Photo credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images
Former NHL player Olympian Mike Modano explained how best to maximize Auston Matthews and the conversation keeps coming back to one crucial element.
As one of the greatest NHL players of all time, and certainly one of the greatest American-born players of all time, former Dallas Stars legend Mike Modano knows a thing or two about being a superstar.
But it seems that besides the Olympics, Matthews has a slim chance at winning the big one considering how hot and cold the Maple Leafs have been.
Auston Matthews needs a puck-mover to succeed: Modano
Once the NHL schedule returns, the question becomes whether or not Matthews can take his momentum from Milan and give Toronto a boost.
Though for Modano, who was a guest on TSN’s OverDrive — it comes down to who is surrounding the captain that needs to be looked at and it comes down to a piece Toronto has tried for years to acquire:
I don’t wish that environment and that scrutiny on anyone.
A guy as talented as he is is under the microscope and the number one pick to come in and kind of resurrect the organization and put them on a trajectory to have success.
I think it’s just a matter of finding you know, a secondhand scoring, depth around him. Obviously a defenseman who can help him.It’s not like a Makar to MacKinnon or Hughes for Kaprizov, he would really benefit from someone who can help open him up, keep the skate in and free the game up a bit more.
The chatter always seems to come down to a puck-moving defenceman, which is something that has eluded Toronto almost as much as a Stanley Cup.
Toronto needs an offensive guru on the backend….but who?
Right now, the best puck-movers that the team has for Matthews are Morgan Rielly, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and Troy Stecher and nothing against them but they aren’t those needle-movers the captain needs.
Rielly is way beyond what he used to be and could be on the way out, meanwhile Ekman-Larsson isn’t guaranteed to keep up this pace and isn’t a 1/2 defender anymore so it’s hard to find him a spot with Matthews.
Stecher is the quietest name of the bunch, as though he’s been a strong waiver pickup he doesn’t exactly spark inspiration as a #1 offensive guy.
So that leaves Toronto with a couple of options. They could scour the trade market for someone like Dougie Hamilton (who they have been linked to for months) or wait until free agency and hope that a name becomes available.
They have internal options but again, they aren’t the elite puck-movers that Modano insists Matthews needs. Toronto may need to spend a little bit more to get a player they need but if that fails again — the fan backlash will be loud and swift.
Modano had his own offensive wizard on the blueline in Sergei Zubov for years, so it’s not like he isn’t speaking from experience, and getting Matthews a proper distributor may bring him back to his 60-goal form.
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The Auston Matthews noise in Toronto keeps circling back to the same missing piece
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