Player Discussion Auston Matthews (Captain Edition)

[NVious]

Confidence in Matthews has definitely eroded quite a bit over the past year, and I think his aloof nature has added strain to the connection with the fanbase. His ice cold assassin vibes don’t really translate when he gets his lunch money stolen in big games.

Matthews doesn't even give us the bare minimum anymore, this is what he SHOULD be saying:



But I guess it wouldn't be true and let's be honest, we can't expect him to add anything to his game going forward. He is what he is.

One of the funniest things that could in theory happen though would be if we spend to the cap this summer, next summer McDavid wants to sign, but we can't move much to make that room (Matthews naturally refuses to waive) and finally it hits us...McDavid in, Matthews out. Waived..

 

[Tie Domi Esquire]

Matthews doesn't even give us the bare minimum anymore, this is what he SHOULD be saying:



But I guess it wouldn't be true and let's be honest, we can't expect him to add anything to his game going forward. He is what he is.

One of the funniest things that could in theory happen though would be if we spend to the cap this summer, next summer McDavid wants to sign, but we can't move much to make that room (Matthews naturally refuses to waive) and finally it hits us...McDavid in, Matthews out. Waived..

It takes guts to make statements like that because eventually you have to be accounted for. That's why these little wimps always make mealy mouthed comments and make patronizing comments towards the people (customers and lifeline of the industry) that have the audacity to actually care.

 

[colchar]

One of the funniest things that could in theory happen though would be if we spend to the cap this summer, next summer McDavid wants to sign, but we can't move much to make that room (Matthews naturally refuses to waive) and finally it hits us...McDavid in, Matthews out. Waived..

I guarantee they do not spend to the cap this summer. First, they will want flexibility for possible trades. Second, next year's free agent group is better than this year's even if McDavid resigns with Edmonton. They will want to leave themselves room to sign people next summer.

 

[colchar]

Marner has finished with more points 5 out of the 9 seasons they've been in the nhl.

Marner has more career playoffs points than matthews.

Marner has never had a season as bad as matthews worst. His lows are low.

Matthews is the highest paid player in the nhl on one of the shortest contracts. The guy is literally the opposite of a team player.

Even before the nhl, matthews has never been a big game player. He was also never made captain of any of his junior teams.

The only thing matthews has going for him is that the media constantly goes to bat for him and makes endless excuses which people like you drink up non stop.

Matthews needs to go first.

Matthews has never been the captain of any team he has played on at any age and any level, until the Leafs. The fact that nobody, not one person ever, thought he was leadership material should have told them something.

 

[colchar]

Doug Maclean was on The Fan590 today. He said it perfectly:

"McDavid wants to be on the cover of Stanley Cup Magazine. Matthews wants to be on the cover of GQ".

The rest of the on-air crew broke out in laughter. Because it was totally on point.

There was a time when he was being compared to McDavid but those days are long gone now. They aren't even in the same sentence anymore. One wants to win the cup, the other can't wait for the weekend.

Everyone is on to the Matthews thing. There's no one left who thinks he's going to lead this team anywhere. 9 or 10 years has been far more than enough of a sample size on him. You can't make someone into something they're not. He's just simply not a warrior or a leader of any sort. Can't really blame someone for not being someone they aren't. So it's time for MLSE to see things for what they simply are.


Leafs organization gotta take the plunge and pull off a blockbuster trade here. Do it now while they can get a huge return for him. Don't wait for another Marner 2.0 situation to happen. Otherwise they're just spinning their tires for another 3 or 4 years until his contract is up

Huge return? The rest of the league has figured him out too.

That being said, maybe he'd wave for Vegas which is close to both home and LA. They don't have cap space, but they've been creative before so can do so again.

 

[colchar]

You speak of "rocket winner"!!!! What about the greatest goal scorer of all time in Ovi?

He has the most goals, but I wouldn't call him the best goal scorer of all time. That title goes to Bossy who had a higher goals per game than Ovi, but whose career was cut short due to injury. Ovi has the most goals due to his longevity, but others (including Matthews) scored at a higher rate.

 

[colchar]

Again with the inane takes?

Matthews and Nylander have NMCs. Marner does not.

Yes he does. He said no to a trade at the deadline. Everyone knows this.

 

[notDatsyuk]

Yes he does. He said no to a trade at the deadline. Everyone knows this.

He has less that one month left on the NMC. Everyone knows this.

 

[mikeyz]

Matthews doesn't even give us the bare minimum anymore, this is what he SHOULD be saying:



But I guess it wouldn't be true and let's be honest, we can't expect him to add anything to his game going forward. He is what he is.

One of the funniest things that could in theory happen though would be if we spend to the cap this summer, next summer McDavid wants to sign, but we can't move much to make that room (Matthews naturally refuses to waive) and finally it hits us...McDavid in, Matthews out. Waived..

It’s crazy to even think about, but, I could actually see the Leafs waiving Matthews if it meant getting McDavid. Which really goes to show you just how head and shoulders better McDavid is then everyone else.

 

[ZEBROA]

The "When they earn that much they should be able to run there own line" statement is lazy. Yeah they should, but if possible why dlnt give them the best opportunity to be the best they can. Marner. Matthews should have been such duo. But most of the time i belive it is better to find the players with the right strenghts to surround the core. not the most strenghts.

