Lets talk about Auston Matthews.

[Suntouchable13]

Funny I meet a lot of people are very impressed with Matthews, and most are not Leafs fans.

But of course almost all of them are adults.

Matthews is a beast. By far our best player. There is no question in my mind. He'll prove it again this season, in case some people forgot.

 

[TDotMassive]

Dude will post a 50+40 season this year if healthy and either win, or be in a tight race for The Rocket.

 

[8816 others]

so overrated

Remember when Phaneuf was voted the most overrated and when mic'd up, Hartnell said: "Suck it, Phaneuf!" How times changed. Except for HF, they will always copy and paste the entire Leafs lineup in response to most overrated player.

 

[frizzer1]

Dude will post a 50+40 season this year if healthy and either win, or be in a tight race for The Rocket.

If he is healthy, and we will know right away when we see him shoot, I think that he could hit 60 goals..
A lot will depend on whether Marleau still has the hands to compete at nearly 40 years old.

 

[BackPassChampions]

If he is healthy, and we will know right away when we see him shoot, I think that he could hit 60 goals..
A lot will depend on whether Marleau still has the hands to compete at nearly 40 years old.

Haven't seen any indication of a decline. Last year should of re-assured you of that. Marleau is fine. What we need is Zaitsev, and Gardiner to play their A game. Especially in the playoffs.

 

[IPS]

Haven't seen any indication of a decline. Last year should of re-assured you of that. Marleau is fine. What we need is Zaitsev, and Gardiner to play their A game. Especially in the playoffs.

Rielly needs to improve too, specifically in improving himself enough to take more minutes on the PK. Polak being gone is a good thing, but we need to adequately replace his minutes on the PK. We're already running Ron Hainsey into the ground with the most PK minutes in the league. It's really annoying that Gardiner doesn't play the PK.

 

[therealkoho]

Chris Nichols (@NicholsOnHockey) | Twitter
Dreger: "I had an NHL manager tell me earlier today - Western Conference, granted - but he goes, 'I will buy you the best steak dinner there is if Auston Matthews signs for a dollar less than what Connor McDavid is making.'" #Leafs #TMLtalk #Oilers 1050

STFU Dregs you pompous self aggrandizer

 

[hockeywiz542]

It sounds as if GM Kyle Dubas is in no rush to sign you or Mitch Marner to an extension, given you have another year left on your contract. Does it bother you to hear that?

It doesn’t bother me. I think you see how things work out and go with the flow. Obviously (restricted free-agent William Nylander) is up, and that’s the main priority. It’s not something I focus on too much. I focus on myself, the team, playing hockey.

What do you expect of yourself this season?

For me, I want to take a step forward individually … If everybody takes a step forward, the team takes a step forward. You get focused on coming into the season. The expectations around us are a good thing for us, because we have high expectations for ourselves as well.

What was that post-playoffs meeting with Mike Babcock all about?

It was just a discussion. We want to be on the same page. We both expect to be in Toronto for a long time. I feel I’m a big part of the team, and he’s the head coach, a big part of the team. That’s all it was.

What do you like about Babcock?

I really respect his attention to detail. He’s focused. He’ll spend hours watching video: on the plane, the bus, the airport, it doesn’t matter. I really respect that about him. He cares a lot. He wants the best for everybody. Doing everything he can to find ways to help the team win games.

Is there something about Babcock you’d change if you could?

I don’t think I want to answer that question.

 

[ICECOLDBEER]

Was watching Game 7 the other day and Matthews was playing with Brown and Hyman. Only made it halfway through the 2nd so maybe Babs switched it up later but this would be a good reason for AM to be pissed and probably why Babs went to visit him?

Also Ice Time the last 5 games against the Bruins : 17:11 20:52 15:25 16:50 18:06 Is this really enough for our best player?

 

[IPS]

"Is there something about Babcock you’d change if you could?"

"I don’t think I want to answer that question."

Interesting answer.

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

"Is there something about Babcock you’d change if you could?"

"I don’t think I want to answer that question."

Interesting answer.

he obviously didn't want to look like a coach's pet for saying that Babcock is perfect in every way

 

[Maplebeasts]

"Is there something about Babcock you’d change if you could?"

"I don’t think I want to answer that question."

Interesting answer.

Stupid question.

 

[Sypher04]

Yeah. That's a ridiculously idiotic question. What is a player supposed to say? He says no and people won't believe him (because no nhl player will like everything about their coach), he says yes and it looks like hes throwing Babcock under the bus. It's a no win for him

 

[hockeyes]

Was watching Game 7 the other day and Matthews was playing with Brown and Hyman. Only made it halfway through the 2nd so maybe Babs switched it up later but this would be a good reason for AM to be pissed and probably why Babs went to visit him?

Also Ice Time the last 5 games against the Bruins : 17:11 20:52 15:25 16:50 18:06 Is this really enough for our best player?

