Auston Matthews has some complaints about the new Olympic hockey rule

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Alexander Cole
February 10, 2026 (3:19 PM)

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Photo credit: Bob Frid-Imagn Images

Toronto Maple Leafs superstar Auston Matthews is at the Winter Olympics right now, although a new piece of equipment is giving him some trouble.

Auston Matthews is going to the Olympics for the first time in his career, and he just so happens to be the captain of Team USA.

It is clear that the Americans are the favorites in this year's tournament, but there is no guarantee that they actually end up with a medal.

Having said that, Matthews is going to be playing with a new piece of equipment around his neck, as neck guards have been made mandatory by the IOC.

Neck guards are optional in the NHL, so it has been a bit of a strange sight to see all of these NHL players putting something around their throats.

Interestingly enough, the players aren't exactly thrilled about the new hardware, as made evident by a new piece from Luke Fox of Sportsnet.

Auston Matthews made a comment on the neck guards, noting that guys don't like them, but they are very easy to forget about after a while.

I mean, I don’t think many guys love it. But I think once you kinda get out there, you don’t notice it much.

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Hockey players can be pretty stubborn about all of this stuff, so the latest comments from Matthews should not be a surprise to anyone.

Going forward, the NHL is going to have to consider making this a rule in its own league before guys start getting hurt for no reason.

Skates are extremely sharp and can inflict serious damage to a sensitive area. For the NHL, it's about keeping guys from harming themselves.

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FEVRIER 10\|184 ANSWERS Auston Matthews has some complaints about the new Olympic hockey rule Do you believe Auston Matthews should be forced to wear a neck guard at the NHL level?
YES	129	70.1 %
NO	55	29.9 %
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