The Mighty Auston Matthews

[A1LeafNation]

It turns out Matthews is a better coach than Babcock. He knew the team would be better with Hyman off his line and him playing on #1 PP unit.

What does that say about Babcock that he doesn't know the skills of his own teams best players?

 

[hector morrison]

If I'm being 100% honest, I still want Marner with Matthews even with Tavares on the team. It just seems like a match made in heaven.

Matthews will 100% become the best player in Leafs history IMO. It's imperative that we maximize his potential. There's no need whatsoever for nonsense limitations to be placed on Matthews.

I've heard some posters go on about how Matthews production needs to be limited because of his upcoming contract? What in god's name do people think goes on in these negotiations? You can't just tell your coach to cut the ice-time and PP-time of your generational talent so you can get him nice and cheap. The very first thing his agent will bring up in negotiations will be that exactly. I'll bet every cent I have that Matthews' agent has communicated this loud and clearly to the Leafs brass. I'm thinking that little "talk" that Matthews and Babcock had in Arizona addressed this exactly, he told him that if there's any more ****ing around with his minutes and usage there will be serious problems.

Marner with Matthews has been intentionally avoided at all costs,for reasons that are obvious! Money! I can't believe they atre on the PP together this year,it could of been like this for 2 years already,even without JT. Oh well,at least we get to see a bit of it!

 

[IPS]

it's not like the 2nd powerplay unit was the 4th line though. he wasn't good on the second powerplay. it's okay to say it and accept it. He's awesome right now (it will be interesting to see how he is once the shooting percentage goes down). so you can't say it would have been better with Matthews and have no doubt, because he wasn't that hot on the 2nd. so why just automatically assume he'd be peachy keene on the 1st?

and Hyman is doing a lot for the Tavares/Marner line who is also pretty darn hot right now. just saying.

The 2nd PP unit sucked because it had a bad composition. You had Matthews and Nylander running the half-walls with scrubs like Marleau, Komarov and Brown filling in. Most predictable unit ever, cross-seam passes were their main threat and it was easy as hell to predict. You put Matthews with Marner on PP1 because you put your best goal-scorer with your best play-maker. Absolutely a no-brainer, literally every elite offensive team in history as done it. Unbelievable why this needs to be explained, there's really not much to understand. Not sure why Bert believes "nothing has proven me right" when PP1 has never looked betterr.

 

[Liminality]

It turns out Matthews is a better coach than Babcock. He knew the team would be better with Hyman off his line and him playing on #1 PP unit.

What does that say about Babcock that he doesn't know the skills of his own teams best players?

You mean the same Hyman who's been great with Tavares and Marner?

 

[frizzer1]

Matthews was hurt last season so the results are skewed.
But had he played on the 1st unit, there would have been a very similar pp setup as this year's.
Marner right point..
Matthews left side.( instead of Bozak)
kadri..high slot
JVR..front of net. ( now it's tavares).
Rielly left point.
It would likely have been much more dangerous........look at it now.
The downside is that the second unit would have been worse..but no one would care if they were hitting 30 to 40%

 

[frizzer1]

You mean the same Hyman who's been great with Tavares and Marner?

So far he's a much better fit on Marner's line.
He was awful with Matthews and that led to the infamous summer meeting..

 

[IPS]

Matthews was hurt last season so the results are skewed.
But had he played on the 1st unit, there would have been a very similar pp setup as this year's.
Marner right point..
Matthews left side.( instead of Bozak)
kadri..high slot
JVR..front of net. ( now it's tavares).
Rielly left point.
It would likely have been much more dangerous........look at it now.
The downside is that the second unit would have been worse..but no one would care if they were hitting 30 to 40%

So the unit looks its best when the best goal-scorer is playing with the best play-maker. Makes plenty of sense if you don't have the Babcock glasses on.

 

[frizzer1]

If Matthews and Marner were together I think they would be the best twosome seen in the NHL in years.
Elite passer with elite scorer.
Tavares and Nylander would have been excellent also....both can set up plays and shoot.