He wasn't playing great, simple as that. I personally believe due to nagging injuries but even if that isn't the case, Babcock makes the decision and it's hard to argue otherwise in this case. With that said, it wouldn't exactly be surprising for a young player to be disappointed about his playing time despite the circumstances.

 

[ICECOLDBEER]

He wasn't playing great, simple as that. I personally believe due to nagging injuries but even if that isn't the case, Babcock makes the decision and it's hard to argue otherwise in this case. With that said, it wouldn't exactly be surprising for a young player to be disappointed about his playing time despite the circumstances.

Yeah I guess so. Just looked at something else he averaged the most minutes of any Leafs forward over the series. Next highest was Hyman and then Marner. Must have been linemates he wasn't happy about.

Ice time is weird. You think your top forwards would be around 20 mins but they're not.

 

[biotk]

Was watching Game 7 the other day and Matthews was playing with Brown and Hyman. Only made it halfway through the 2nd so maybe Babs switched it up later but this would be a good reason for AM to be pissed and probably why Babs went to visit him?

Also Ice Time the last 5 games against the Bruins : 17:11 20:52 15:25 16:50 18:06 Is this really enough for our best player?

I don't think that AM being pissed at Babcock has to do with one game. I think that it has been building for a while. However, there were issues in the 7th game, but I don't think that they were the linemates issue. Matthews played 4 minutes 5 seconds in the second period. Most of that was during the first 4 1/2 minutes of the second period. After that, it appears as though Babcock was determined to get Matthews out there without Chara - which was never going to happen, and Boston simply played Chara almost non-stop. When Chara did come off the ice it was for about 30 seconds at a time and Boston would ensure that Bergeron was on the ice - which meant that Pleks was sent out. There was a 9+ minute stretch in that second period - all at ES - where Matthews stepped on the ice for 20 seconds.

 

[biotk]

Yeah I guess so. Just looked at something else he averaged the most minutes of any Leafs forward over the series. Next highest was Hyman and then Marner. Must have been linemates he wasn't happy about.

Ice time is weird. You think your top forwards would be around 20 mins but they're not.

I don't think that Matthews was bad. He played against Chara for the overwhelming majority of his ES minutes. No one scores against Chara.

Matthews played 34:02 away from Chara in the playoffs at 5v5. He had 2 points, which works out to 3.53 P/60 - higher than his regular season rate - actually higher than anyone's regular season rate.

In the playoffs at 5v5 against Chara:

Matthews - 69:40 1GF
Nylander - 48:22 2GF
Marleau - 35:30 0GF
Marner - 31:55 0GF
Kucherov - 44:13 1GF
Stamkos - 42:12 1GF

During the playoffs Chara allowed 1.5 GA/60. If you were on the ice against him you were not going to score. Matthews tried. He took 18 shots on goal when on the ice against Chara at 5v5 - a rate of 15.5 s/60 which is bonkers. They weren't good shots, but you weren't going to get good shots against him, so you throw the puck on net and hope that Hyman or someone can pop in a rebound. And this is one of the reasons that Babs switched to Brown as a linemate - he is more likely to be whacking at those rebounds than Nylander is. What other coaches do when they are facing someone like Chara and know that their best player is not going to score at 5v5, is they ensure that the player will have the opportunities to score on the PP. Not Babs. And people can say, well the other unit is better, but at the end of the regular season it was the Matthews unit that was scoring. Last 4 regular season games - Marner unit - 1 PP goal. Matthews unit 5 goals. They were clicking for the first time in months.

 

[hector morrison]

I don't think that Matthews was bad. He played against Chara for the overwhelming majority of his ES minutes. No one scores against Chara.

Matthews played 34:02 away from Chara in the playoffs at 5v5. He had 2 points, which works out to 3.53 P/60 - higher than his regular season rate - actually higher than anyone's regular season rate.

In the playoffs at 5v5 against Chara:

Matthews - 69:40 1GF
Nylander - 48:22 2GF
Marleau - 35:30 0GF
Marner - 31:55 0GF
Kucherov - 44:13 1GF
Stamkos - 42:12 1GF

During the playoffs Chara allowed 1.5 GA/60. If you were on the ice against him you were not going to score. Matthews tried. He took 18 shots on goal when on the ice against Chara at 5v5 - a rate of 15.5 s/60 which is bonkers. They weren't good shots, but you weren't going to get good shots against him, so you throw the puck on net and hope that Hyman or someone can pop in a rebound. And this is one of the reasons that Babs switched to Brown as a linemate - he is more likely to be whacking at those rebounds than Nylander is. What other coaches do when they are facing someone like Chara and know that their best player is not going to score at 5v5, is they ensure that the player will have the opportunities to score on the PP. Not Babs. And people can say, well the other unit is better, but at the end of the regular season it was the Matthews unit that was scoring. Last 4 regular season games - Marner unit - 1 PP goal. Matthews unit 5 goals. They were clicking for the first time in months.

Bruins will have an interesting time adapting to life after Chara! He makes everyone's job easier. Unbelievably ,he was assessed a total of 2 min. in penalties in that Leaf series. No one has an effective strategy against that wingspan!

