{"id":441072,"date":"2026-02-02T06:17:21","date_gmt":"2026-02-02T06:17:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/441072\/"},"modified":"2026-02-02T06:17:21","modified_gmt":"2026-02-02T06:17:21","slug":"its-like-an-addiction-ex-maple-leafs-enforcer-rips-auston-matthews-for-constant-ipad-use-on-bench-during-crucial-game-moments-nhl-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/441072\/","title":{"rendered":"&#8220;It\u2019s like an addiction&#8221;: Ex-Maple Leafs enforcer rips Auston Matthews for constant iPad use on bench during crucial game moments | NHL News"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <img src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/auston-matthews-4.jpg\" alt=\"&quot;It\u2019s like an addiction&quot;: Ex-Maple Leafs enforcer rips Auston Matthews for constant iPad use on bench during crucial game moments\" title=\"Ex-Maple Leafs enforcer rips Auston Matthews for constant iPad use on bench during crucial game moments (Getty Images) \" decoding=\"async\" fetchpriority=\"high\"\/>Ex-Maple Leafs enforcer rips Auston Matthews for constant iPad use on bench during crucial game moments (Getty Images)  Auston Matthews iPad use has become an unexpected flashpoint as the Toronto Maple Leafs stumble through another uneasy phase of the season. With losses stacking up and familiar cracks widening, attention has shifted to leadership habits during games. A former player has questioned whether the captain\u2019s focus on the bench matches the urgency of the moment when the team needs direction the most.Toronto\u2019s recent slide has sharpened every detail. Bench behavior, body language, and communication now matter more because results are missing. In that environment, criticism carries weight, especially when it comes from someone who once wore the same sweater and understands the pressure that comes with it.<\/p>\n<p>Auston Matthews\u2019 bench behavior under fire as former Leafs enforcer labels constant iPad usage a distraction<\/p>\n<p>The spark came from Jay Rosehill during a Leafs Morning Take appearance, where he voiced clear frustration with what he sees between shifts. Rosehill did not soften his view, questioning how often Matthews turns to technology instead of teammates.\u201cLook at Auston Matthews. Like, is the iPad thing normal? Like, I have seen others, I\u2019ve never seen a guy look at a f****** iPad so much. It\u2019s like an addiction\u2026 He\u2019s just like, give me the iPad. Give me the screen.\u201d Rosehill said.For Rosehill, the concern was not video review itself but the timing and frequency. He suggested the habit risks pulling attention away from the bench dynamic. \u201cEvery single shift, he wants to stare at that,\u201d he said, adding that he wondered if Matthews was missing things on the bench. Rosehill thinks \u201cthat\u2019s kind of a microcosm of how he [Matthews] operates. It\u2019s nothing that\u2019s getting the boys together, it\u2019s nothing that\u2019s thinking about others.\u201dHe went further, describing Matthews as being \u201cin his own little world\u201d and said watching it during a tough stretch was frustrating, calling the bench scene \u201ciPad city\u201d when urgency should be rising.The comments landed during a six-game losing skid marked by slow starts, defensive lapses, and early goals against that flipped games fast. Toronto has struggled to protect the middle, finish chances, and find momentum on the power play.None of this erases Matthews\u2019 production. At 28, he remains the engine of the offense with 26 goals and 19 assists in 48 games, facing elite matchups nightly. Still, this season lacks the control of last year\u2019s 52-win run. At 25-21-9, the Leafs are chasing consistency instead of setting it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ex-Maple Leafs enforcer rips Auston Matthews for constant iPad use on bench during crucial game moments (Getty Images)&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":441073,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5106],"tags":[532,53900,5,24687,20,5172,4,66,31,53901,5171],"class_list":{"0":"post-441072","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-toronto-maple-leafs","8":"tag-auston-matthews","9":"tag-auston-matthews-ipad","10":"tag-hockey","11":"tag-jay-rosehill","12":"tag-maple-leafs","13":"tag-mapleleafs","14":"tag-nhl","15":"tag-toronto","16":"tag-toronto-maple-leafs","17":"tag-toronto-maple-leafs-player","18":"tag-torontomapleleafs"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/115999581855703221","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/441072","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=441072"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/441072\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/441073"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=441072"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=441072"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=441072"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}