Auston Matthews

[RLF]

If that is the case, I sure don't like the thought that a guy who is supposed to be a line driver is looking for someone else to drive Matthews line. #someoneelse Confidence might be lacking a bit or maybe he played like s#!t to force Babcock to put Marner on his line. #selfish?

Yea, I wouldn't be thrilled if the rumours are true that he lobbied to get Hyman off his line with him and Willy and is now lobbying to get Marner on it when things aren't going well for him. There is lots of talent on the team, A franchise type of centreman shouldn't feel he needs all the best players to get him going. HE should be driving his line like you said...especially if you want big money.

 

[Beanzy]

Yea, I wouldn't be thrilled if the rumours are true that he lobbied to get Hyman off his line with him and Willy and is now lobbying to get Marner on it when things aren't going well for him. There is lots of talent on the team, A franchise type of centreman shouldn't feel he needs all the best players to get him going. HE should be driving his line like you said...especially if you want big money.

We know Matthews can drive his own line. We saw it at the start of the season - the man was on fire. Now he's nowhere to be found. Very curious as to what's going on with him.

 

[RLF]

We know Matthews can drive his own line. We saw it at the start of the season - the man was on fire. Now he's nowhere to be found. Very curious as to what's going on with him.

I agree he can. The issue would be if he is now blaming his quality of linemates instead of putting it on himself to get out of the funk. Great players put it on themselves. I am pretty sure you wouldn't hear Tavares lobbying for new linemates. He said nothing his whole time in NYI. Maybe Austin has some maturing to do?

 

[Bluelines]

I think they all have insurance in case of injury.

I know the team will or usually does to offset any loss ithe case of injury, for example CBJ didn't on Horton and TML did on Clarkson, which is why CBJ took Clarkson. Not sure why Toronto took Horton but that was the crux of that deal. Not sure if players do the same thing. I know some models and actors get insurance on their legs, hands, face, etc in case they are injured that way they can collect a payoff from the Insurance company, not sure if players do the same thing. I think the NHLPA has a policy for each player too.

 

[RLF]

I know the team will or usually does to offset any loss ithe case of injury, for example CBJ didn't on Horton and TML did on Clarkson, which is why CBJ took Clarkson. Not sure why Toronto took Horton but that was the crux of that deal. Not sure if players do the same thing. I know some models and actors get insurance on their legs, hands, face, etc in case they are injured that way they can collect a payoff from the Insurance company, not sure if players do the same thing. I think the NHLPA has a policy for each player too.

Ah, you mean insurance based on contract value?
Yea, not sure they all have that, but I believe there is something through the PA on all players.

 

[Bluelines]

We know Matthews can drive his own line. We saw it at the start of the season - the man was on fire. Now he's nowhere to be found. Very curious as to what's going on with him.

It is which is why I'm going to give the guy the benefit of the doubt and say it's either just a funk or he is hurt or has not healed properly from his shoulder injury. That wont explain why he came back after the Winnipeg injury on fire, he was shooting the lights out.

Maybe trading Leivo drained Matthews super powers...

 

[Bluelines]

Ah, you mean insurance based on contract value?
Yea, not sure they all have that, but I believe there is something through the PA on all players.

Yup

 

[Beanzy]

I agree he can. The issue would be if he is now blaming his quality of linemates instead of putting it on himself to get out of the funk. Great players put it on themselves. I am pretty sure you wouldn't hear Tavares lobbying for new linemates. He said nothing his whole time in NYI. Maybe Austin has some maturing to do?

Agree with everything you said there. If it's indeed true that he is lobbying for new linemates, then he isn't yet leadership material and has some major maturing and self-reflection to do.

I'll be honest, at first I was blaming this funk on that hit he took from Kronwall against Detroit on Dec 6. I thought he may have been playing through some pain. Now, you can blatantly see a lack of effort and interest in the game. He doesn't have the same drive that had him playing like a man possessed back in October.

 

[Beanzy]

It is which is why I'm going to give the guy the benefit of the doubt and say it's either just a funk or he is hurt or has not healed properly from his shoulder injury. That wont explain why he came back after the Winnipeg injury on fire, he was shooting the lights out.

Maybe trading Leivo drained Matthews super powers...

My initial instincts were that he was playing injured after the Krownwall hit... but, now I'm wondering if he's just looking for someone else to help spark that drive he had earlier in the year.

I've noticed the last few games he isn't playing with the urgency he did back in October. He was an absolute machine and it seemed like he couldn't miss the net if he tried. Now it's almost like theres a general lack of interest.

 

[HamiltonNHL]

I am sure the player can take out insurance on themselves ?

if AM34 is playing soft to ensure a payday .... he might be better off taking out insurance ... putting up some more points and getting a bigger contract vs. 1/2 assing like is going on now.

I think he is playing hurt. And is learning the NHL game from a reduced contact perspective.

And it aint going well.

 

[RLF]

Agree with everything you said there. If it's indeed true that he is lobbying for new linemates, then he isn't yet leadership material and has some major maturing and self-reflection to do.

I'll be honest, at first I was blaming this funk on that hit he took from Kronwall against Detroit on Dec 6. I thought he may have been playing through some pain. Now, you can blatantly see a lack of effort and interest in the game. He doesn't have the same drive that had him playing like a man possessed back in October.

I hear ya. He used to hound the puck and if someone took it from him, it was like "I don't think so" and he would hound him to get it back. I don't see that right now. It is more like you see the shoulders slump instead. We have seen this a lot from Nylander since he came back and now it is creeping into Matthews game. It is like they are frustrated with how hard it is to make a play and then just giving up when the puck is gone feeling sorry for themselves.

