a drastic decline.

Yes, I have said that for a long time now.

Marner is a faux defensive/offensive player.
He refuses to go into the dirty areas, you have to battle to get the puck out for him, so he can make a pass to you.

And, when the game gets intense, Marner floats on the outside, he's whole game is dependent on a strong finisher and puck battler like Matthews/Knies.

No wonder McDavid got pissed off at Marner.
He sits there like a princess waiting to be fed with a gold spoon, he doesn't go down low and make plays, just sits up high on his horse.

 

[arso40]

He's not being paid 13.5 Million to be intense on the bench.
He's the 2nd highest paid player in the league.

He's supposed to offensively take control of the game like MacKinnon, Rantanen, Kucherov, McDavid, Kaprizov, Draisaitl, etc ....

Defensively play is expected of all centers.

Philip Danault gets paid 5 million a year to be a top 10 defensive center in the league.

This year, Danault has 2 goals and 6 assists for 8 points in 6 games.
He's pacing slightly better than Matthews.

When a man’s injured like he flew during the season to see a specialist for Christ sake what do you expect if he didn’t play at all it he would be critiqued for not fighting through it now he’s fighting through it’s a critique he isn’t playing good enough in my eyes he’s been great aside from scoring which if it’s his wrist and or bacc that should be understandable no?