Player Discussion Auston Matthews Discussion

[34]

He will win the Rocket.

I just want him to show up a month from now - rather than win some silly trophy.

I hope so. Would be very disappointing to see him lose it now.

He is not the only one who doesn’t show up in the playoffs. Marner does not either. Willy is the only guy out of the core that has actually showed up in the last few years in the playoffs.

 

[ORRFForever]

I hope so. Would be very disappointing to see him lose it now.

He is not the only one who doesn’t show up in the playoffs. Marner does not either. Willy is the only guy out of the core that has actually showed up in the last few years in the playoffs.

I don't care about silly trophies. I also don't care about what Marner is doing. Matthews is being paid $13.5M and he needs to step up. Last year's post season was a disgrace.

 

[34]

I don't care about silly trophies. I also don't care about what Marner is doing. Matthews is being paid $13.5M and he needs to step up. Last year's post season was a disgrace.

Yes it was. This year will be different right! Right?

 

[ORRFForever]

Yes it was. This year will be different right! Right?

I want to see the Leafs win while my elderly father is still alive so, yes, I hope so. He (and Marner) need to step up end of April.

 

[34]

I want to see the Leafs win while my elderly father is still alive so, yes, I hope so. He (and Marner) need to step up end of April.

They better!

 

[Legion34]

I don't care about silly trophies. I also don't care about what Marner is doing. Matthews is being paid $13.5M and he needs to step up. Last year's post season was a disgrace.

Why so he can win another silly trophy?

Not sure why a sabres fan cares but ok

 

[Dekes For Days]

Matthews all-time playoff PPG is 0.88, 44 points in 50 games. Which means he gets downgraded to a 72 point regular season player in the playoffs overall.

No, it means he paced for 72 points through his age 19-25 playoffs (at least 36% he was injured for), while facing 0.920 goaltending, and putting up a 57.7 xGF% and 2.14 xGA/60 at 5v5. Which isn't the catastrophe that people ignoring context and performance beyond raw points like to treat it as.

In the last 2 games of each series he’s played between 2021, 2022 and 2023 he has 5 points in 8 games.

In the last 2 games of Matthews' past 7 series: 9 points in 14 games.
In the last 2 games of Kucherov's past 7 series: 8 points in 14 games

Kucherov, confirmed playoff bum.

championship teams don’t become championship teams when their best players take a 0.47 PPG downgrade in elimination moments.

Kucherov in elimination games in 2021 playoffs: 3 points in 7 games (0.43 P/GP)
Team result: Championship

 

[Confucius]

Lmao Mathews puts up 5 points and it’s blah blah better show up for the playoffs… Mathews goes pointless for a couple of games he’s not a top 5 player.. just can’t win around here and he is the 2nd best player in the league but I guess the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. Lmao!

 

[Jojalu]

I don't care about silly trophies. I also don't care about what Marner is doing. Matthews is being paid $13.5M and he needs to step up. Last year's post season was a disgrace.

In the second round. First round he was pretty key to them getting by Tampa.

 

[Gary Nylund]

Lmao Mathews puts up 5 points and it’s blah blah better show up for the playoffs… Mathews goes pointless for a couple of games he’s not a top 5 player.. just can’t win around here and he is the 2nd best player in the league but I guess the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. Lmao!

I'm just curious, in your opinion, is he better than McDavid or MacKinnon?

 

[Confucius]

I'm just curious, in your opinion, is he better than McDavid or MacKinnon?

McDavid is number 1, Mathews is number 2, Mackinnon is 3,

 

[Gary Nylund]

McDavid is number 1, Mathews is number 2, Mackinnon is 3,

Yeah OK. MacKinnon is blowing Matthews out of the water this season and his playoff resume is something Matthews can only dream about but I know, you don't care about the playoffs and that's fine.

For me, I care more about the playoffs than anything else and I don't care if Matthews scores 76 goals or 36, blah blah blah it's all about playoffs will always be my POV.

 

[Confucius]

Cool why bother watching the regular season then? Just tune in a week before the playoffs. Sure Mackinnon is having a better season but Mathews is having a better career, 2 rockets, Hart, Lindsay, Calder. I’ve said before if both were 18 and it’s draft day I pick Mathews 1st. Sure Macks team has won a Cup sure he was a part of it but only a part it is a team effort. We’ve seen it before, Laine is better, Eichel is better, now it’s Mack is better.

 

[Gary Nylund]

Cool why bother watching the regular season then? Just tune in a week before the playoffs. Sure Mackinnon is having a better season but Mathews is having a better career, 2 rockets, Hart, Lindsay, Calder. I’ve said before if both were 18 and it’s draft day I pick Mathews 1st. Sure Macks team has won a Cup sure he was a part of it but only a part it is a team effort. We’ve seen it before, Laine is better, Eichel is better, now it’s Mack is better.

You're not making sense. I watch the regular season because I love hockey, and I love the Maple Leafs so why wouldn't I watch? The playoffs are on another level entirely in many ways but that doesn't mean I don't enjoy watching during the regular season and it's not like I have to choose between one and the other. Last night was a ton of fun. Doesn't mean much in the grand scheme of things but still, good clean fun all the same.

