Auston Matthews autographs jersey for Justin Bieber and Hailey Bieber’s baby

Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews and pop star Justin Bieber have been friends for several years, and it appears the next generation of the Bieber family are destined to remain fans of the team.

Bieber is a massive Leafs fan and has been friends with Matthews and Mitch Marner among other players, since they began playing for the team during the 2016-17 season. Matthews recently autographed a jersey for Justin and Hailey Bieber’s four-month-old son, Jack, as Justin posted a photo to his Instagram story Monday.

“To JB Jr, Peace and Love,” Matthews wrote to the infant Bieber, inside the ‘3’ with his signature inside the ‘4’ of his No. 34 jersey.

Bieber is an avid hockey fan and has been a fixture at Leafs games — although we haven’t seen him this season, and if we do, we’ll certainly report back! He is the most famous Leafs fan on the planet, with due apologies to Mike Myers and Will Arnett, and posted a simple photo of the Leafs logo prior to the 2023-24 playoffs.

Toronto hosted the 2024 NHL All-Star Game and Bieber was a major part of the weekend. Bieber served as one of the All-Star Game celebrity captains, where he served alongside Matthews, while Morgan Rielly was the team’s assistant captain. Bieber, Matthews and Rielly selected fellow Maple Leafs William Nylander and Mitch Marner, then added Jake Oettinger, Clayton Keller, Mathew Barzal, Igor Shesterkin, Filip Forsberg, Alex DeBrincat and Vincent Trocheck to their roster.