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Auston Matthews Given Extra Motivation After Being Disrespected by Toronto Radio Host
Photo credit: Imagn Images
Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews will be looking to have a bounce-back season, although there are some people out there who are doubting him.
Auston Matthews dealt with an injury last season that made it a lot harder for him to perform at the level we know he is capable of.
He finished the season with 33 goals, which, in all fairness, would be a phenomenal season for the average player. Unfortunately, Matthews has scored 69 goals in the past, which has warped our perceptions of him.
Needless to say, going into this season, a lot of fans are expecting Matthews to get back to his old ways. However, there are some who believe the captain is in for a world of hurt.
Carlo Colaiacovo is not convinced about Auston Matthews
One of those people is former Toronto Maple Leafs player Carlo Colaiacovo, who was on TSN 1050 this past week.
When asked if Matthews could get back to his old ways, Colaiacovo was quick to answer in the negative. Essentially, he believes the team's identity is too different and that without Mitch Marner, there won't be anyone to feed him goals.
"That's stupid. He had a down year last year and he didn't want to admit to what injury he was dealing with, but he also lost the one guy that's going to help him score goals in Mitch Marner. How is he going to score 50 again? Who is going to help him? On a team that is changing it's identity to play differently, you're probably going to see less offense from this group. I would take Leon Draisatl over Auston Matthews to win the Rocket Richard again next year cause he's playing with McDavid."
This could very well give quite a bit of motivation to Matthews going into next season, as there are already high-profile media members doubting his ability.
Without Marner on the team, Matthews is going to have to raise his game, and there is no denying that it is going to be tough for him to do so.
Having said that, Matthews is a great player, and we absolutely want to see him do great things against the odds. As captain, it is his responsibility to elevate.
Only time will tell what this upcoming season brings, and whether or not the Maple Leafs can get past the noise and have a truly impressive season.
| POLL | ||
AOUT 14 | 159 ANSWERS Auston Matthews Given Extra Motivation After Being Disrespected by Toronto Radio Host Will Auston Matthews score 50 goals this season? | ||
| YES | 96 | 60.4 % |
| NO | 63 | 39.6 % |
| List of polls | ||
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