Olympic Criticisms Eerily Familiar for Auston Matthews

There were suggestive comments about other members of the team who should be wearing the ‘C’ and some even suggesting that it was quite clear that Matthews was not the leader this team needed. The familiarity of these comments stemmed from similar remarks made throughout his tenure as the leader of the Maple Leafs – that the team would never win with him as their captain.

But Matthews’ leadership isn’t just about the way that he speaks in the room or off the ice amongst the media. His leadership isn’t just about the goal scoring or his ability to control the play. It’s about the intangibles added in to all of the other important jobs one the leadership checklist – all of which Matthews’ has checked off throughout his career. Even without the intangibles – the hits, blocked shots and 200-foot game – Matthews numbers have justified his role as captain both in Toronto and at the Olympics with the Americans.

Matthews Numbers Suggest He’s Near the Top of the Tournament

Forget that he’s factored in to nearly 26 percent of the Maple Leafs’ goals this season and let’s focus on the Olympics for now.

According to Dmitri Filipovic, Matthews led the Americans in Scoring Chance Contributions in all situations per game played in the preliminary round of the tournament. Essentially, he contributed to 6.7 chances per game in the round robin with Jake Guentzel at 6.0 per game being the next closest on the team.

Now, if you’re a straight basic numbers hockey fan, here’s an easier break down for you. After the first three games of the tournament, Matthews leads the U.S. in goals and points and currently sits third on the team in shots. Not bad for a “poor leader.”

Mike Kelly adds a little more numerical value to Matthews’ play thus far in his break down, noting that the American captain leads all players through three games in goal probability and – what he defines as – ‘Grade A’ chances, while sitting third in both goals and slot shots.

Still there will be some who question his overall leadership – even with the numbers he’s put up so far in the tournament. They will question it even with his enthusiasm of playing for his country at the top stage of the game. And they will question it even if he leads the team offensively the rest of the way. So how do his teammates feel about these criticisms?

American Players Back Matthews As Captain

After their 5-1 victory over the Germans, Guentzel’s comments on Matthews were one of the first to surface online and they were of high praise for Maple Leafs’ star.

“He’s been great all tournament,” said Guentzel of Matthews. “You guys put a lot of heat on him for no reason. He’s just an unbelievable player and he plays in all situations.”

His 200-foot game has been something in which he’s mastered over the past number of seasons playing for the Maple Leafs and it hasn’t gone unnoticed that he’s given up some of the offensive opportunities to make sure that he’s sound defensively as well.

“People don’t realize how much he sacrifices offense to be in a good defensive position,” said Dylan Larkin, who is an Atlantic Division foe of Matthews’ in the NHL. “That’s winning hockey. He plays winning hockey. He plays like a leader should play. He blocks shots, good on faceoffs. Tonight, he was used as a matchup guy, and he still produced. That’s one of the hardest jobs in hockey when you’ve got to shut someone down and try to score. He did that tonight. And that’s world class.”

Even Tage Thompson – another Atlantic Division player in the NHL and current Olympian – mentioned how Matthews’ ability to take over games sets him apart from others. And those sentiments were riddled throughout the American lineup.

“He’s one of the best for a reason,” said Jack Eichel following the game against Germany. “He stepped up huge for us. He checked when he needed to, made a lot of plays offensively, created a lot of offense, won big draws. It was great to see him have a huge night… he’s one of the best in the world.”

But it was Matthew Tkachuk who stated it as simply as it needed to be stated: “He’s our captain, we’re following his lead.”

And that’s it. He’s the captain and his team is behind him. While it’s clear in many cases that these criticisms have more to do with the Maple Leafs than the player that captains both them and the American Olympic team, one thing is for sure.

Lose and the criticisms around his leadership will once again fly rampant. Win and the next question will be – why not with the Maple Leafs? So while his focus right now is on winning a gold medal for his country at the 2026 Olympics, this might be a lose-lose situation for Matthews when it comes to the outside noise.