Don't twist my words around now, I've never said Laine is better or Eichel is better and I didn't say I'd draft MacKinnon over Matthews either (though I might do just that). All I said was that as of right now, MacKinnon is better. He's having a much better season than Matthews, and he ups his game in the playoffs.

As far as who I'd draft, in a vacuum it's a tough choice but considering the state of the team, I take MacKinnon but that's not a knock against Matthews. The reason is leadership - we don't have a single natural born leader on this team. In the past we've had guys like Sittler, Clark, Gilmour, these are guys that players will follow into war. MacKinnon has that quality in spades, that's what we're lacking and that's why we'd be better off with him. Now if we already had guys like Clark and Sittler on the team and we therefore weren't lacking in leadership, the choice would be much harder and you really can't go wrong either way.

 

[Confucius]

your last paragraph I totally believe in, after all you’ve been there, you’ve seen it first hand, silly for me to imply you are mistaken. Me arguing against it is just plain silly. [reminds me of my brother, a tax accountant stated the law to us, we went to a lawyer he stated that was the law, my brother says well I’d argue that., ] lmao!1

Anyway I see the different point of view regarding the season, I don’t care for the preseason and probably only watch 2 games on average, means nothing to me, from my way of thinking why waste time on it.. I’m more a Leaf fan than a hockey fan now. Leafs get eliminated I stop watching, I don’t even care anymore. There’s been a couple of years I didn’t even watch a cup final. Came down to a fishing weekend or hockey. lol!

 

[pdson]

Lmao Mathews puts up 5 points and it’s blah blah better show up for the playoffs… Mathews goes pointless for a couple of games he’s not a top 5 player.. just can’t win around here and he is the 2nd best player in the league but I guess the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. Lmao!

This is so true. I have never seen a fan base crap on a true superstar like this one. Perhaps this fanbase would prefer to go back to the days when Jason frigging Blake was our best player. It would be what they deserve

 

[ORRFForever]

In the second round. First round he was pretty key to them getting by Tampa.

No excuses, please. There are 4 rounds to the NHL playoffs. If you make $13.5M, you need to step up for ALL of them.

 

[Tony Romo]

I think last night could be important for the playoffs.

If Matthews can drive his own line and still look incredibly dangerous. It could allow us to have Marner/Nylander/Matthews all on their own lines. Which could give us 3 scoring lines. No idea how Keefe would construct the lines or if he ever would actually separate Marner and Matthews but still fun to think about!

 

[sunstersun]

He's not better than Mack who has shown he's got that game breaking takeover ability. Matthews is great, but it's hard for him to force goals given his meh speed.

 

[BraveCanadian]

This is so true. I have never seen a fan base crap on a true superstar like this one. Perhaps this fanbase would prefer to go back to the days when Jason frigging Blake was our best player. It would be what they deserve

True superstars bring it in the playoffs and until the core here does they will deservedly receive criticism.

Toronto is the sort of place that if you step up you’re treated like a god for the rest of your life. See: Gilmour, Roberts, Clark, Sittler, Keon, Kennedy etc. You don’t even have to be a star just work your ass off.

Jason Blake is completely irrelevant.

 

[Da Mash]

How many pts and goals would Mathews have if he played 2 minutes more a game like McKinnon does?

We have all witnessed Nylander numbers go up with more ice time

 

[Gary Nylund]

True superstars bring it in the playoffs and until the core here does they will deservedly receive criticism.

Toronto is the sort of place that if you step up you’re treated like a god for the rest of your life. See: Gilmour, Roberts, Clark, Sittler, Keon, Kennedy etc. You don’t even have to be a star just work your ass off.

Jason Blake is completely irrelevant.

This. One hundred percent this! People still talk about Darcy Tucker like he was some sort of demi god for crissakes. Just work your butt off and leave it all out there on the ice, that's all this fanbase has ever asked for.

 

[Jojalu]

No excuses, please. There are 4 rounds to the NHL playoffs. If you make $13.5M, you need to step up for ALL of them.

Well since he has never made 13 5, I guess we can hold off til next year.

 

[Da Mash]

Bunch of charades….what did those guys win? So you run around waving your arms around and have crazy eyes and your deemed laying it all on the ice.

thats crap

Did Keon have that look?

We have guys here that train all yr…put in a lot of hard work but because they don’t fight or have these crazy eye they are deemed they don’t lay it all on the ice.

Don Cherry has brainwashed you all

Tell me again what Tucker and clark…etc won here?

Set the bar at Lord Stanley …nothing else matters it’s all trash talk otherwise

 

[ThrowDemTongs]

Lmao Mathews puts up 5 points and it’s blah blah better show up for the playoffs… Mathews goes pointless for a couple of games he’s not a top 5 player.. just can’t win around here and he is the 2nd best player in the league but I guess the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. Lmao!

We're a tough crowd.

YOU SUCK, MCBAIN