Toronto Maple Leafs: Auston Matthews Should Kill Penalties

The Toronto Maple Leafs penalty kill will have a new look next year and maybe it’s time to reconsider Auston Matthews playing on it.

With the high likelihood of Ilya Mikheyev leaving the Toronto Maple Leafs for decent money elsewhere, there’s a guaranteed spot opening up in the group.

Pierre Engvall and Alex Kerfoot are both at least possibly on the move, and so there is a chance that the Leafs PK will be getting a major overhaul.

Auston Matthews would be a great addition to the Leafs PK. After all, his defensive game has shown some genuine growth in recent years.

Auston Matthews Can Emulate Selke Finalists for the Toronto Maple Leafs

Before suggesting that the idea is truly crazy and that star centers don’t belong on the penalty kill, it’s worth drawing attention to the Selke Trophy voting.

Of those listed among the top-five defensive forwards in the league, the likes of eventual winner Patrice Bergeron, Elias Lindholm, Alex Barkov and Ryan O’Reilly all are top-line players that kill penalties.

The Toronto Maple Leafs weren’t wholly ignored in Selke Trophy voting either and indeed it was Auston Matthews that popped up at tenth in voting there with enough votes to suggest it wasn’t just home team bias.

Right now might be the time to send him over the boards with the team shorthanded. After all, the team will lose it’s speedy breakaway threat if Mikheyev and Kerfoot end up leaving. Maybe it’s time to make goalies fear Matthews’ shot instead.

This isn’t to say that any player can just step in and kill penalties; after all it’s not the easiest thing to do and you’ve got to have a willingness to take the hit or jump in on a shot block, but if Auston Matthews was anything to go by as the playoffs went on, he’s almost there.

Imagine what it does for a team on the powerplay if the Toronto Maple Leafs could roll a unit that looks pretty close to their 4-on-4 grouping, with Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner out there.

The best parallel is probably the Boston Bruins, who often roll out Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand together on the penalty kill.

It certainly makes a team playing shorthanded think twice, which is essentially what you need them to do. Hesitation on the powerplay has often been the Toronto Maple Leafs undoing; let’s get our own back!

There’s still a lot of elements of Auston Matthews game that you have to feel have an even higher level; adding to his responsibilities and finding him more ice-time should not be a burden.

Last time the Toronto Maple Leafs tested the waters, it didn’t really work out. Now though, Auston Matthews is far more well-rounded and is much-improved on the defensive side of the puck. Time to try it!