Matthews' Stubbornness Likely Cost the Leafs Their Season

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Wade Messier
May 13, 2023 (5:40 PM)

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Auston Matthews is one of the largest personalities in professional hockey. Known for his flashy clothes and confident persona, Matthews is a love or hate kinda guy. Did his stubbornness and unwillingness to try new things potentially cost Toronto their entire season?

Matthews Stand-Off With League Hinders Leafs Success

If you remember a while back, the NHL was trying to implement a next puck tracking technology into their game pucks, to provide accurate tracking and new data sets.

Auston Matthews was one of the few players vocally against the change, as he felt the change in weight would affect his signature shot. To be fair, that shot earned him a 60-goal season, but it still seems a bit over the top to refuse this change.

It turns out, this unwillingness might have cost Toronto their semifinal series against Florida.

A controversial no-goal call last night proved to be the end of the Maple Leafs season, and while many players and fan argued the decision, one simple change could've prevented it all.

Had there been puck tracking technology in the puck, the league could've detected if the puck was truly over the line or not. Because this technology wasn't used, there was no sure way of knowing.

Is this on Matthews and his unwavering stubbornness?

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