TSN Analyst Faces Backlash Over Comments About Leafs Captain Auston Matthews

Even though he's had what could be considered a down year, Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews is slowly getting back to his usual form.

Missing 15 games this season due to two separate injury reserve stints, he hasn't had much of a chance to get things really going.

But he's still one of the top players in the NHL regardless, though if you were to ask TSN Analyst Craig Button, he doesn't deserve the praise.

Button must only look at pure numbers on a per season basis in order to determine who the best players are in the NHL.

By his logic, Rickard Rakell, Clayton Keller and Jesper Bratt are better than Auston Matthews which, is frankly absurd to even entertain.

Matthews is a once in a generation type player, and his statistics speak for himself. 388 goals in 597 games for Matthews; 382 in 768 for Draisaitl.

While Draisaitl is on his heels, by pure goal scoring Matthews is cream of the crop, and doesn't have the luxury of playing beside Connor McDavid (though Mitch Marner is no slouch).

Matthews has more individual awards than Draisaitl, and though he's had less playoff success; neither has the Oilers star although he's been a fantastic point producer.

Button's argument holds merit if Matthews and Draisaitl were the only two players in the League, but they aren't and a definition of a top player varies from person to person except for very extreme circumstances.

This is one of those circumstances, and to say Matthews isn't a top player even though history has shown it (when did Draisaitl last tie a Mario Lemieux record or hit close to 70 goals?) and a down year doesn't dictate a player's entire skillset.

Craig Button is absolutely entitled to his opinion, but to state that Auston Matthews is not a top player is objectively false.

He's going through a tough season but has still come back to produce.

Has it been another historic year for Matthews? No. But if he's able to secure himself some playoff success and even perhaps a Stanley Cup run, then Button will have no choice but to acknowledge him.