If you are referring to Gretzky here he was protected to an extent, but he was also really good at avoiding big hits. He was hacked and held and interfered with a lot and it went uncalled fairly often. I think he would have a lot more trouble in todays game, but watching the speed and intensity of some of the late 80s playoff games with Edmonton there's not much reason I can find that he wouldn't have adapted his game to be the best in the modern NHL, I just have trouble believing the gap between him and McDavid for instance would be close to the gaps he had on every player back then besides Lemieux.
Auston Matthews Discussion Thread
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If you are referring to Gretzky here he was protected to an extent, but he was also really good at avoiding big hits. He was hacked and held and interfered with a lot and it went uncalled fairly often. I think he would have a lot more trouble in todays game, but watching the speed and intensity of some of the late 80s playoff games with Edmonton there's not much reason I can find that he wouldn't have adapted his game to be the best in the modern NHL, I just have trouble believing the gap between him and McDavid for instance would be close to the gaps he had on every player back then besides Lemieux.
Strangle
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Gretzky competed with players like Jagr and Bure, who both would for sure be top scorers in the NHL today. There is no reason to think Gretzky wouldn’t dominated even more now with the rule changes. Gretzky without a red line? Gimme a break, he would be ridiculous.
No one thought Gretzky could play in the NHL in the 80’s either.
saffronleaf
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Excited for his return. Hopefully not too rusty, though sometimes it takes a couple games to get back in the groove.
Stephen
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He's looked completely off his game since the return in Vancouver. Hopefully this is rust and not lingering health issues.
yeah he's looked off since coming back. I'd prefer to believe it's rust so I'm going with that
Mats13
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He’s been deferring a lot of shots since his return which is worrisome. But he’s Auston Matthews and he’s earned the benefit of the doubt
Mickey Marner
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He's clearly still hurting. I expect off-season wrist surgery. I wish he'd just sit, we can still finish top-two in the division without him.
nah team has said it's not structural. if it was there's no way he'd be back playing this quickly. It's probably a fatigue or repetitive strain type of thing. tendinitis or whatnot.
Is there anything pointing to how he obtained the injury? The team said he's been dealing with it all season, but I'm not totally buying it with the way he was playing and shooting. It wasn't until that game when they showed him on the bench having his wrist taped up that he's looked off as well as missed a few games. Or at least then is when it was slightly re-aggravated and has been nagging him since.
He's still engaged physically, so he's not shying away from that. But it's obvious he's labouring with the amount of times he's looking to pass off and his shot not having the same zip to it.
He's still engaged physically, so he's not shying away from that. But it's obvious he's labouring with the amount of times he's looking to pass off and his shot not having the same zip to it.
I believe what they said is that he's been dealing with an issue all season, but it was manageable - then it was worsened when he had that big fall into the boards in the Calgary game.
he sat out earlier in the season due to the wrist injury before he went on his big tear. So he definitely has had it all year.
looks off like he can’t shot. He needs to get back to his first year where he scored like only from in close to compete. Until it’s better. After this week we have like 2 5 day breaks so hopefully he fixes it then
Superstar
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I don't think Matthews would be playing right now if he needed surgery.
FlareKnight
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I think the status of Matthews is the biggest thing for the team right now. If he can get back to his usual self before the season is over then we're good. If not...well I'd rather not think about it.
For the time being Keefe might really need to rework his top 6. If Matthews' shot isn't there then you have two passers and few good shooting options. Might need to temporarily get Marner back with Tavares and Nylander up with Matthews. At least then you have guys that can shoot on both lines.
For the time being Keefe might really need to rework his top 6. If Matthews' shot isn't there then you have two passers and few good shooting options. Might need to temporarily get Marner back with Tavares and Nylander up with Matthews. At least then you have guys that can shoot on both lines.
He’s been very noticeably off since returning from injury. Starting Tuesday we’ve got 4 games in 6 days, followed by 4 days off, then B2B games, followed by another 4 days off. If he’s not healthy, I wish they’d just sit him these next 4-6 games. 6 games would buy 18 days off, if there’s ever a good time to get him healthy it’s now, with these 2 big breaks in our schedule coming up.
Stephen
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If I put on my tinfoil hat for a moment, I think it's possible that the Leafs downplayed the severity of the injury caused solely by Rasmus Andersson, citing previous wrist issues. Maybe they did that to discourage teams from taking cheap shots on Matthews in order to discourage teams from making those attrition plays and laying the body, etc. You see other teams like Roussel on Vancouver bullying Matthews a bit out there, and without a good enforcer lite, we really don't have a guy who can retaliate and give Boeser and Hughes an especially rough ride.
The other possibility is he's just returning from injury and deferring to his teammates who were outstanding vs Edmonton and needs to get his rhythm and mojo back and take the bull by the horns.
The other possibility is he's just returning from injury and deferring to his teammates who were outstanding vs Edmonton and needs to get his rhythm and mojo back and take the bull by the horns.
Stephen
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Anyway, I hate seeing the abuse Matthews takes out there. He's a once in a century type talent and in order for us to preserve him we need more of a protector who will deter any two bit thug from being a tough guy and laying cross checks across the back, sticks to the wrist and other things like that. It's not progressive thinking, but any team that puts the bullseye on Matthews (or the other Big 4) should come to regret it immediately.
They have a guy on the left side who can step in, but hasn't done it yet this season.
He's not going to track down a guy like Hughes, but there's no reason he couldn't take on a fight with a Roussel/Milled type player
Stephen
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I don't think Thornton is really that guy, but Simmonds is. Unfortunately both those guys have their own durability issues.
Wouldn't be the worst idea to revisit a Kyle Clifford type player on the low end. A lot of people don't like Tom Wilson, but I would love to have him on the Leafs. I feel like he's such a menace out there other teams will be on their toes and not necessarily looking to initiate any trouble.
saffronleaf
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It's not progressive thinking but we need someone like Wilson who will have no issues in targeting the opposing star players' heads if one of their goons starts roughing up Matthews.
The Hanging Jowl
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I 100% think it was that Andersson play. He may have had something nagging before that but it's been completely different since. He's hurt.
Wafflewhipper
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Mauled in to the boards by Andersson was my take on that. We are lucky it wasn’t worse. No call on it either.
This is the hit
Stephen
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Yeah. One is a patchwork solution and the other is the Cadillac option, but changes the character and makeup of the core and represents a heft investment.
The Hanging Jowl
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Isn't Simmonds the most obvious answer? He's got scoring touch, size, fighting skills and speed. Seems like a way better fit for the first line than Thornton to me even without the physical presence.
Stephen
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Rasmus Andersson is a nasty customer who is really dangerous with his board work, like his boarding play on Stutzle. In the old days, a Gary Roberts/Darcy Tucker forecheck would lay an appropriate beating on him.
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