Right, and at one point that was enough. However, he has forced himself to be the 2nd highest paid center in the league, and has been compared to generational talent. And yet, how has his game grown since his rookie year?
Arguably, he is WORSE defensively than he was in his rookie year. He gives far less effort than he did. His goal scoring production has remained pretty steady in pace, his assist totals have stagnated.
Matthews is looking more and more like the next Stamkos instead of the next Malkin, and that is a bitter pill for a lot of fans to swallow.
I admit, he is still young, and maybe a coaching change or some further experience can change that, but as of now, both Matthews and the Leafs entire core has been underwhelming for a while now.
Should have beaten Boston last year. No excuse losing game 6 at home and game 7 on the road. And after pacing to miss the playoffs after Jan last year and getting embarrassed in the playoffs yet again, this season has been the same lack of effort and casual play away from the puck, having them once again just barely pacing to be a bubble team.
Matthews, Marner, Tavares, and the leadership have to be wayyyyyy better, or this is once again, an embarrassment for Leaf fans.