Matthews adds thump to solid body of work
Star centre shows he can rack up hits along with points
A ripened Auston Matthews is in just the sweet spot of a sparkly career to throw around his weight.
If he were that kind of a guy, which he’s not.
Instead, and quite surprisingly to observers of the Maple Leafs, he’s throwing around the hits.
That’s not actually what a team’s most precious asset should be doing as a significant feature. It’s the job of teammates to protect Matthews. In a bygone era, a player would be designated for the purpose, as Tie Domi once menaced anyone who took liberties with Mats Sundin. We are apparently well past that version of the NHL. You are your own posse of one.
But something clearly has quickened in Matthews, perhaps a slow-burning umbrage that opponents who can’t otherwise disrupt his skilful game should go for the wood and the elbow and the slyly illegal thump. And maybe that penny dropped with a ping on Feb. 8 when Matthews took his first penalty of the season after being run into the boards, almost blindsided by Vancouver’s Olli Juolevi. It was a righteous misdemeanour, a line drawn in the ice.
More likely the “I’ve had enough” tide turned in the series with Edmonton late last month. In one game, on Jan. 20, Matthews dished out half-a-dozen hits, making full use of his six-foot-three, 220-pound frame. Across the opening six games of the season, he’d delivered three hits; in his last nine games, he’s totalled 13. That 20 shakes out to an average of about 1.5 per game, projecting to 86 hits on the season if Matthews keeps up the elevated knockabout pace — more than twice his high-water mark from 2019-20, in 70 games.
Now, the Leafs don’t need Matthews to be a U-boat prowler out there. It’s more than enough that, entering Saturday night — a 2-1 loss to the Canadiens — he led the league in goals (11) and game-winning goals (five), fourth in faceoff percentage, while topping the team in shots (55), shots blocked by forwards (13), enjoying gobs of ice time as befits his status (averaging 21:59), deft puck pilferer (12 takeaways) and indisputably the heartbeat of the club. All of which places Matthews directly in the wheelhouse of discussion for the Hart Trophy and Rocket Richard laurels.
It’s the hit-flexing, though, that while hardly as signatory as his extraordinary wrist shot — so fast, so accurate — has been an added dimension and unexpected as Matthews carves out even more space for himself, shields up.
“I think I’ve made a point in my game to be more physical,” Matthews asserted in a zoom scrum with reporters Saturday morning. “I don’t think it’s over the top but when I have opportunities to use my size and strength, whether it’s with the puck or without the puck, just trying to utilize that to my advantage.”
In fact, Matthews has been addressing that part of his game since the
COVID-deformed post-season last August. “In my head, I think when we went back into the bubble, it was definitely a lot more physical and I think it worked to my advantage. Like I said, it wasn’t over the top or anything, like, I’m not there searching for big hits. It’s just here and there, when I have an opportunity to finish a check or be physical on the puck, I’m doing that.
“It’s for the benefit of the team, for the benefit of myself. All that stuff kind of wears on players, on defencemen, on forwards, throughout the game throughout the season, and the playoffs, which is what we’re ultimately working towards.”
Zach Hyman, who does make physicality central to his game on a team which has often been accused of softness, has certainly noticed.
“He’s always used his body well. But especially in the defensive zone, he’s pushing guys off the puck more, creating more space to close quickly and then transition to offence. On the forecheck he’s definitely using his body.”
Adding: “Hits are a weird stat, but you’ve got to be physical in order to get them.”
Grit is measured in different ways and these Leafs have always maintained they draw their toughness from the ability to dominate a game. In a shrunken season, coronavirus 2.0, it’s become evident, particularly with exclusive in-division play, that the hockey is contact intensified, more grinding. Even the Habs, historically and culturally all about the flair, have transformed into a vastly kinetic outfit, with a beefy blue line of three six-foot-three D-men.
It’s also been rather obvious that some opponents have targeted Matthews’ lower back, which has been an ongoing health concern. In that aforementioned series with the Oilers, he was cross-checked twice across the vulnerable lumbar spine. If you can’t beat ’em, pound ’em where it hurts.
Matthews is reluctant to opine about being in the crosshairs of marked malevolence.
“I’m not really sure how to answer that, to be honest with you.”
He probably does, but won’t. “It’s a physical sport. You have the right, obviously, to compete out there and defend your net and finish checks. It’s a fast game out there, so lots of stuff happens. I just try to go with the flow and play my game.”
Coach Sheldon Keefe recognized the emerging multifacets of Matthews in the 2020 play-in round, where No. 34 was hands down Toronto’s most prominent player, attentive to details.
“When you go back to that series and you focus on him and all those details — physically, blocking shots, working to come back to our end — he had all those elements in his game, and he’s brought them to an even higher level here this time around. He’s had the goal streak, of course, and it’s great’’ — 10 in eight games prior to Saturday — “making an impact offensively as we expected that he would, but he’s very focused on the detail of a good team game.”
The coaching staff had asked all the players to be harder to play against. “Auston has just taken it upon himself and done it,” says Keefe.
Over four-plus seasons, the now-23-year-old has gradually found his voice too, whether facing reporters or in the locker room. Media grooming in early days helped smooth that transition, but genuinely assuming that posture comes only from the doing. The Leafs have plenty of veteran leaders in the dressing room. Matthews has taken his place among them, to noticeable effect.
“For a young guy, you’re obviously going to focus on yourself,” observes Travis Dermott, “you’re not going to be the most outspoken guy right off the bat. He’s filling the shoes as he goes. He has respect around the room. When he does speak up now, it’s someone you’re obviously going to listen to.”
Keefe has watched that evolution, encouraged it in private conversations. “It’s just a matter of him growing as a player and as a man, really. He feels a lot more comfortable in the league and amongst his teammates. He also has a level of confidence that he’s taking care of things on the ice, not just on the offensive side but all the other areas. When you do that, it gives you a lot more confidence to be able to speak and push your teammates and challenge them.”
The body language speaks volumes too: Hear hear.