 

[thewave]

Best player on the team. It doesn't matter if he is injured and drugged up. What a horse out there against the mighty panthers team. He was working hard unlike his counterpart Marnie.

Try not to listen to all the noise and fuss around here about our Captain.

 

[Stephen]

The "When they earn that much they should be able to run there own line" statement is lazy. Yeah they should, but if possible why dlnt give them the best opportunity to be the best they can. Marner. Matthews should have been such duo. But most of the time i belive it is better to find the players with the right strenghts to surround the core. not the most strenghts.

There’s no point in being dogmatic about whether Matthews and Marner should play together.

Sometimes they should and sometimes they shouldn’t.

All anyone has ever asked for is the situational flexibility and willingness of those players to sometimes play apart - whether it’s because they’re cold, the opposition is particularly effective neutralizing them or they’re the big dogs and we need spread out scoring.

The whole thing about them needing to be together is just another sign of their immaturity and holding too much power in the organization.

 

[NVious]

It’s crazy to even think about, but, I could actually see the Leafs waiving Matthews if it meant getting McDavid. Which really goes to show you just how head and shoulders better McDavid is then everyone else.

Yeah pretty much, we were all hoping he'd be McDavidish or at least McDavid lite, what we got was:

Bergeron/Toews/Kopitar/Barkov with better offense and worse defense and all those guys were basically 7-10 million dollar players which is exactly what Matthews is.

Funny enough when you look at how close we've been every year, that's the literal difference in us winning vs losing, either a few actually good depth pieces (not Kampf/Reaves/Jankrok and other crap) or 1 or two big pieces in the 6-10 mill range to either make the D good or give us secondary scoring.

If all of the core took less we would've had those pieces, they didn't and this is where we are. Fortunately if that does come to fruition Matthews will waive because the alternative of having no say where he goes is even worse.

 

[hfman]

Huge return? The rest of the league has figured him out too.

That being said, maybe he'd wave for Vegas which is close to both home and LA. They don't have cap space, but they've been creative before so can do so again.

Vegas is 1000% perfect for him. Celebrities, the strip, outlandish fashion, parties...

..right where he fits in.

Hockey would take an even bigger backseat for him down there and no one would care

 

[colchar]

He has less that one month left on the NMC. Everyone knows this.

At which point he becomes a free agent, so it is irrelevant to the Leafs.

 

[colchar]

Best player on the team. It doesn't matter if he is injured and drugged up. What a horse out there against the mighty panthers team. He was working hard unlike his counterpart Marnie.

Try not to listen to all the noise and fuss around here about our Captain.

Can I please have some of whatever it is you are smoking?

 

[FrozenJagrt]

He has the most goals, but I wouldn't call him the best goal scorer of all time. That title goes to Bossy who had a higher goals per game than Ovi, but whose career was cut short due to injury. Ovi has the most goals due to his longevity, but others (including Matthews) scored at a higher rate.

No. Stop. Bossy wasn't even the best goal scorer of his own era, regularly outscored by Gretzky.

 

[Nineteen67]

Vegas is 1000% perfect for him. Celebrities, the strip, outlandish fashion, parties...

..right where he fits in.

Hockey would take an even bigger backseat for him down there and no one would care

I was very surprised when he re-signed with the Leafs and didn’t go to Vegas and I thought at the time that maybe Vegas didn’t want him.

 

[Nineteen67]

Best player on the team. It doesn't matter if he is injured and drugged up. What a horse out there against the mighty panthers team. He was working hard unlike his counterpart Marnie.

Try not to listen to all the noise and fuss around here about our Captain.

There’s actually some truth to this, which is why they’ve never been contenders.

Their defensive play was atrocious, goaltending was weak, and their offensive play non existence, which makes it hard to determine who was actually their best player after Knies. Goalie Bob looked like he was on their payroll, but that changed in game three and it became a mismatch.

 

[colchar]

No. Stop. Bossy wasn't even the best goal scorer of his own era, regularly outscored by Gretzky.

In goals per game Bossy is the best goal scorer in league history.

It took Gretzky three seasons to match (and surpass) Bossy's goal totals. But even then, Gretzky was playing more games per year than Bossy was because injuries were already taking their toll on Bossy. Only three times in his career did he manage to play a full season.

 

[notDatsyuk]

At which point he becomes a free agent, so it is irrelevant to the Leafs.

Which was the point - thank you.

 

[Hart Nation]

It still boils down to getting JT and ruining the contracts of both #16 and #34...

 

[BallardEra]

In goals per game Bossy is the best goal scorer in league history.

It took Gretzky three seasons to match (and surpass) Bossy's goal totals. But even then, Gretzky was playing more games per year than Bossy was because injuries were already taking their toll on Bossy. Only three times in his career did he manage to play a full season.

Bossy vs Gretzky - First 10 years

Bossy: 573 goals in 752 games = .762

Gretzky: 637 goals in 774 games = .823

Leading the league in goals during this span:

Gretzky - 5
Bossy - 1

Bossy was done after those 10 years and didn't face a natural decline like Gretzky did who played 20 seasons.

 

[mapleleaf979]

If 34 gets 35-40 goals next year, u do not re-sign him, u move him next summer. He no longer has a lethal shot, its gone. I feel its a wrist, his grip strength is gone. Did anyone else notice the uptick in one timers, wild one timers. He did that because it didnt hurt him, he doesnt have the pull the puck in toward his body and release on all different angles.