Auston Matthews The Penalty Killer?
Auston Matthews is a very rich man after signing an extension with the Maple Leafs. It sounds like Toronto wants to adjust his game with Brad Treliving taking over the hockey operations with the Leafs. Get ready for Auston Matthews the penalty killer!
“You’re down a man but at the same time, it’s hockey, a lot of anticipation, a lot of reads, and I feel like I have a good stick and can break up plays,” Matthews said, according to NHL.com’s Dave McCarthy. “I’d love to be utilized on it.”
“When you go out there against guys like [Patrice] Bergeron and [Brad] Marchand on the penalty kill, it definitely makes you think a little bit more. Just because not only are they very good offensively, but defensively they can knock pucks out of the air and stuff like that force you to make plays in tough positions and transition the other way,” Matthews explains.
“Obviously, we’re not trying to score every time we’re [killing a penalty], but there’s definitely a lot of opportunity there and something that I definitely want to embrace. Another challenge for myself, but something that I’m very open to — and I hope it works out.”
Toronto had the NHL’s 12th-ranked penalty kill last season at 81.9%. That number dipped to 73.3% in the playoffs. A lot of the defensive stalwarts like Noel Acciari, Ryan O’Reilly, and Alex Kerfoot are gone too.
Up until this point, Matthews has only registered a whopping 24:19 minutes of total ice time on the penalty kill. Theoretically, this should be something Matthews could succeed at. He’s a 52.4% guy in the faceoff dot and notched 92 blocked shots a season ago.
Matthews isn’t the only one with a new role in Toronto. It also sounds like Nylander is going to be playing more center this year. New year, different Leafs?
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