Is Matthews the worst playoff performer ever?

[Bocephus86]

Its his nickname in Toronto. Big Papi

He once scored against Edmonton and Sportsnet flashed a huge graphic that said Big Papi scores lol

Never seen that before

Stealing an actual clutch player's nickname for this jabroni is ridiculous.

 

[sampollock]

Stealing an actual clutch player's nickname for this jabroni is ridiculous.

he is a loser
does not care on winning but does care on purse selection and bad commercials

 

[sampollock]

nostrils wont say whats wrong with him, told reporter non their business.

classic nostrils

 

[BenningHurtsMySoul]

Guy has always given me PK Subban vibes in that he thinks he's bigger than the team around him.

Maybe it's all the clothing line and GQ photoshoots.

 

[JD1]

i'm just happy he's signed in toronto for 3 more years

 

[BeranekAndNeck]

nostrils wont say whats wrong with him, told reporter non their business.

classic nostrils

Literal loser behaviour. First he blames everyone else for the team’s performance and then when it’s his turn to take responsibility he points to a vague injury allegedly suffered months ago and shuts down further questioning. Not only does this clown not have “it” but he is actively poisoning that dressing room.

 

[NVious]

Guy has always given me PK Subban vibes in that he thinks he's bigger than the team around him.

Maybe it's all the clothing line and GQ photoshoots.

Fun fact:
Matthews has never surpassed PK's career single playoff season high in goals, they are tied at 5

 

[Magic Mittens]

If he was dealing with an injury from training camp, why didn't they address it during the regular season? Unless the was some crazy recovery time, but seems like they had time to deal with it so he could of been healthy for the playoffs

 

[Hollowmoon]

If he was dealing with an injury from training camp, why didn't they address it during the regular season? Unless the was some crazy recovery time, but seems like they had time to deal with it so he could of been healthy for the playoffs

That IS very good question.

 

[Saga of the Elk]

That IS very good question.

what if the injury is lack of heart

 

[Mr Nogatco]

If he was dealing with an injury from training camp, why didn't they address it during the regular season? Unless the was some crazy recovery time, but seems like they had time to deal with it so he could of been healthy for the playoffs

He went to Germany for treatment and missed a bunch of games. So yes, they did address it during the regular season.

Without knowing what the injury is it’s impossible to criticize how they handled it.

 

[BeranekAndNeck]

He went to Germany for treatment and missed a bunch of games. So yes, they did address it during the regular season.

Without knowing what the injury is it’s impossible to criticize how they handled it.

If it was so bad that it impeded Auston’s ability to perform at his peak in the playoffs, why did he bother playing in a glorified exhibition tournament rather than resting/rehabbing said body part just three months ago?

This all sounds like an excuse at best and a bold lie at absolute worst. Neither is something you want of your captain.

 

[sampollock]

If it was so bad that it impeded Auston’s ability to perform at his peak in the playoffs, why did he bother playing in a glorified exhibition tournament rather than resting/rehabbing said body part just three months ago?

This all sounds like an excuse at best and a bold lie at absolute worst. Neither is something you want of your captain.

NOPE
he is not capt. he is not a leader

 

[Mr Nogatco]

If it was so bad that it impeded Auston’s ability to perform at his peak in the playoffs, why did he bother playing in a glorified exhibition tournament rather than resting/rehabbing said body part just three months ago?

This all sounds like an excuse at best and a bold lie at absolute worst. Neither is something you want of your captain.

that’s my point, you have no clue whether or not it’s something that can be made worse by playing through it, or made better by a month or two of extra rest.

There are plenty of legitimate gripes about Auston as a player and captain, no need to make assumptions about something you have literally no idea about.

 

[Danarqhy]

nostrils wont say whats wrong with him, told reporter non their business.

classic nostrils

This guys is a clown. How the f*** did the Maple leafs strip Tavares, a guy who loves that sweather, of the C to give it to this milquetoast limp-dick that throws his teammates under the bus the first chance he gets? Who the hell made that decision at Leafs HQ? They even made Johnny T parade his kids at the "stripping of C" ceremony so that they could get their hands on the first Matthews C jersey. PR Clownshow that was.

Matthews is an embarassment. When the chips are down, he fades and wants others to step up and carry him. What a load of crock. Nevermind that he makes as much as 4-5-6-maybe even 7 guys put together... nope, he still shits on his teammates for not coming through. Where the hell were YOU Auston? Huh? For $13M how many goals have you scored in game 7?

Absolutely pathetic "leader".

 

[sampollock]

This guys is a clown. How the f*** did the Maple leafs strip Tavares, a guy who loves that sweather, of the C to give it to this milquetoast limp-dick that throws his teammates under the bus the first chance he gets? Who the hell made that decision at Leafs HQ? They even made Johnny T parade his kids at the "stripping of C" ceremony so that they could get their hands on the first Matthews C jersey. PR Clownshow that was.

Matthews is an embarassment. When the chips are down, he fades and wants others to step up and carry him. What a load of crock. Nevermind that he makes as much as 4-5-6-maybe even 7 guys put together... nope, he still shits on his teammates for not coming through. Where the hell were YOU Auston? Huh? For $13M how many goals have you scored in game 7?

