Toronto Maple Leafs: What to Expect from Auston Matthews This Season
To assume that Toronto Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews delayed his wrist surgery on purpose is naïve, unfair and shameful. It is just another string in the bow of petty fans and downright crazy people. Matthews is a professional who devotes his time, energy and body to the game and to suggest otherwise is foolish.
For the people who aren’t happy that the Toronto Maple Leafs superstar is on the cover of the NHL video game again. Come on…
Back to the matter at hand, for lack of a better word, no professional athlete chooses to have surgery, especially not one who makes his living and has his reputation hinging on the ability for his wrist to snap a cold rubber puck past a goaltender in excess of 100 km/h. Even the most cynical of fans can understand that.
While the exact reason for the surgery remains “discomfort during on-ice training”, after last season it’s not hard to believe that something was bothering the Arizona native. After a successful operation, Matthews is now 10 days into his expected 6-week recovery which lines up with the start of training camp.
Due to the fact that there were no hiccups in the procedure we can now turn our attention to what we should expect and what we want to expect from Auston Matthews this year. The Toronto Maple Leafs enter this year with a weaker roster on paper than the one that suffered an abysmal exit last playoffs.
Even more so now, the pressure has piled on the ‘Core Four’ of which Matthews is front and centre.
Expect Lots of Goals from the Toronto Maple Leafs Best Player
This one is an easy place to start. Really it goes without saying. Forget Matthews being the best pure goalscorer on the roster and possibly in the history of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Auston Matthews is one of the best goalscorers to have played hockey.
Yes, he is that good. He has shown that he can beat any goalie from every angle imaginable. Matthews has consistently scored and the only time he has struggled it has been a source of that wrist.
Hopefully, the wrist surgery has fixed whatever was ailing him before and it will propel him to new heights. You can expect him to score, and score a lot. Since 2017-18 the 23-year-old has scored at above a point-per-game basis and there is no reason to see those numbers drop.
If not for a shortened season last year there is no doubt Matthews would have surpassed the 50 goal marker with ease (he was at 41 in 52 games, with a bad wrist).
This year though, with even more pressure for the Leafs to win, what Toronto needs is for Matthews to be more selfish with the puck at crucial moments. He is an elite goalscorer but a number of times last year he would dish the puck to Zach Hyman, Mitch Marner or someone else. Fine options, but not in the calibre of No.34 – he needs to keep that puck on his stick.
You rarely see Patrick Kane dish the puck around with the clock winding down, and if Toronto wants to win this year, don’t expect Matthews to be passing then either.
Verdict: Very Likely
Physical Play
We started to see a little more of the physical side to Auston Matthews last season, but it is few and far between for a man of his speed and size. He is listed at 6’3″ and 220lbs and he does not use nearly enough of that big body.
Part of the reason is that he is so good with his stick and positioning, both with his stick and his body that he is always at the top end of the charts when it comes to takeaways. Matthews, because he is so good at bouncing off hits, avoiding hits and keeping the puck away, he rarely needs to play the body.
However, if the Toronto Maple Leafs want to improve on their post-season collapses, he needs to play the body far more.
Take Alexander Ovechkin as a prime example. He is also one of the greatest goalscorers of all time, he won scoring trophies, he produced highlight reel goals and he could beat any goalie from anywhere – much like Matthews.
Yet he just couldn’t win a cup. His goals only took his team so far. He went away one off-season and came back a bigger, thicker, heavier hockey player. He started pummelling opposition physically, and then would break them with his goals. Matthews needs to add that dimension to his game.
Verdict: Want to Expect, but Unlikely
Leadership
Whether accurate or not, a constant criticism of the Toronto Maple Leafs is their lack of leadership. It is something that GM Kyle Dubas has gone out and tried to fix repeatedly in Free Agency by bringing in Joe Thornton, Wayne Simmonds, Jason Spezza to name a few.
This expectation likely falls more into the fan appeasement side of the game, but it isn’t too much to expect Matthews to take on a more vocal role in the team. Of course, there is little to no idea what goes on in the locker room of the Maple Leafs (although the new Amazon documentary could reveal new dimensions).
However the fans want to see someone talking on the ice, not necessarily chirping the other team, but geeing up teammates, calling out a lack of effort, generally just more talking. By now we have all seen The Last Dance, we all know how Michael Jordan approached practices let alone games and the fans should expect that from their star player.
If you haven’t watched Iman Shumpert talk about LeBron James’ basketball IQ then click to about 5:50 and listen to how vocal Lebron is on the court. What we need to see from Matthews is more talking and more chat to his teammates.
John Tavares is a leader, Morgan Rielly is a leader, and Matthews is as well but for the fans’ sake, one of them needs to publicly show it. Its vain, its needy but the Leafs fans have bought in to the team and it’s what the fans should expect.
Verdict: Unlikely
Flexibility
Finally, with the departure of Zach Hyman, Auston Matthews is going in to this season without a defined left winger.
It’s true that Head Coach Sheldon Keefe liked to rotate players alongside Matthews, but Hyman played with him far more than others.
There are options for Keefe, notably in the form of Nick Ritchie, Nick Robertson and possibly Michael Bunting.
What should be expected of Matthews is that he continues to be flexible with his linemates because it will undoubtedly change throughout the course of the season.
There is even the chance that he gets reunited with William Nylander on occasion (although JT and Nylander looked very good together) and maybe even Alexander Kerfoot could see the odd couple of shifts with Matthews.
Next. Leafs Goalie, Defense, Management Grades for 2021. dark
No.34 has shown that he can play with anyone, so expect him to stay mobile, to be given a high number of shifts and be thrown in with everyone. Matthews is destined for the top line, who makes it with him will be a revolving door – it then becomes a matter of who wants it most.
Verdict: Very Likely