The Toronto Maple Leafs are playing incredible hockey, despite not having their best player, which is very concerning for Auston Matthews.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are 7-1 without Matthews and there's currently no stopping them. You would think that everyone should be happy about this record without Matthews, but it only proves that they're spending their money unwisely.
If the team can play this good without a $13M player, imagine how good they would be if they replaced that money with a number-one defenseman or some mid-teir depth? The Leafs would the favorite to win the Stanley Cup and would be running away with the President's Trophy if that were the case.
Ever since Matthews went down, Marner stepped up his game. He has a multi-point game in seven of those eight games and the only game he went pointless was the team's one loss against the Ottawa Senators. Marner is showing everyone that he's a top-five player in the world and you only need one of those players to win in this league, not two.
When you look at past Stanley Cup winners, nobody has had four forwards making $10M plus. In fact, it was only until last year that a team won a Stanley Cup with one $10M-plus player, so Marner's incredible play contiues to showcase that the Leafs don't need these many forwards.
Matthews should be concerned about Marner's elite play
Matthews just signed a long-term deal, so it's not like he's going anywhere, but at this rate, he should be concerned because his best buddy Marner may be priced out of the Leafs budget. Marner is going to be just fine without Matthews because of his incredible playmaking skills, but I don't know if Matthews is going to be as good without Marner and that's why he should be concerned.
Sure, Matthews is a world-class player who can score from anywhere, but he's not as good without an elite playmaking winger and Marner makes everyone around him better. For example, John Tavares scored 47 goals playing alongside Marner most nights, while Matthews only scored 37 without him.
Matthews has had his best goal-scoring seasons playing alongside Marner and who knows if he has another 60 goal season if Marner leaves?
It's not the end of the world if Matthews only scores 40 or 50 goals a year, but I'd rather get the most out of every player and Marner is someone who brings the most out of each person.
I'm sure we're going to change our minds when Matthews returns and starts ripping home goals, but I'm at a point where I wish the Leafs signed Marner long-term and let Matthews walk, as he may be the better play overall and is someone good enough to take a team to the promised land.