Toronto Maple Leafs: Auston Matthews Back on the Cover

The best  player in Toronto Maple Leafs franchise history is Auston Matthews, and he will once again grace the cover of the EA Sports NHL Franchise this year.

With the announcement came many jokes  because the Toronto Maple Leafs are a punching bag and will remain so until they win a couple playoff rounds.

Matthews will be gracing the cover for the second time , something many people found hilarious because that is two more times than two-time Stanley Cup Champion Nikita Kucherov.  Those people are right, you gotta admit it.

This was  pretty hot topic yesterday, so let’s get into it.

Toronto Maple Leafs Auston Matthews on the Cover of NHL 22

Just kidding, let’s not get into it.   I  used to be a master of NHL 99, but these days, with so much of my time dedicated to talking and writing about and watching hockey, I’m far more likely to throw down on an RPG than a hockey game.

Specifically, Final Fantasy 7, a game in which I was nostalgic for and recently re-started on the Nintendo Switch with my son, who is also a huge fan.  From Chocobo Racing to Tonberries, this is the best game ever released.

Now maybe you’re asking yourself, Jim, how else have you been spending the last year of mostly house-bound activities? Maybe you aren’t, but I’ll tell you anyways.

I started working from home, which is cool, but I prefer to think of it as having an electric guitar at work, which is better. Though strangely, during quarantine I played mostly acoustic, and taught myself finger picking so I could play John Prine songs.

I watched the Toronto Maple Leafs fail twice, and defended them vigorously.  But what else did I do? I watched 178 movies from the 90s.  The best of which is Face/Off, which everyone knows, but what is the worst?  It’s Bad Boys, which surprises me every time.

I always trick myself into misremembering how bad it is, because Will Smith is in it and I always think “how bad can any Will Smith movie be?” Then, I re-watch it and remember that both lead characters are horrible people who constantly bicker with each other during a plot entirely based on misunderstandings.   It is horrible.  It’s like someone watched the worst part of Star Wars (Hans and Leia bickering) and said “that would make an amazing action movie if we just added in thirty-two explosions and some homophobia.”  It has to be in the running for worst movie ever made, and the fact that there is not one, but two sequels is mind-blowing.

As for NHL 22 – maybe it’s the best chance for the Toronto Maple Leafs to win the Stanley Cup?  The jokes write themselves, but they’re pretty depressing.

This game is not for me, but please let me know when Matthews graces the cover of a Final Fantasy game.