But I suspect that tavares was promised Marner on his line and that is one of the reasons he signed here.
So we can't have everything,right?

 

[Liminality]

So far he's a much better fit on Marner's line.
He was awful with Matthews and that led to the infamous summer meeting..

Saying he was awful with Matthews is just flat out lying.

He's doing the same thing he's always done in the NHL. He's a little better at it now and I think he fits well with Tavares too. Let's not pretend he was a completely different player to when he was on Matthews line though.

 

[PuckMagi]

it's not like the 2nd powerplay unit was the 4th line though. he wasn't good on the second powerplay. it's okay to say it and accept it. He's awesome right now (it will be interesting to see how he is once the shooting percentage goes down). so you can't say it would have been better with Matthews and have no doubt, because he wasn't that hot on the 2nd. so why just automatically assume he'd be peachy keene on the 1st?

and Hyman is doing a lot for the Tavares/Marner line who is also pretty darn hot right now. just saying.

the big difference why he is more successful on the PP this year is because he's on there with Marner and the other top guys and he gets over 1 min per power play. Last year, he might get 40 seconds of PP time on a power play where it isn't even in their zone... and playing with second tier guys (other than Nylander). you gotta put your best goal scorer on the number one PP unit, it's just common sense.

If we had a PP last year of Matthews - Marner - Nylander/JVR - Kadri - Rielly ... it would have been almost as killer as this one. Right now, we have the most feared PP in the league... last year... ya, it was good... but it's nothing like what we have now. We could have had that last year. We could have had that for the last 2 years. Imagine going into a playoff series with a PP as hot as it is now. We had the potential for a letal PP for the last 2 years, and Babcock screwed it up by doing things that are beyond stupid. It's so obvious! Look how awesome our PP is now! Wouldn't you have wanted this same kind of power play last year? And the year before that? Only difference is that we would have had JVR or Nylander instead of Tavares (or maybe use both and put Kadri on the 2nd PP unit).

And yes, I agree that Hyman has been doing pretty well on the Tavares line. I had wanted Hyman with Kadri or on the 4th line because his game matches up better with that style. But Tavares is a beast along the boards and loves playing that style of game, so Hyman's style fits a lot better with Tavares compared to Matthews. So Hyman ends up looking better playing with Tavares compared to Matthews, and Matthews ends up looking better with anyone other than Hyman. It's not even like Marleau is playing great or that Kapanen is a superstar... but you give Matthews #1 PP time and two solid line mates... and he's just awesome. So we're finally seeing glimpses of what Matthews can truly become. If you wanna see the real deal stuff... put him with Marner. Kapanen is doing really well with Matthews, but Marner and Matthews would be insane. But just getting Hyman off his LW is a massive improvement and getting him on the #1 PP is a massive improvement. Now everyone recognizes... ya, this guy might be the best player in game right now. How many goals is he going to score this year?

 

[PuckMagi]

it's not like the 2nd powerplay unit was the 4th line though. he wasn't good on the second powerplay. it's okay to say it and accept it. He's awesome right now (it will be interesting to see how he is once the shooting percentage goes down). so you can't say it would have been better with Matthews and have no doubt, because he wasn't that hot on the 2nd. so why just automatically assume he'd be peachy keene on the 1st?

and Hyman is doing a lot for the Tavares/Marner line who is also pretty darn hot right now. just saying.

and just to address this... if Babcock last year did something crazy... something completely stupid... like replace Bozak with Matthews on that first PP... you don't think that would have made our PP a hell of a lot better?

so putting a generational goal scorer on your first PP might not make it any better?

 

[IPS]

If Matthews and Marner were together I think they would be the best twosome seen in the NHL in years.
Elite passer with elite scorer.
Tavares and Nylander would have been excellent also....both can set up plays and shoot.

But I suspect that tavares was promised Marner on his line and that is one of the reasons he signed here.
So we can't have everything,right?

