Auston Matthews Discussion Thread

[Wafflewhipper]

His hands regressed compared to other seasons imo.

Yeah but he’s had a operation to fix them ha

 

[egd27]

If EDM acquired Tavares, would McDavid be an assistant captain ?

Does Toronto value JT more than Matthews?

Why would EDM acquire Tavares, when they already have a #1C? It would be foolish to pay that kind of money on something you already have when there are other needs to be addressed.

 

[diehardleafsfan9878]

This guy's a bum

 

[Havoc]

Yeah but he’s had a operation to fix them ha

Whoa whoa I wasn't talking about the GOAT. That post was for Marner lol

 

[Wafflewhipper]

Whoa whoa I wasn't talking about the GOAT. That post was for Marner lol

That was a joke supposedly lol. Sometimes I’m the only one who gets it. Poor humour my part

 

[Maplebeasts]

This guy's a bum

Weird way of saying one of the best players in franchise history.

 

[Wafflewhipper]

Weird way of saying one of the best players in franchise history.

You can’t be a yellow belly and get any respect playing for the Leafs. That’s just a tag he will bury or carry. His choice

 

[Stonehands1990]

Why would EDM acquire Tavares, when they already have a #1C? It would be foolish to pay that kind of money on something you already have when there are other needs to be addressed.

Why did we acquire Tavares when we already had a 1C and a 2C

 

[egd27]

Why did we acquire Tavares when we already had a 1C and a 2C

Exactly

 

[Dekes For Days]

Why did we acquire Tavares when we already had a 1C and a 2C

We acquired Tavares because he's an elite player, not to mention that we had horrible organizational depth at center.

 

[Racer88]

Why did we acquire Tavares when we already had a 1C and a 2C

Simple. Because the new GM wanted to make a big splash upon taking the reins.

 

[zeke]

Why did we acquire Tavares when we already had a 1C and a 2C

Because all the best teams in league history had 2 #1Cs.

 

[zeke]

Does Toronto value JT more than Matthews?

Babcock did.

Tavares 19:05 (& named captain)
Matthews 18:33


Dubas didn't.

Tavares $11.0m
Matthews $11.6m

 

[zeke]

His hands regressed compared to other seasons imo.

Even Strength

16-17: 14:43, 1.49g60, 2.24p60, 13.3sh%, 7.9oish%
17-18: 15:27, 1.75g60, 2.94p60, 18.8sh%, 12.6oish%
18-19: 15:57, 1.43g60, 2.92p60, 13.7sh%, 9.6oish%
19-20: 17:03, 1.51g60, 2.36p60, 14.6sh%, 9.1oish%
20-21: 17:06, 2.02g60, 3.31p60, 18.0sh%, 12.4oish%

Power Play

16-17: 2:38, 2.68g60, 6.55p60, 19.6sh%, 16.8oish%
17-18: 2:08, 2.27g60, 5.89p60, 16.7sh%, 12.4oish%
18-19: 2:33, 4.16g60, 6.93p60, 21.1sh%, 13.7oish%
19-20: 3:09, 3.27g60, 6.54p60, 16.2sh%, 15.8oish%
20-21: 3:08, 3.67g60, 4.11p60, 20.0sh%, 11.7oish%

 

[Racer88]

Because all the best teams in league history had 2 #1Cs.

True but none of them have 2 paid 11 million and up

 

[Dreakmur]

Because all the best teams in league history had 2 #1Cs.

Tampa Bay didn't. Los Angeles didn't. Chicago didn't.

I agree, having two elite centres is a big advantage, and it's a smart way to build, but it's far from a necessity.

 

[Martin Skoula]

Tampa Bay didn't. Los Angeles didn't. Chicago didn't.

I agree, having two elite centres is a big advantage, and it's a smart way to build, but it's far from a necessity.

Which of Richards and Point/Stamkos aren't 1Cs?

 

[Dreakmur]

Which of Richards and Point/Stamkos aren't 1Cs?

Richards might have been one of the top 30 centres for a brief period, but he would have been a really bad #1. You can argue he might have been at the edge of being a #1, but it's pretty iffy.

Stamkos was a winger last year, and wasn't particularly effective outside of the PP.

 

[LeafsOHLRangers98]

Tampa Bay didn't. Los Angeles didn't. Chicago didn't.

I agree, having two elite centres is a big advantage, and it's a smart way to build, but it's far from a necessity.

Tampa Bay definitely did in Point/Stamkos. Los Angeles had Kopitar/Carter/Richards down the middle which was basically a #1 and two #2C's.

Chicago is really the only one that didn't have great depth down the middle.

I'd argue that our center depth is the best that it's been in years now with 8 options to choose from before forcing guys into an uncomfortable spots:

Matthews, Tavares, Kerfoot, Kampf, Engvall, Spezza, Brooks, Semyenov

 

[Dreakmur]

Tampa Bay definitely did in Point/Stamkos. Los Angeles had Kopitar/Carter/Richards down the middle which was basically a #1 and two #2C's.

Stamkos played right wing with Cirelli at centre. Even if he went back to centre, I'm not sure he'd be a 1 anymore.

Richards and Carter were good 2s, but they aren't 1s.

 

[Stephen]

We did not have Bozak. We had Matthews, Kadri, Gauthier, and pretty much nothing else in the entire organization. That is not good center depth.

We had Matthews, Kadri and Bozak for 2016-17 and 2017-18 with cameo appearances from Brian Boyle and Tomas Plekanec each of those years. And yes, Freddie the Goat was there too. Center depth was just fine.

 

[Martin Skoula]

Stamkos played right wing with Cirelli at centre. Even if he went back to centre, I'm not sure he'd be a 1 anymore.

Richards and Carter were good 2s, but they aren't 1s.

Richards had a PPG cup final run playing top competition and both specialty units, he was at the very least in the same tier that Couture was during the Sharks runs. He was at the very least in the 15-20 range if not higher through his peak.

 

[Dreakmur]

Richards had a PPG cup final run playing top competition and both specialty units, he was at the very least in the same tier that Couture was during the Sharks runs. He was at the very least in the 15-20 range if not higher through his peak.

He did that once in Philly. In LA, he was a 40 point two-way center.

 

[Dekes For Days]

We had Matthews, Kadri and Bozak for 2016-17 and 2017-18 with cameo appearances from Brian Boyle and Tomas Plekanec each of those years. And yes, Freddie the Goat was there too. Center depth was just fine.

This was regarding the 2018 offseason. Bozak went to St Louis, and Boyle and Plekanec were just rentals. Our organizational center depth was not fine.

 

[Stephen]

This was regarding the 2018 offseason. Bozak went to St Louis, and Boyle and Plekanec were just rentals. Our organizational center depth was not fine.

We could have re-signed Bozak and preserved Matthews, Kadri and Bozak which was fine center depth. That was always a possibility. Signing Tavares was a luxury, the equivalent to saying “I need a car” and buying a Lamborghini. Good for us but it wasn’t a necessity.