Maple Leafs' Auston Matthews Deserving of More Criticism

The Toronto Maple Leafs have once again found themselves on the wrong end of a winner-take-all Game 7, losing to the Florida Panthers by a score of 6-1 on home ice. Feeling the brunt of another pre-mature exit from the playoffs, Maple Leafs fans are throwing a lot of blame around to their superstar players.

Soon-to-be free agent Mitch Marner has taken a lot of heat from the Maple Leafs fan base for numerous years now, but he shouldn’t be the center of attention this time around. Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews deserves a ton of blame, as well.

Marner isn’t completely free of liability for the string of playoff failures, but more scorn needs put Matthews’ way.

Matthews is an unbelievable player during the regular season, shaped as one of the best goal scorers in the NHL. Once the playoffs begin, though, the script is flipped, especially in crucial games late in a series.

In seven winner-take-all games over the course of his career, Matthews has zero goals. Twice, Matthews has scored 60 or more goals in the regular season, but in seven games with the Maple Leafs’ season on the line, he’s never found the back of the net.

The Maple Leafs have never missed the playoffs with Matthews in their lineup, making nine straight postseasons. Only twice have the Maple Leafs made it to the second round; Matthews’ career second-round goal total sits at one.

Matthews earns an annual salary of $13.25 million, which is the highest in the NHL for the 2024-25 season. Not only was Matthews the highest paid player in the league this season, but it was his first as Maple Leafs captain.

Before the start of the year, the Maple Leafs put on a big production surrounding them stripping John Tavares of the captaincy and giving it to Matthews. Fans of the Maple Leafs have already started saying it’s time to take the C away from Matthews.

Following a brutal 6-1 loss on home ice to the Panthers in Game 5, Matthews said he and his teammates need to take a hard look in the mirror. He scored his only career second-round goal in Game 6, but that only led to another 6-1 loss on home ice in Game 7.

After the Game 7 loss, Matthews said there were “too many passengers” in the Maple Leafs lineup. While he’s not wrong, he skirted any responsibility as being one of those passengers. He had two shots on goal and was a minus-two.