 

[Mr Hockey]

Very curious to see if he plays 80 games this year.

 

[DarkKnight]

Imho, this is such a trashy interview that deservedly makes players shake their heads. No insights, just seeing if he can stir up a quote. Useless, you get a Q and A, and this is what you ask....

Q&A: Leafs’ Auston Matthews talks contract, Babcock and high expectations | The Star

 

[supermann_98]

Imho, this is such a trashy interview that deservedly makes players shake their heads. No insights, just seeing if he can stir up a quote. Useless, you get a Q and A, and this is what you ask....

Q&A: Leafs’ Auston Matthews talks contract, Babcock and high expectations | The Star

The team and the players should boycott giving this reporter 1-on-1 interviews if that’s the kind of trash question they can expect.

TMZ level reporting from the Star ... nothing new from a trash newspaper who I’m surprised hasn’t gone bankrupt yet.

 

[PromisedLand]

I don't think that Matthews was bad. He played against Chara for the overwhelming majority of his ES minutes. No one scores against Chara.

Matthews played 34:02 away from Chara in the playoffs at 5v5. He had 2 points, which works out to 3.53 P/60 - higher than his regular season rate - actually higher than anyone's regular season rate.

In the playoffs at 5v5 against Chara:

Matthews - 69:40 1GF
Nylander - 48:22 2GF
Marleau - 35:30 0GF
Marner - 31:55 0GF
Kucherov - 44:13 1GF
Stamkos - 42:12 1GF

During the playoffs Chara allowed 1.5 GA/60. If you were on the ice against him you were not going to score. Matthews tried. He took 18 shots on goal when on the ice against Chara at 5v5 - a rate of 15.5 s/60 which is bonkers. They weren't good shots, but you weren't going to get good shots against him, so you throw the puck on net and hope that Hyman or someone can pop in a rebound. And this is one of the reasons that Babs switched to Brown as a linemate - he is more likely to be whacking at those rebounds than Nylander is. What other coaches do when they are facing someone like Chara and know that their best player is not going to score at 5v5, is they ensure that the player will have the opportunities to score on the PP. Not Babs. And people can say, well the other unit is better, but at the end of the regular season it was the Matthews unit that was scoring. Last 4 regular season games - Marner unit - 1 PP goal. Matthews unit 5 goals. They were clicking for the first time in months.

And if Chara is not enough you got Rask in net making stupid saves while Freddie let in some bad goals......

 

[PromisedLand]

What do you like about Babcock?
I really respect his attention to detail. He’s focused. He’ll spend hours watching video: on the plane, the bus, the airport, it doesn’t matter. I really respect that about him. He cares a lot. He wants the best for everybody. Doing everything he can to find ways to help the team win games.

Is there something about Babcock you’d change if you could?
I don’t think I want to answer that question.

What kind trash sports journalism is that? What a POS journalist.

 

[ICECOLDBEER]

I don't think that Matthews was bad. He played against Chara for the overwhelming majority of his ES minutes. No one scores against Chara.

Matthews played 34:02 away from Chara in the playoffs at 5v5. He had 2 points, which works out to 3.53 P/60 - higher than his regular season rate - actually higher than anyone's regular season rate.

In the playoffs at 5v5 against Chara:

Matthews - 69:40 1GF
Nylander - 48:22 2GF
Marleau - 35:30 0GF
Marner - 31:55 0GF
Kucherov - 44:13 1GF
Stamkos - 42:12 1GF

During the playoffs Chara allowed 1.5 GA/60. If you were on the ice against him you were not going to score. Matthews tried. He took 18 shots on goal when on the ice against Chara at 5v5 - a rate of 15.5 s/60 which is bonkers. They weren't good shots, but you weren't going to get good shots against him, so you throw the puck on net and hope that Hyman or someone can pop in a rebound. And this is one of the reasons that Babs switched to Brown as a linemate - he is more likely to be whacking at those rebounds than Nylander is. What other coaches do when they are facing someone like Chara and know that their best player is not going to score at 5v5, is they ensure that the player will have the opportunities to score on the PP. Not Babs. And people can say, well the other unit is better, but at the end of the regular season it was the Matthews unit that was scoring. Last 4 regular season games - Marner unit - 1 PP goal. Matthews unit 5 goals. They were clicking for the first time in months.

Good post. I don't necessarily agree with the strategy. I say sink or swim with your best players which would be Matthews with Willy. Out of curiosity where were you able to get those stats? On the NHL site I couldn't even find the box score with ice times.

 

[biotk]

Good post. I don't necessarily agree with the strategy. I say sink or swim with your best players which would be Matthews with Willy. Out of curiosity where were you able to get those stats? On the NHL site I couldn't even find the box score with ice times.

Natural Stat Trick is what I use for most of those stats.

ShiftChart - Hockey Shift Data Visualization is what I used for the preceding post that talked about the stretch in the second period of game 7 without ice time.