After the Olympics round robin, Auston Matthews leads the undefeated Americans in goals and points. The US captain has been fantastic, looking better than he has all year for the Toronto Maple Leafs. Clearly, he’s motivated.
But for some reason, Matthews is the one getting criticism from US fans and media. After one game, fans were ready to pounce on Matthews for not being captain material or not playing up to his high standards.
But as we head into the medal rounds, Matthews has been one of, if not the best, American forwards. He’s doing his job. So why is he the first one to face criticism for the US team?
Costs of being a Leaf
The Toronto Maple Leafs are probably the most hated franchise in the NHL. We are the most valuable organization and the most popular team in Canada. With that comes jealousy and envy, which is where a lot of the hate comes from.
But the Leafs are also a joke. We’ve all been watching for the last 15 years. We know how atrocious this team can be, and we know what happens when we reach the playoffs. Toronto is a great punching bag; we have nothing to say back to anyone. There’s no silver lining to being a Leafs fan; it’s pretty much all awful. We embrace it, but it doesn’t change the fact that it sucks.
Being the richest, most popular team should come with some benefits. Maybe financial muscle-flexing to pry coaches and executives, or maybe free agents really wanting to come here. But none of that is really true. We’re basically just a middle-of-the-pack organization.
It is very easy to hate on the Leafs. And people do it! The media does it, other fanbases do it. I would do it too if I weren’t from Toronto.
Matthews captaincy
So that’s the main reason for all the Matthews hate. He’s a Leaf.
But there’s also a valid argument that he shouldn’t be the US captain. From what we’ve seen in Toronto, Matthews doesn’t exactly exude captain material. To be fair, we cannot see what goes on behind closed doors. But from the outside looking in, he just doesn’t seem like the most motivating or accountable captain for such a huge franchise.
He’s been the US captain since the 4 Nations, and while he is/was their best player, the Americans are filled with personalities that embrace their team culture a bit more. Either Tkachuk brother would fit, and so would Jack Eichel.
Does it really matter who the captain of the Olympic team is? Probably not. But when US fans watch the Tkachuks run guys over and chirp like there’s no tomorrow, they probably wonder why one of them isn’t wearing the C.
Unfair criticism
At the end of the day, I think 99% of the reason Matthews gets so much hate is the fact that he’s a Leaf. People generally don’t like him around the league—again, because he’s a Leaf.
It’s frustrating as a fan of Matthews to watch him play so well yet receive the most criticism of the US forwards. He’s been really, really good. It’s exciting to watch, as long as he doesn’t help the US beat Canada.
Sometimes, being the most popular team in the league has its benefits. And sometimes, it only brings negativity. This is one of those times.
Matthews has been awesome, don’t let US fans tell you otherwise. But it’s still Canada’s tournament to lose.
Matthews is 5th in points. Both Crosby at 38 years old and McDavid are ahead of him. Try watching McDavid and Matthews on the same preliminary day. McDavid looks like a monster, working incredibly hard and going twice as fast as everyone else. He’s making huge body checks and everything. Matthews looks like he’s coasting away and I’m not sure he has even laid one real body check. Night and day. One’s a great leader and player. The other isn’t, he has a goal scoring skill he rides off. The fact that not so with it people want to defend Matthews as some kind of God makes people like myself adamant about setting the record straight. I don’t even normally know or pay attention to USA players but I’ve been more impressed with Jack Eichel, Tage Thompson, the Tkachuks, Quinn Hughes and Brock Nelson than Matthews!