[Mirtle] « Je pense que les calculs d’Auston Matthews ne sont pas déjà géniaux ; je pense qu’il veut vraiment voir pendant l’intersaison ce qui se passe ici et comment [the Leafs think they’re] je vais changer les choses… je pense que c’est là que nous en sommes »
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leafsland132
33 Comments
I’m so tired of all these reports now trying to fracture Matthews’ relationship with the team…. I think they are just driving clicks
« wants to see in the offseason what’s going on and how they’re gonna turn this around »
In other news, water is wet
So he doesn’t wanna stick around if the team doesn’t do anything and remains ass? Oh wow.
Nothing will be turned around until Berube is sent packing
Trade him. When his free agency comes, he will leave so trade him. Not even the Biebs can keep him in Toronto.
It seems so obvious to me, just get a new GM and coach and don’t just look for the nearest available member of the “200 hockey men”
Oh no, is Knies doing the math /s
https://preview.redd.it/x1tfwxgmw0qg1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b1806c5a05b4e5e7131162e33429972736c41a95
In all seriousness this is a nothing burger.
The guy is waiting for Bérubé to get fired
Outside of the fact that a lot of media seem to be trying to force a split if this is a true report the narrative is absolutely hilarious
Matthews is our highest paid player and second highest in the entire league. He is done for the season now but he is 36th for goals and 73rd for points. He is 4th on our own team for points and Willy is 10 up on him in 8 fewer games
He wants to know what the team is doing to be better next year? I don’t know go stand in front of a mirror bro
Getting kind of tired of the Matthews and Marner shtick where they want huge league leading salaries to be the guy and then wait around for the rest of the team to carry them
Reading between the lines, to me, this is as clear as it can be that he’s not happy with the current situation and if I had to guess, it starts with the coach and ends with the GM. This is as clear a « make changes to the decision makers or I am out » as I have seen without actually saying it.
He hasn’t been near the same and has been asked to play very differently than the past and it’s boring, unproductive and taxing on the body. He may also have been struggling with injuries the past two years but his deployment by Berube is telling. The stats don’t lie.
how about get a new coach and GM first
“I think” x 3 speaks loudly
The thing is, some onus is on Matthews here too. The Leafs can’t decide their path forward without clarity on Matthews’ future health and performance. Can/will he be a superstar again, or are the last two seasons more representative of what he now is permanently?
I mean, this is the level of conversation *most* star caliber players consistently have with their team as they want to remain competitive, but here for some reason it is reported on as though there is division.
Every NHL team is constantly trying to ice a competitive hockey team, so they can win, but also so their good players are attracted to stay, so that they can *continue* to win.
This is not report-worthy news, and not indicative of some rift, its just the business of the NHL.
« Good player wants to play for competitive team that isnt rudderless, more at 11 »
Like no shit dude. Thats not drama.
I mean Matthews needs to turn himself around to be honest. He had a horrible season, Berube should be fired as well but ultimately Matthews needs to start proving he can win as the franchise player he is paid to be.
« I think this, I think that »
So basically you know jack shit.
The franchise is a disaster so who cares anymore. Fuck this team
What’s going on is him and his buddies took max $$ w/o Term so they could keep going back to the well and depleting the team’s coffers so they could never build around the core four with anything more than Fringe NHLers and soon to retire former stars. That meant they went as far as he and his buds were going to take them.
Go look at his playoff scoring the last 9 years in big games. That’s what’s going on.
At least McDavid can look and say hey man I’ve put the puck in the net, I authored comebacks from being down 0-3 by breaking some of Gretzky’s records… What’s Matthews going to say ???
Here’s the ugly truth:
They waited too long to break up the cour four – That’s a Shanny problem. Time to do it was Post Columbus or post Montreal.
They never salvaged the Marner relationship after the $10.6 mil contract – That’s a Shanny problem, he was never gonna re-sign and Tre had no leverage to get anything back
They can’t rebuild because they have no assets, no draft capital, no prospects and nobody to trade – That’s a Tre & Dubas porblem
If they committ to a re-tool – they have no assets to trade, no picks to bring anyone in. Anyone they draft will not be ready to help until 4-5 years. If they don’t improve Matthews is gone, like Mitch, in a no leverage situation, no ROI. That’s a Tre problem
Nuclear Solution: Trade Matthews now – his value declines moving forward, a sign and trade could net the picks and assets to start the rebuild. Morgan Rielly follows. Pick a goalie, trade the other play Hildby trade him when the new kid is ready. Build around Cowan and Knies and your new goalie. Tavares and Nylander there to take pressure off the kids.
Sit tight/Status Quo / Re-tool: Say all is well. Act surprised next year when Matthews leaves and you are trading him August for a 4th line center (He might be at his age then willing to do a 8 yr sign and trade). Sit empty handed and realize you can’t rebuild around Nylander and have no draft picks coming in…
Mirtle has made the list
I honestly think that after the past 10 years, it will just be better for everyone all around to shake hands and say no hard feelings and part ways. We all need change at this point. I think anyone who thinks that he truly bleeds blue and loves being a Leaf is lying to themselves.