The evil part of me wanted to see Marner fail with Tavares and get moved to Matthews line early in the season but that won't be happening. But I do agree Nylander and Tavares would make a damn fine duo as well. I don't doubt that Tavares was promised Marner.

 

[A1LeafNation]

You mean the same Hyman who's been great with Tavares and Marner?

Yes imagine if they could be better like Matthews this year..

 

[Daisy Jane]

and just to address this... if Babcock last year did something crazy... something completely stupid... like replace Bozak with Matthews on that first PP... you don't think that would have made our PP a hell of a lot better?

so putting a generational goal scorer on your first PP might not make it any better?

our powerplay last year was fantastic.
Matthews was playing with Nylander and whomever. I truly don't remember. that whole unit wasn't clicking. and I personally don't see why you'd move what was working simply to put Matthews on that line when he wasn't really producing with Nylander etc. but that's just me.

I am of the belief that it wouldn't have made that much of a difference him being on the #1 unit either two years. Year one. Unit 2 was just as good as Unit 1 and we were second. year two unit 2 wasn't that hot and we were still 2nd. if you want to believe that it would have made it closer to Pittsburgh that's fine. I don't, but i can understand why a lot of people do, but i wouldn't necessarily state it as fact. it could have had the potential, but i wouldn't have messed around with something that was obviously working and extremely efficient just so we could be "We're number 1."

why it didn't convert in the playoffs two years in a row, i also think is a lot more complex then saying "Matty wasn't on the #1 unit." but again. that's just me.

 

[Liminality]

Yes imagine if they could be better like Matthews this year..

They've been great...

 

[CantLoseWithMatthews]

he's already got 4 powerplay goals on the year, and last year he had 5 in total. and that was on a 45 goal pace. he should blow past that if healthy

 

[The Best Leafs Ever]

You mean the same Hyman who's been great with Tavares and Marner?

You mean a 9 year vet in the league and one of the best play makers in the game? Nylander can’t be compared to Marner’s skates, he is overblown balloon. Also Matthews doesn’t have the same experience as Tavares just yet. Never compare Tavares who makes garbage around him better with a guy who has played less than 2 full seasons yet.

 

[BorntoLose]

Marner plays well with everyone lol its no surprise he worked well with Tavares which ever line he goes on hes going to elevate it. We saw it last year on the 4th line.

 

[Liminality]

You mean a 9 year vet in the league and one of the best play makers in the game? Nylander can’t be compared to Marner’s skates, he is overblown balloon. Also Matthews doesn’t have the same experience as Tavares just yet. Never compare Tavares who makes garbage around him better with a guy who has played less than 2 full seasons yet.

Who's comparing what now? I think you're missing the point. Hyman was not a problem with Matthews and Matthews didn't tell Babcock to take him off his line.

 

[MR4]

Lmao mans is a cashier and had a Jets fan come in, hit em with the "Laine's good but he's no Matthews" line and he couldn't refute it

 

[TMLeafs17]

Unbelievable

 

[PromisedLand]

 

[The Best Leafs Ever]

It’s been quite a few days for this news. Edmonton pathetic pukeworthy team and fans are salty little ****es.

 

[NoName]

Just listened to Nick Kypreos talking about how freaking Arizona offer-sheeting Matthews and him actually being willing to leave the Leafs to play for the bottom-feeding Yotes

 

[Menzinger]

it's not like the 2nd powerplay unit was the 4th line though. he wasn't good on the second powerplay. it's okay to say it and accept it. He's awesome right now (it will be interesting to see how he is once the shooting percentage goes down). so you can't say it would have been better with Matthews and have no doubt, because he wasn't that hot on the 2nd. so why just automatically assume he'd be peachy keene on the 1st?.

I think it’s a fair criticism of the coaches that they didn’t do more to try and shake up that 2nd Unit (Have heard Jonas Siegel suggest Matthews got a bit frustrated when things weren’t changed). I wouldn’t have disrupted that 1st Unit last year, but they at least could have gotten a bit more experimental on the second unit.

But no big deal either way, ancient history at this point