Auston Matthews Receives Much-Needed Message Amid Leafs’ Struggles

Auston Matthews has become the main target of fan frustration as the Toronto Maple Leafs continue to stumble through a difficult 2025-26 season.

With Toronto sitting at 16-15-5 and clinging to eighth place in the Atlantic Division (second last in East), criticism has intensified around the captain’s reduced scoring output. However, one analyst believes the blame has gone too far.

Speaking on Daily Faceoff, NHL Network analyst Jackie Redmond pushed back strongly against the growing narrative surrounding Matthews.

Redmond questioned whether the market truly believes Toronto’s issues come down to one player. She described the situation as "very clearly a series [of] multiple years of bad decisions," not a single failure by the captain.

Redmond also reacted sharply to calls suggesting Toronto should move on from Matthews. “I just can’t believe that people are actually saying, get rid of Matthews,” Redmond said, calling the idea absurd. While acknowledging Matthews has not been perfect, she stressed context matters.

"Matthews has not been perfect, okay," Redmond said. "He's dealing, obviously, as we all know, with some sort of long-term chronic injury. He's not the same player on that. We can all agree. And do I wish that we saw a little bit more fire from him in the media sometimes? Of course.

"But anyone that thinks that this guy doesn't care or is like, oh, he's too cool for school... You do not become Austin Matthews by not giving a s**t. You become Austin Matthews by actually caring deeply about the sport that you play and wanting to be really good at it."