Matthews not among Babcocks leadership Group. Won't wear a Letter

[abo9]

I'd say I'd give an "A" for a quiet leader, a guy that work ethic surpasses everyone but is not a "leader" in the conventional sense. Idk much about Matthews to speak on his work ethic though.

But I find it fair that not because you are talented you should have a letter. Maybe more talented/successful players have more confidence naturally and work harder and it often translate as "leadership". They probably had to be the leaders of the room from a young age too.

not a knock on Matthews at all if he's a leader it's gonna show in the locker room thats it and if he is not captain material then he can be a difference maker with what he does on the ice

 

[Tofveve]

.....yet none of this has any bearing on wearing a letter or what the job of the letter wearer is.

I'd be willing to bet that 98% of the players who wear a letter or who have worn a letter weren't necessarily the most vocal or otherwise leaders in the room. Franchise players should be wearing letters.

The only caveat for me is if Matthews specifically asked to not wear a letter.

 

[Jesus Take the Wheel]

Not say it matters in the slightest who wears the letters, but I'd find it really odd if he becomes the next captain of the leafs without getting an A this year, even if it was alternating who wore the A between home and road games like some teams do

 

[GodEmperor]

And a poor coach.

And a poor 30 goal scorer.

 

[MoreMogilny]

I like how misleading the thread title is.

How surprising.

I’m sure people will read way more into this than necessary.

 

[Nizdizzle]

I'd be willing to bet that 98% of the players who wear a letter or who have worn a letter weren't necessarily the most vocal or otherwise leaders in the room. Franchise players should be wearing letters.

The only caveat for me is if Matthews specifically asked to not wear a letter.

Which isn't the case, because Matthews said in an interview with The Athletic (?) a few weeks ago that he feels ready and would like the Captaincy (he also said he would understand if it went to someone else).

 

[Morbo]

hilarious thread.

Bozak and Komarov had the A's last season, and that was so important the Leafs didn't even offer them contracts.

 

[TheBradyBunch]

As soon as I saw this title, I knew it would be a massive misrepresentation.

 

[The Crypto Guy]

What a dumb thread title. That's not what he said.

 

[member 298589]

Non-story.

 

[The Winter Soldier]

Not say it matters in the slightest who wears the letters, but I'd find it really odd if he becomes the next captain of the leafs without getting an A this year, even if it was alternating who wore the A between home and road games like some teams do

Didn't McDavid get the C before his 2nd NHL season?

 

[Fogelhund]

Did anyone watch the interview? He specifically called Matthews part of the leadership group... though to be honest, he named half of the team. No letter, but part of the group.

 

[Echo Roku]

I am sure that if they gave him the C, then the Leafs fans saying this is a smart move would also be saying that is a smart move for the opposite reason

 

[tsujimoto74]

I'd fire Babcock long before trading Matthews.

We'll give him the gm job like Eichel

Ah, but wouldn't that make him a lockerroom cancer unworthy of having a letter sewn on his jersey? Because I keep seeing lots of Leaf fans say that about Eichel, even though the idea that he (not Bylsma's shitty coaching) was the thing that drove Bylsma out of town was never more than mere speculation.

Would love to see the Leafs fire Babs, speaking as a Sabres fan. Babcock's pick/interference system is annoying af, but my god is it effective.

 

[Phil McKraken]

I mean you can be plenty talented and not be a leader no?

That's extremely unusual actually, you can't really view someone as your leader if you keep outperforming him in his own field. What exactly is he leading you in then?

 

[Peasy]

Where does he say that he doesn't think Matthews is a leader? Nice click bait title lmao...

 

[Aceboogie]

Hes a good player but only 20, cant put that on him at this stage. The only 20 years old capable of being captain are turely generational players like Crosby or McDavid

 

[Beauner]

Alternate thread title: "Babcock selects deserving players to wear letters this season"

 

[The Winter Soldier]

Hes a good player but only 20, cant put that on him at this stage. The only 20 years old capable of being captain are turely generational players like Crosby or McDavid

True, he will be 21 in a few days though.

 

[Nizdizzle]

Ah, but wouldn't that make him a lockerroom cancer unworthy of having a letter sewn on his jersey? Because I keep seeing lots of Leaf fans say that about Eichel, even though the idea that he (not Bylsma's ****ty coaching) was the thing that drove Bylsma out of town was never more than mere speculation.

Would love to see the Leafs fire Babs, speaking as a Sabres fan. Babcock's pick/interference system is annoying af, but my god is it effective.

Now, I'm not saying the Leafs don't do this, because they absolutely do (sidebar: I hate it, and think it should be called interference). However, every single playoff team does this just as much as the Leafs do. I'm not sure when it became a Babcock thing.

That's extremely unusual actually, you can't really view someone as your leader if you keep outperforming him in his own field. What exactly is he leading you in then?

Dave Andreychuk led the lighting to a cup and he wasn't even in the top-5 of best players on the team. Leadership is about who controls the room, not about who is the best player.

 

[Pierce Hawthorne]

It is a bit strange to give an A to Marleau. Yeah he's a veteran and was a leader for a long time on a different team. But he isn't a part of the future of this Leafs team and often times veteran guys like that dont need the letters to still be leaders in the dressing room.


I think it would have been better served to give the A to Matthews to show him they believe in him and believe he can be a leader on the team. Marleau doesn't need the letter recognition to know he's a guy that's gonna be looked up to and listened to in the dressing room. He's had that role for over a decade now already.


I wouldn't necessarily say this is a definite sign of a rift between the two(Matthews and Babcock) but it does strike me as a bit odd and with the rumors about something last June or whenever it was, it is interesting but not worth reading into too much right now.

 

[Echo Roku]

How long before the first poster complains about Leaf threads on the main boards but fails yet again to acknowledge how many of them are started by other fans?

How long until the Leafs fans that post like firecrackers in them realize the threads are only prominent enough to make such an impression because they’re being rabidly posted in by the delusional parts of the Leafs fan base?

 

[Bmessy]

What if he isn't?

 

[abo9]

That's extremely unusual actually, you can't really view someone as your leader if you keep outperforming him in his own field. What exactly is he leading you in then?

Extreme example here but if said player was an asshole but extremely talented, should he be given the "C"? What about he score 100 points, come back in the room and tell his linemates they suck dicks and they play like garbage and should be in the AHL? Not saying its Matthews I don't follow him that much, but from personal experience I've encountered plenty of people who are super talented but bad leaders (either in sports or academically or professionally).

Ideally you'd have the best player be your best leader too, but not always the reality

 

[LeafGrief]

He calls "Matty" a leader at the 45 second mark, in the context of "Matty, Mitchy, and Willy" and says that the leadership group is fantastic.

This is A) a non story
and B) not mainboards worthy