The Maple Leafs just proved they do not need Auston Matthews to win and that changes everything this summer
Photo credit: John E. Sokolowski-Imagn Images
Easton Cowan is fighting. William Nylander is leading meanwhile Auston Matthews has been gone for two weeks. Toronto looks more alive than they have all season and someone has to start asking questions.
You can call it a re-energized spirit, or perhaps trying to save as much face as possible but whatever the Toronto Maple Leafs are doing is a lot more palatable than it has been. They're hitting harder, playing tighter, and even adding a lot more fisticuffs to the mix.
This team quit on the season with Matthews in the lineup, but started playing again the moment he left
It's all without their captain as well, as Auston Matthews is on the shelf dealing with a torn MCL and just recently underwent surgery. However, he's probably not going to be too pleased seeing how much fight they've had especially since they were all standing idly by as he lay grimacing in pain.
It's actually been better for Toronto recently despite their record. The eye test can tell you a lot and right now you can see that the team is playing with a lot more heart. Easton Cowan went after Nikita Zadorov and Dakota Joshua feels like someone who is ready to drop the gloves at any time with anyone.
Even William Nylander, a normally reserved player, went out of his way to walk down the bench to discuss things with Morgan Rielly and Brandon Carlo. This is a team who is starting to oddly put it all together (albeit very slowly) and you have to wonder if it's a Matthews problem.
Why is it then they decide to play their hearts out when Matthews is gone? Is it embarrassment? Or perhaps, it's something a lot deeper than we think.
If Toronto can look this good without Matthews...it might be time to rethink things
Could it rather than be a case of the team feeling like Matthews is getting a bit too much of the attention? With him out of the picture, things have still been loud but not nearly as much as they were.
The Maple Leafs saw Matthews absolutely light up the lamp with seven points in six games during the Olympics but only score once in the seven games leading up to the Games, and nine games post-Olympics where he didn't score.
For someone who is making $13.25-million that's extremely poor production. While there's an argument that Matthews is being neutered by Craig Berube, he had 65 shots over his last 17 games.
That's an average of nearly four shots per game. How is the 'greatest' scorer in the world unable to put the puck in the net for his own team? Does he just not care as much?
If that's the case, and Matthews is quietly telling us he doesn't believe in the process, then it's time to see what teams can offer. There are several trades rumours floating around involving the captain including a wild offer (literally) from Minnesota.
The team should seriously take a look then because if he doesn't truly want to be here, and everyone else does? Then who is the real problem? Getting him off your books gives you not only a ton of cap space, but also someone who will get you five, six, maybe even seven pieces and transform your lineup.
It may be time to definitively end the Core Four, but in a shocking twist it's the one they tried to build around that's going to bring them a new core - and one that could bring them a lot more success.
Also read on Hockey Patrol :
Radko Gudas is immediately in trouble with Joel Quenneville after return from Auston Matthews suspension
Radko Gudas is immediately in trouble with Joel Quenneville after return from Auston Matthews suspension
Previously on Hockey Patrol
| POLL | ||
MARS 26|1496 ANSWERS The Maple Leafs just proved they do not need Auston Matthews to win and that changes everything this summer Do you think the Toronto Maple Leafs should think about trading Auston Matthews? | ||
| Yes | 1051 | 70.3 % |
| No | 445 | 29.7 % |
| List of polls | ||