Auston Matthews' Leadership Questioned By Former Maple Leafs Player
The Toronto Maple Leafs could do nothing to stop the Florida Panthers from advancing to another Eastern Conference Final, and captain Auston Matthews is under scrutiny after another postseason failure.
Former Maple Leafs player and current Sportsnet analyst Nick Kypreos is questioning Matthews' fit for the captain role, one Matthews inherited at the start of the 2024-25 season.
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Speaking on Sportsnet's 'Real Kyper and Bourne,' Kypreos said Matthews' talent isn't in question, but his leadership ability should be.
'Maybe he's just not the guy that everybody envisioned, Auston,' Kypreos said. 'Maybe he's just a really good goal scorer, but the rest of it, maybe not.'
Matthews, in his first season as Leafs captain, had two shots and finished minus-2 in Sunday's 6–1 Game 7 home loss to the Panthers.
"I'm watching this last night, and—see, for me, Auston Matthews is (Evgeni) Malkin in Pittsburgh," Kypreos said. "He's very talented and showed that he can play the game as well as anybody.
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"Has the talent to be the best player on the ice... but Malkin is nothing if there's no (Sidney Crosby)."
The defeat eliminated Toronto from the playoffs and extended their run of futility in winner-take-all games to seven straight losses.
'Matthews needs a Crosby," Kypreos said. 'He can't do it being the number one guy. He's not a leader.'
Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews (34) warms up at Scotiabank Arena.Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
After the game, Matthews acknowledged Toronto's disconnect in crucial moments, calling out the Maple Leafs "passengers" during the second and third periods of the Game 7 defeat.
'I thought we were ready to play,' Matthews said. 'But I just thought we had too many passengers throughout the rest of the game.
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'We weren't on the same page.'
The Leafs gave up three goals in the second period and never recovered. No member of Toronto's Core Four—Matthews, Mitch Marner, William Nylander, and John Tavares—was able to score a point in Game 7.
Related: Auston Matthews Calls Out Maple Leafs 'Passengers' After Game 7
Related: John Tavares Doesn't Hesitate When Asked About Future With Maple Leafs
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