Auston Matthews is the Maple Leafs best player. He is one of the best players in the world. The one thing missing: A Stanley Cup ring
A few weeks before training camp began, one of the newest Maple Leafs wandered over to general manager Brad Treliving with a clear observation.
Training camp can so often be about other things: What position will William Nylander play? Will he or won’t be sign a contract? How good are the youngsters, Fraser Minten and Matthew Knies? Will the third-string goalie, Martin Jones, clear waivers? All of them sidebars to the big picture. “I’ve seen it up close and heard it when we met in Arizona in the summer. Nobody works on his game more. He has a commitment to being the best.”John Tavares is listed as the captain of the Maple Leafs. But when you hear him talk about Matthews, you’d think he might be talking about Matthews as the Leafs captain.
“He puts a lot on himself to lead this group. He’s driven to be one of the best players in the world.” When Doug Gilmour was the best Leaf, Toronto was a Western Conference team. Wayne Gretzky, Steve Yzerman, Brett Hull and Pavel Bure were the best in the West.
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