Auston Matthews Is Out For The Rest Of The Season. Has He Played His Final Game In Toronto? Sure Hope So
Mark Blinch. Getty Images.Let me give you a quick list of names. Jack Kirrane, Mike Eruzione, Auston Matthews.
The only 3 guys in the history of the world to captain a USA gold medal winning men's ice hockey team. No matter what happens in the rest of his career, Auston Matthews has cemented his name in history. He is a winner, no matter what anybody ever says. And now that he's a winner, he probably wants to win more. He has the gold medal around his neck, but I'm sure he'd love to hold the Stanley Cup above his head. But it's looking harder and harder for that to ever happen with that Maple Leaf on the front of his sweater.
What if this is it? What if we just watched the final game for Auston Matthews as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs? The organization he has been the face of ever since June 24, 2016.
Dave Sandford. Getty Images."Toronto is proud to announce from Zurich--men's league Switzerland, and the US Program, Auston Matthews".
It was a night that would change the Toronto Maple Leafs forever. A legitimate superstar entered the building. A generational goal scorer. The greatest goal scorer in the history of the Toronto Maple Leafs. A kid who came in and scored 4 goals right off the bat in his NHL debut back on October 12, 2016.
The Toronto Maple Leafs were building towards greatness. They had the makings of a dynasty, all centered around this kid from Scottsdale, Arizona. So much young talent, and so much hope. They were already planning the parade(s) in Toronto.
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The Leafs made the playoffs in year 1 of the Auston Matthews era. They lost in 6 games to Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals, but there was reason to be optimistic about this group. But that optimism started to dwindle a bit after the Leafs saw 4 out of 6 seasons end with a loss in a game 7 of the 1st round. This group only made it beyond the 1st round of the playoffs twice. And after 9 years together, the core of this group was dealt its first blow when Mitch Marner left for Vegas in free agency.
And now for the first time in the Auston Matthews era, the Leafs will miss the playoffs. 9 years of playoff hockey in a row, and it's followed up by disaster in Toronto. And the final moment for Auston Matthews this season is taking a knee-on-knee hit from Radko Gudas, followed up by his teammates doing absolutely nothing about it.
A hit that knocked their captain out of the final 16 games of the year, and nobody even put their gloves on Gudas. You have teammates that won't stick up for you, you have media writing hit pieces about you because you visited the White House after winning a gold medal, and you have fans that have already shown just how hard they can turn on you with Mitch Marner.
That all sounds like it's time for a fresh start. Toronto is so lucky that Matthews still has a couple years left on his contract, because there's not a chance in hell he'd re-sign there this summer if he was hitting the open market. But the Leafs have to realize that their window is closed, and Matthews has to realize that as well. Get as much in return as you can for him now, and set him free. Captain America deserves a chance to get his named engraved onto Lord Stanley at some point in his career.