Toronto Maple Leafs: Time to Take the Training Wheels Off Auston Matthews
By James Tanner
The Toronto Maple Leafs have done their best to bring Auston Matthews along slowly.
The pressure, the fishbowl atmosphere, and the trappings of fame and fortune are a lot for an 18 year old to handle. If you keep that in mind, it makes sense that the Toronto Maple Leafs have done their best to bring Auston Matthews along slowly.
Slowly, you say? Yes. For example, Matthews ice time has always been limited compared to other players of his skill level, the Maple Leafs have not named him captain despite it being common practice in the NHL to name similar players the captain of their teams, and the Leafs signed John Tavares and essentially made Matthews a second line player.
I think it’s fair to say that the Leafs have attempted to ease Matthews into the role of franchise player, captain, millionaire, media sensation and go-to player.
Time to unleash him.
Auston Matthews
The Toronto Maple Leafs are struggling, and Matthews is in the first prolonged slump of his career that can’t be explained by luck and the percentages evening out.
So what to do? Let him go wild.
The first thing to do is expand his ice time. John Tavares is not as good as Auston Matthews. That is just a fact. So Mike Babcock should design his lineup to reflect that.
Matthews should be the first player on the ice ever night, his line should face the toughest matchups (this is important because hard matching Tavares with other team’s top lines costs Matthews ice time) and he should get his choice of winger.
Does Matthews still want to play with Mitch Marner? Make it happen.
Connor McDavid averages 17.5 5v5 minutes per game, first among NHL centres. Matthews is 22nd playing about 14.5. There is evidence to suggest that Matthews is, at worst, the second best 5v5 player in the NHL. The Leafs should immediately have Matthews skating about 17 minutes at 5v5 per game. This would have the impact of a solid trade, since three minutes per game 5v5 is a pretty significant percentage of a hockey game.
Same thing with the power-play. Matthews should be on for the entire two minutes. No exceptions. The Leafs have a ton of depth, and he can rest up for a couple shifts afterwards. This switching lines halfway through the PP has to stop.
Finally, name him the captain. Do it today. What’s the delay? Everyone knows it eventually going to happen, and it would be the perfect symbolic gesture to show they are taking the reins off of him.
Bottom Line
The Toronto Maple Leafs have one of the best players in the NHL and they don’t take full advantage of it. Tavares with Johnson and Nylander would still be better than anything he ever saw with the Islanders, and they’d be doing it against secondary competition.
Hyman-Matthews-Marner would be the best line in the NHL. I have zero doubt.
A third line that features Kadri, Marleau and Kapanen is still the best in hockey. John Tavares knows he’s the man. He doesn’t need to be captain and he’s not going to feel marginalized. Matthews on the other hand, he needs to know it’s worth signing here for the next eight years, and Mike Babcock babying him isn’t going to help him in this area.
I’m not saying Babcock hasn’t done a good job. For all I know, this was a completely warranted and intelligent approach for the Leafs to take. All I am saying is that it’s been nearly three years, the Leafs have arguably the best shot at a Stanley Cup they’ll ever have and it’s time to take the training wheels off.
Next. Toronto Maple Leafs Top Prospects. dark
So, do three things:
Name Auston Matthews captain.
Give Mitch Marner to Auston Matthews as a gift for achieving captaincy.
Then play him for 17 minutes per game, against top competition, and never take him off the ice on the power-play.
It is time to finally play Auston Matthews in the same way that every other team plays their best player.