Auston Matthews snubbed from NHL Network’s Quarter Century team

It’s the dead of summer and we’re still several weeks away until we get a sniff of NHL hockey. So, naturally, the NHL Network has released their Quarter Century team and the Toronto Maple Leafs were severely snubbed.

With the roster of 12 forwards, six defensemen, and two goaltenders, a group of “NHL Network researchers” decided to mark down the top players that have debuted in the league since Jan. 1, 2000. While it is understandable that no Maple Leafs player from the first 15 to 18 years of this millennium was included in the list, there is a considerable exclusion that should frankly be labelled as a snub.

Auston Matthews is clearly the player that should have been at the very least considered and should probably be on this list over some names. He’s the most talented player on this Leafs team and by the end of his career, will probably finish as one of the best Leafs of all-time.

Let’s go forward-by-forward and see if Matthews should or shouldn’t be on this list over them.

Patrice Bergeron – Bergeron is arguably the best two-way center of this generation and was as reliable as anyone, and probably could still be playing. So, probably not.

Sidney Crosby – Ah, no.

Pavel Datsyuk – A player that dropped jaws almost every night and was as impactful in all three zones as some players dream of being in just one. So that’s now three players Matthews probably shouldn’t be in over.

Leon Draisaitl – Draisaitl only just became average defensively this past season. Before that, he was simply cashing in while in the offensive zone and on the power play. And this is all certainly recency bias. Matthews has a down season due to injury and the German forward has now been at back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals. But, Matthews has scored two more goals than Draisaitl has in his career, in 161 fewer games. Almost three entire seasons worth of games not included. And then factor in Matthews’s dominance defensively for most of his career and it’s certainly an argument that the Leafs captain should be in ahead of Draisaitl. It’s close, but the Oilers forward just had more time to hit milestones. Oh, and playing with Connor McDavid.

Patrick Kane – The most one-dimensional player on this list. Sure, he has some Stanley Cup rings and is still playing today, but we have to be serious here. The resume is long and Kane had the benefit of debuting all the way back in 2007, but if we’re talking peak vs. peak, Matthews has already shown so much more impact to the whole game of hockey than Kane ever has. It’ll be controversial, but Matthews is better and should be on the list.

Anze Kopitar – By the time Matthews is 37 years old like Kopitar is, these two players will be talked about in different tiers. Kopitar is outstanding and has been extremely consistent through three decades, but if on equal playing fields of games played and such, Matthews is ahead. But, that’s not what this exercise is and when talking about the first 25 years of this century, Kopitar deserves this slot.

Nikita Kucherov – Kucherov is an offensive freak and, like Kane, is pretty one-dimensional when it comes to his impact. But, his offense is even better and his resume is about the same already at the age of 32, when comparing him to Kane. So, while we can say Matthews’s overall game should take him above, it’s a little hard to argue that Kucherov doesn’t deserve a space on this list.

Nathan MacKinnon - No. Maybe they’re equals when it’s all said and done but MacKinnon has more than earned this.

Evgeni Malkin – Yeah, the pedigree is of course one thing and winning so much adds more to all of that. But Matthews has everything that Malkin has but is better at a whole lot of them. While we even understand that it’s what the player has done in this quarter century and comparing the two, putting in Matthews over Malkin would probably be the least controversial thing that this list could’ve done (and they would’ve been correct).

Connor McDavid – No.

Alex Ovechkin – No.

Steven Stamkos – This is the one that really seemed a little wild. Sure, those Tampa Bay Lightning teams were good and fun and marked a period of time in the last 25 years of the NHL. But Matthews has already had better seasons than Stamkos ever has, and has already achieved more individually. All Stamkos has done is won two Rocket Richard trophies. Matthews has three of those, plus a Calder, plus a Hart Trophy, and a Lester B. Pearson. It will seem baffling to even talk about these players on the same tier when both of these players are done. And even now, it should be heavily argued.

With all that said and done, it’s clear to see that at the very least Matthews should have been put on this list instead of a few of these forwards.

Of course, they will always weigh the amount of Stanley Cups a player has won or just how long they have been around – so we understand some of these decisions. But when it comes to the achievements as it stands, Matthews stands above even some forwards with rings on their fingers.