Absolutely pathetic "leader".

you nailed it. glad he is a fig

 

[sampollock]

tsn radio so unsure why nostrils wont say where he is hurt

 

[Leafshater67]

If he was dealing with an injury from training camp, why didn't they address it during the regular season? Unless the was some crazy recovery time, but seems like they had time to deal with it so he could of been healthy for the playoffs

This but that phantom injury that allegedly affects his shooting always comes back when he’s in a slump. Either it’s a long term, multi season issue or he’s just a choker. I’m learning towards the second one.

 

[NVious]

This guys is a clown. How the f*** did the Maple leafs strip Tavares, a guy who loves that sweather, of the C to give it to this milquetoast limp-dick that throws his teammates under the bus the first chance he gets? Who the hell made that decision at Leafs HQ? They even made Johnny T parade his kids at the "stripping of C" ceremony so that they could get their hands on the first Matthews C jersey. PR Clownshow that was.

Matthews is an embarassment. When the chips are down, he fades and wants others to step up and carry him. What a load of crock. Nevermind that he makes as much as 4-5-6-maybe even 7 guys put together... nope, he still shits on his teammates for not coming through. Where the hell were YOU Auston? Huh? For $13M how many goals have you scored in game 7?

Absolutely pathetic "leader".

Tavares is even worse than Matthews in the playoffs if you can imagine that.

Neither of them should've ever been captain.

 

[REALTALK81]

If he was dealing with an injury from training camp, why didn't they address it during the regular season? Unless the was some crazy recovery time, but seems like they had time to deal with it so he could of been healthy for the playoffs

He prioritized the 4 Nations over a cup run. He could have had half the year off, full year off to get that rehabilitated for the playoffs. He and the team chose not to. Would have freed up significant cap space as well. Who over let him play should be fired immediately.

 

[Sidney the Kidney]

tsn radio so unsure why nostrils wont say where he is hurt

Better to leave things vague so he can constantly use the "unknown injury" as an excuse next year when he chokes again in the playoffs. If he revealed what the actual injury is, people would have a timeline to expect him to be back at 100% and he can't hide behind the excuse when he disappears again when it matters.

 

[BeranekAndNeck]

that’s my point, you have no clue whether or not it’s something that can be made worse by playing through it, or made better by a month or two of extra rest.

There are plenty of legitimate gripes about Auston as a player and captain, no need to make assumptions about something you have literally no idea about.

Matthews who is the one making the unsubstantiated claim, so he is the one who needs to provide proof (or at least more information).

No one is under any obligation to just blindly believe what he says, especially when this mystery injury somehow only started bothering him exactly when the playoffs started and not a minute between that and the games he missed early in the season.

 

[Hockey Outsider]

My conspiracy theory about Matthews? Based on publicly available information, it looks like his tax advisors have structured his affairs in a way that (effectively) allows him to pay income tax using Arizona's tax rates, rather than Ontario's. There's a large spread, and my ballpark calculation suggests that this saves him $1M USD annually in income taxes.

The approach that's being used could be challenged by CRA. One of the biggest obstacles would be if Matthews spends too much time in Ontario. I wonder if that's one of the reasons he's struggled in the playoffs. A deep playoff run could challenge this tax strategy and potentially cost him millions of dollars over the course of his career.

(To be clear, this is a conspiracy theory, and I'm sure that Matthews isn't intentionally playing poorly in the postseason. But I wonder if, at a subconscious level, that influences him).

 

[Mr Nogatco]

Matthews who is the one making the unsubstantiated claim, so he is the one who needs to provide proof (or at least more information).

No one is under any obligation to just blindly believe what he says, especially when this mystery injury somehow only started bothering him exactly when the playoffs started and not a minute between that and the games he missed early in the season.

lol at his injury being an “unsubstantiated claim” that requires proof. Like you and Matthews are in some kind of academic debate

Remind me again what your medical credentials are? Just wondering what qualifications you have that you’re able to confidently cast doubt on the legitimacy of his injury, from your vantage point at home on your couch

 

[647Hockey]

This guys is a clown. How the f*** did the Maple leafs strip Tavares, a guy who loves that sweather, of the C to give it to this milquetoast limp-dick that throws his teammates under the bus the first chance he gets? Who the hell made that decision at Leafs HQ? They even made Johnny T parade his kids at the "stripping of C" ceremony so that they could get their hands on the first Matthews C jersey. PR Clownshow that was.

Matthews is an embarassment. When the chips are down, he fades and wants others to step up and carry him. What a load of crock. Nevermind that he makes as much as 4-5-6-maybe even 7 guys put together... nope, he still shits on his teammates for not coming through. Where the hell were YOU Auston? Huh? For $13M how many goals have you scored in game 7?

Absolutely pathetic "leader".

Because JT (and Marner) only has one more year on the contract and likely gone. So the team has to transfer the C to someone with some stability in tenure. The only other big name players under contract are Rielly and Nylander. So they could be options too. But AM is the biggest name and goal scorer too, so it went to him.

You cant consider giving it to any other player as the team is constructed of mostly short term fly by night players who come and go or arent scorers unless the team really wants to give it to grittier guys like Domi or Tanev who at the time had already signed for years. Most sports teams like to give the C to an all star player. Not always though. But most of the time.