Well, guess what boys, this is the NHL. It's not going to be easy. Guys like Marner, Kap, Tavares and lesser talents like Hyman and Brown just work hard to get it back. It is a bit concerning to see the body language of Matthews and Nylander right now. They need to get a little pissed at the guy who took it from them or intercepted their pass and just go get it back. Stop feeling sorry for yourself.

 

[sittler rules!!!]

I'd like to think Matthews is more mature than that.

he is 21 though.

 

[sittler rules!!!]

People arguing about marner is comparable and better than matthews need to think about: marner is playing with tavares the entire year.

Meanwhile matthews has been playing with 100 different wingers all year and most of them are from the ahl last year.

Give matthews a superstar on his wing for 45 games and then we will see a comparison.

But according to most he has a superstar..........oh wait that is Nylander. Our new Jason Blake.

 

[SHANNYPLAN]

Lets go Matty, shut up all the haters tonight!

 

[EXTRAS]

Will he ever be a guy who takes a ton of faceoffs and kills penalties?

 

[The Beyonder]

That shot is isn't the same. It would just EXPLODE off his stick. He's ailing something.

 

[JamieG19]

That shot is isn't the same. It would just EXPLODE off his stick. He's ailing something.

His goal looked the same as early in the season.

 

[Matthews34]

Can somebody explain to me why the hockey media puts Matthews value at 13-15 million annually when Connor McDavid makes 12.5 and has won two Art Rosses, two Lindsays and Hart to Matthews’ Calder. Is purely click bate or substantiated? To me it’s crazy talk and nonsensical. What has he done to deserve more than McDavid or even at par with McDavid?

 

[Puckstuff]

Can somebody explain to me why the hockey media puts Matthews value at 13-15 million annually when Connor McDavid makes 12.5 and has won two Art Rosses, two Lindsays and Hart to Matthews’ Calder. Is purely click bate or substantiated? To me it’s crazy talk and nonsensical. What has he done to deserve more than McDavid or even at par with McDavid?

I think a lot of that talk came in November/December when he was pacing at 1.5 + points per game and was nearly goal a game. It was always hyperbolic but that's what we do here.

Is there any recent articles suggesting those figures? Regardless I wouldn't put much stock into it.

 

[Matthews34]

Matthews and Marner: Which one is Ricky Bobby and which one is Cal Naughton Jr.? - TheHockeyNews

“It will be interesting to see where Matthews settles on in terms of a contract. There are people involved in the game who believe Matthews should ask for $15 million, others who speculate that he will not want to average any more than the $12.5 million McDavid is making on his current contract. The best guess at the moment is somewhere in the $13 million range. The needle won’t move the other way because Matthews has hit a drought.”

 

[glucker]

I know the team will or usually does to offset any loss ithe case of injury, for example CBJ didn't on Horton and TML did on Clarkson, which is why CBJ took Clarkson. Not sure why Toronto took Horton but that was the crux of that deal. Not sure if players do the same thing. I know some models and actors get insurance on their legs, hands, face, etc in case they are injured that way they can collect a payoff from the Insurance company, not sure if players do the same thing. I think the NHLPA has a policy for each player too.

Toronto took Horton because they could LTIR him, whereas Clarkson was healthy, but equally productive.

 

[BlueBaron]

If that is the case, I sure don't like the thought that a guy who is supposed to be a line driver is looking for someone else to drive Matthews line. #someoneelse Confidence might be lacking a bit or maybe he played like s#!t to force Babcock to put Marner on his line. #selfish?

This is fiction.

Matthews just said whoever Babs puts there is fine. Creating a drama because someone said it is always fun to play with player X is a waste of energy, typing and our reading.

News flash, every NHL player wants to play with the best players they can because it is more fun and improves their chances of generating offense. This is not the same as insisting you play with someone.

Are things just going too well so we have to invent problems now? Surely there is a bottom pairing D or backup goalie you guys can bitch about?

 

[93LEAFS]

Matthews and Marner: Which one is Ricky Bobby and which one is Cal Naughton Jr.? - TheHockeyNews

“It will be interesting to see where Matthews settles on in terms of a contract. There are people involved in the game who believe Matthews should ask for $15 million, others who speculate that he will not want to average any more than the $12.5 million McDavid is making on his current contract. The best guess at the moment is somewhere in the $13 million range. The needle won’t move the other way because Matthews has hit a drought.”

Ken Campbell is way past his best before date. Last year, he messed up his Brady Tkachuk article in the first paragraph. It was astonishing. Just to illustrate what happened, he referenced that Brady was so good, he was unlikely to fall to Calgary just outside the top 10. I get articles are on a deadline, and a pick may be traded after the magazine was sent to print, but the pick was traded at the 2017 draft.

I mean, he's probably got the number somewhere in there. But, I wouldn't call it informed, if you gave me the odds of between 12 and 15 million, I'd probably hit.

 

[bbgobie]

I liked his game a lot better last night. Held onto the puck longer. Always thought he needed to be greedier with the puck

 

[93LEAFS]

This is fiction.

Matthews just said whoever Babs puts there is fine. Creating a drama because someone said it is always fun to play with player X is a waste of energy, typing and our reading.

News flash, every NHL player wants to play with the best players they can because it is more fun and improves their chances of generating offense. This is not the same as insisting you play with someone.

Are things just going too well so we have to invent problems now? Surely there is a bottom pairing D or backup goalie you guys can ***** about?

I think people are trying to take Damian Cox's, Dave Feschuk's or Steve Simmons job. Sadly, good sportswriting has been replaced by terrible hot takes, and it seems the fans follow suit (although, it is a bit of a chicken and the egg scenario).