People here will say « enjoy another 100 years without a generational player then ». I honestly don’t care. Will we find another player as talented as him? Maybe yes, maybe no. But we haven’t won anything with him, and change for the sake of change is a risk I’m willing to take.
Listen.
Matthews is on record insinuating all he cares about is money. This occurred when he was asked about McDavid taking a pay cut to win, and Matthews said « some people just want to win » This implies he does NOT want to win, and he just wants money. If he wasn’t about the money he would be like « well I’d do the same thing if I thought I could win somewhere » or something like that – he’d 100% have phrased it differently. So either he’s a vapid stupid moron, or he’s telling the truth.
Now.
WHAT TEAM IN THE NHL IS STUPID ENOUGH TO PAY THIS GUY 13 MILLION TO BE A DEFENSIVE 2C? Cause that’s what he is right now.
Only the leafs are stupid enough to pay A guy like THEE guy and only the leafs are stupid enough to give him what he thinks he deserves. Cause anyone with eyes can see that AM34 definitely is A guy, but he also definitely isn’t THEE guy.
He isn’t going anywhere, and if he does? Good. The core four was a bad idea, surrounding him with money grubbing losers like Marleau and Thornton who have had their captaincy stripped due to lack of playoff performance only served to ensure Matthews stays a loser.
Leafs fumbled this kid, and the entire core four so hard.
Add it to the embarrassment lasagna that is the leafs.
Not gonna lie I’d do the same thing. Team is spiraling and has no clear plan. People in charge are complete morons. Matthews has zero connection to Toronto apart from being drafted here.
They’ve been driving this narrative since he scored 4 goals against the sens in his first game. First it was an offersheet from the coyotes, Then he was gonna “leave for AZ as a UFA” 10 minutes after he signed his first extension, Then after his 3rd contract, Then the coyotes moved and he was gonna leave for LA. He might fucking leave but none of these people deserve an ounce of credit for getting it right on the fourth try.
I guess the question is do the Leafs even want to resign him at a top 5 salary in the league that he’ll obviously be asking for. They have more info than anyone on his medical history and declining performance, and Matthews is going to look to get paid based on his name and track record(which he probably still gets in FA from a team on the cusp with money to spend.) Extension talks could potentially get pretty contentious here. This isn’t the same type of no brainer as last time when he was coming off 60 goals at 25 years old and they basically just gave him whatever he asked for on term and salary.
They already lost Marner for nothing, the team needs to get everything they can for him if he doesn’t sign back at a reasonable number reflecting his play over a large sample size of 2 seasons. It would definitely benefit the team if he waited to see how next season starts and didn’t do it in the offseason, so he hopefully regains form to start the season to rebuild his value. It’s at an all-time low right now with the injury and his subpar play, so an offseason trade request that goes public is a worst case scenario for the Leafs.
Considering the piss poor asset management of this entire era spanning multiple GMs, my guess is it happens before next season and the team gets way less for the best player in franchise history than anyone would have expected 2 years ago. People hoping for a Hughes-like return will be sadly disappointed. Quinn was coming off of 4 years at basically a PPG pace with a Norris and playing up to that standard to start the season, while Matthews was playing the worst hockey of his career before getting his knee blown out.
Honestly the Leafs shouldn’t be making franchise decisions based on whether Auston Matthews might leave in two years.
If Matthews wants to stay and be part of rebuild, great. If he doesn’t, the franchise is bigger than one player. You can’t run a team scared of losing someone.
Right now it feels like the Leafs are stuck trying to keep the core happy instead of doing what’s best long term.
If Mirtle is saying this, the agent (and player) want it to be said. Matthews is quietly putting his thumb on the scale to try and prompt some change in the front office.
media and « the fans » are going to run Matthews out of town and send us into another decade + long dark age
What a dumpster fire of a franchise
The Leafs have made the playoffs every year he’s been on the team, and he’s done nothing with the opportunities.
If he bails at the first sign of trouble that’s such a bad look on him
I’ve never disliked Matthews as a player overall. He’s been a great Leaf. Should he have been named Captain? No. Has he been a playoff failure never putting the team on his back for one important game? Yes. But come on you are not going to replace Austin Matthews in a trade at this point in his career and how much his stock is worth. I’m sure he has a full no move clause and if I were the Leafs I wouldn’t let him ask to be moved either. At least not until the trade deadline day of his contract ending.
He’s not a coward like marner. Don’t think he leaves if the right changes are made this off season. Franchise leader in so many stats, gotta retire a leaf and ride the wave to the end. Take a page outta Sid and Geno’s book…missed playoffs 3 straight years still wanted to ride it out and now they’re back up. Got them as my dark horse team to win a cup because of how well they played with both of them injured and because I think dubas knows what he’s doing
Reading between the lines, Matthews loves the city but is unhappy with his usage and roster construction.
Which.. go figure. The offensive superstar doesn’t like being deployed as a defensive specialist on a team that’s feeding scrubs o-zone starts in a system that actively plays against his strengths.
Tree and Berube need to go.
If “we” as the Toronto fans drive him away & MLSE keeps fumbling every contract – I will NEVER fault Auston from moving on from Toronto. Take inventory of how many former leafs PROSPER after leaving here. Something has to change in Toronto. This is madness.