{"id":645561,"date":"2026-08-19T10:51:14","date_gmt":"2026-08-19T10:51:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/645561\/"},"modified":"2026-08-19T10:51:14","modified_gmt":"2026-08-19T10:51:14","slug":"maple-leafs-auston-matthews-is-most-important-toronto-athlete-over-blue-jays-vladimir-guerrero-jr","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/645561\/","title":{"rendered":"Maple Leafs’ Auston Matthews is ‘most important Toronto athlete’ over Blue Jays’ Vladimir Guerrero Jr."},"content":{"rendered":"

Auston Matthews<\/a> has been called the \u201cmost important Toronto athlete\u201d ahead of Toronto Blue Jays<\/a> star Vladimir Guerrero Jr. by former NHL<\/a> and Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Carlo Colaiacovo.<\/p>\n

Speaking on First Up, Colaiacovo explained why Matthews carries greater importance for Toronto sports. He pointed to Matthews\u2019 uncertain future and the pressure surrounding the Maple Leafs.<\/p>\n

\u201cLike Auston Matthews to me is the most important Toronto athlete because Vladdy, we know he\u2019s gonna be here for the next 14 years,\u201d Colaiacovo said.<\/p>\n

Guerrero recently committed his future to Toronto with a 14-year, $500 million contract. That long-term security makes his situation different from Matthews, whose future remains less certain.<\/p>\n

MORE: Auston Matthews\u2019 chiropractor says Maple Leafs star is \u2018ready to go\u2019 after knee injury<\/a><\/p>\n

Colaiacovo also highlighted the Raptors, with Scottie Barnes providing Toronto another young cornerstone. \u201cWe also know that there\u2019s no threat of Scottie Barnes leaving,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Matthews enters the 2026-27 season after a difficult campaign. The Maple Leafs captain recorded 27 goals and 53 points in 60 games, his lowest production since entering the NHL.<\/p>\n

His season ended after he suffered a Grade 3 MCL tear against the Anaheim Ducks in March. The injury completely derailed the Maple Leafs\u2019 season and has already created questions about Toronto\u2019s direction.<\/p>\n

Why Auston Matthews carries greater pressure in Toronto<\/p>\n

\"NHL:Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews (34), with teammates at Benchmark International Arena. Mandatory Credit: Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images Credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect (Reuters)<\/p>\n

The Maple Leafs endured a major team decline, finishing 32-36-14 in 2025-26 and missing the playoffs. That result pushed the organization toward significant changes during the offseason.<\/p>\n

For an NHL team built around its franchise center, Matthews\u2019 performance will directly shape Toronto\u2019s chances. The Maple Leafs need him healthy, productive and capable of leading the offense again.<\/p>\n

Colaiacovo believes that responsibility makes Matthews different from Toronto\u2019s other major sports stars.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s pressure to get back to being a winning team,\u201d Colaiacovo said. \u201cBut there\u2019s also pressure for Auston Matthews to be that guy leading the way.\u201d<\/p>\n

There is also a larger contractual question hanging over the Maple Leafs. Matthews has not committed beyond his current contract, leaving Toronto with an important decision about its long-term structure.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s pressure on the organization to convince Matthews to be here beyond the expiry of his current contract,\u201d Colaiacovo said.<\/p>\n

MORE: Maple Leafs\u2019 2026-27 hopes ride on core stars delivering again<\/a><\/p>\n

Matthews has already established himself among Toronto\u2019s greatest scorers. He scored 69 goals in 2023-24 and remains on pace to challenge franchise records.<\/p>\n

\u201cMatthews being the guy that scored 69 goals,\u201d Colaiacovo said. \u201cIf he\u2019s not the most important guy, then who is?\u201d<\/p>\n

For Toronto, that question will become even more important if Matthews returns to his previous scoring level. His health, production and future commitment could define the Maple Leafs\u2019 next chapter.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Enjoy free coverage of the top news & trending stories with The Big Lead Newsletter\u00a0<\/a>\u2014<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Auston Matthews has been called the \u201cmost important Toronto athlete\u201d ahead of Toronto Blue Jays star Vladimir Guerrero…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":645562,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5106],"tags":[532,5,20,5172,560,555,4,66,3010,31,17109,5171,25947],"class_list":["post-645561","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-toronto-maple-leafs","tag-auston-matthews","tag-hockey","tag-maple-leafs","tag-mapleleafs","tag-mlb","tag-nba","tag-nhl","tag-toronto","tag-toronto-blue-jays","tag-toronto-maple-leafs","tag-toronto-raptors","tag-torontomapleleafs","tag-vladimir-guerrero-jr"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/117121796591931034","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/645561","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=645561"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/645561\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/645562"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=645561"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=645561"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=645561"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}