Auston Matthews makes his feelings known about $47.1M Vancouver Canucks star D-man

Auston Matthews shared his thoughts on Vancouver Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes after Toronto Maple Leafs' 3-0 shutout loss on Saturday. The Maple Leafs captain had a poor game, as did the team's "Core Four", including William Nylander (24 goals this season), Mitch Marner (Assists leader for Leafs with 59 points), and John Tavares (20 goals and 42 points).

Auston Matthews didn’t score, recording two shots on goal in 19:14 minutes of ice time. This ended his four-game point streak after returning from a six-game injury. Matthews has missed 15 games this season due to the injury.

Quinn Hughes had a strong game, scoring a goal and an assist. His point shot in the second period at 18:12 deflected off Toronto’s Simon Benoit, giving the Canucks a 2-0 lead. Auston Matthews praised Hughes's performance, calling him a special player.

"He's a special player. Obviously, he's very dynamic, he kind of drives the bus for that team on both ends of the ice." Matthews said, "He's very gifted offensively. He's very shifty, dynamic. Breaks pucks out really clean. He's a special player. So obviously he had a good night tonight. So he's a tough guy to contain, but I thought we could have done a better job on him and better job on a lot of guys." [2:46]

Hughes is signed to a 6-year, $47.1 million contract, making him one of the highest-paid defensemen in the NHL. His strong play continues to make him a key part of Vancouver’s success.

Auston Matthews, Craig Berube talked about missed opportunities against the Vancouver Canucks

The Toronto Maple Leafs' offense failed against Vancouver Canucks at Scotiabank Arena. Coach Craig Berube said the team lacked pace and didn’t generate enough offense.

“I didn’t think we played with enough pace in the game,” Berube said, per NHL.com, “We didn’t obviously generate enough. We obviously have to generate more than we did, power plays included.”

He noted the power play was also ineffective, with only two shots on three opportunities.

Auston Matthews also commented on the team's struggles.

“I thought we had chances, just couldn’t capitalize and I thought we couldn’t really get momentum on our side,” Matthews said. “A lot of one-and-done. It just felt like a little bit disconnected through the most part of the game, I would say.”

The Leafs couldn’t break through Vancouver’s defense, despite having some opportunities. Their power play and puck movement were weak.