Auston Matthews weighed in on relationship with $100,000,000 4 Nations rival ahead of USA vs Canada clash

Auston Matthews and Connor McDavid are two of the NHL's biggest stars. They've always gone head-to-head when the Maple Leafs take on the Oilers. On Saturday night, they face off for the first time as a part of the best rivalry in hockey: Canada vs USA.

In the lead-up to the game, Jonas Siegel of The Athletic published a story where he talked to Auston Matthews about his growing bond with fellow superstar Connor McDavid.

Leafslatest on X (formerly Twitter) shared some of Matthews' comments on his relationship with McDavid.

“I definitely think it’s evolved, and I think there’s a mutual respect and appreciation for one another. I know for myself, spending time with him, I always find—hockey, for the most part, we talk about a lot of stuff—but I just find getting his perspective on different things is pretty cool.

"You learn a lot just by bouncing things off of each other. He is who he is because of the work ethic he puts in, and he’s obviously a special talent with the consistency and everything like that. I just find anytime I spend time with him, I’m always learning different things."

Matthews added:

"We talk about the game a lot and maybe how he sees it. Obviously, his skill set—nobody really has that kind of skill set. Just hearing how he thinks the game or maybe how he likes whatever—where his wingers are on the breakout, different stuff like that.

"It’s always interesting to hear his perspective on different things."

Saturday will be the 19th all-time matchup between Matthews and McDavid, who is the in the midst of an eight-year, $100 million contract, but the first time they face off representing their countries.

Auston Matthews leads Team USA into battle on Saturday night against Team Canada

Auston Matthews is preparing to finally get his first taste of the US-Canada rivalry. He'll enter the battle with a lot of pressure as captain of Team USA.

The Americans will be heavily relying on the 27-year-old sniper to lead the group. Though with so much talent on the roster, Matthews will have plenty of help when trying to take down the star-studded Canadians.

Auston Matthews registered one assist and two shots on goal and was a +1 rating in 19:52 minutes of ice time during Thursday's 6-1 win over Finland. His line with Jack Hughes, and Jake Guentzel looked to have nice chemistry that grew as the game went on.

Team USA and Team Canada square off in what should be an epic battle on Saturday night at Bell Centre in Montreal. The puck drops at 8 p.m. EST.