Leafs GM Brad Treliving gets 100% real about Auston Matthews' 2-goal performance against Flames as he snaps out of recent slump

Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving knew it was just a matter of time before team captain Auston Matthews broke loose from the slump he had recently been in. Treliving’s comments came on the heels of Matthews’ two-goal performance on Monday night against the Calgary Flames.

On Tuesday, Treliving appeared on TSN's "Domino's That's Hockey" and spoke to Gino Reda about his thoughts on the uber-talented team captain.

“Well, we've said it for a long time. Auston's a—I mean, he's an elite goal scorer, and it was sort of a matter of time," Treliving said. "And I know as much as the sort of the public discourse has been around goals and whatnot.”

Treliving’s comments prove that Auston Matthews’ value to the team goes beyond merely scoring goals. Treliving doubled down on his comments, saying:

“I think Auston's overall game has been real good. You know, he's led us defensively, and that was probably even what stood out to me more last night than the goals.” Treliving added, “He was the leader of our team in terms of his competitive approach, setting the standard early in terms of his checking game.”

Matthews’ leadership is an often-overlooked aspect of his meaning to the Leafs. Treliving concluded his thoughts, saying:

“The goals will come, and certainly nice to see a couple go in for him last night. But like I said, he set the standard for our group to follow.”

That standard has allowed the Leafs to get to within striking distance of the Atlantic Division lead. After Monday night’s win, the Leafs remain two points behind the Florida Panthers, with a game in hand. As it stands, Matthews’ elite goal-scoring abilities are the cherry on top of a pie of all-around success.

Toronto Maple Leafs could cut down on Auston Matthews minutes down the stretch

In a recent piece in The Athletic, Jonas Siegel explored the possibility of the Toronto Maple Leafs cutting back on Auston Matthews’ minutes down the stretch. The reasoning behind this line of thought is that Matthews doesn’t appear to be fully healthy.

Matthews has missed time this season—roughly 15 games—due to an upper-body injury that has gotten sufficiently better for him to play through. However, it has affected his performance significantly. Entering Monday night’s game against Calgary, Matthews had 24 goals. The two-goal outing brought his tally up to 26, with a solid chance of Matthews hitting 30 before the end of the season.

However, that total is significantly down from last year’s 69 tallies. So, Siegel believes the time has come for the Leafs to cut back on Matthews’ ice time so that the team captain can be rested come playoff time.

If Monday night’s game was any indication, that appears to be the case. In the game against the Ottawa Senators on Saturday night, Matthews hit the ice for nearly 22 minutes. On Monday night, he played a touch under 17. Perhaps the lower ice time was the result of a blowout game. Nevertheless, it seems the team is taking Siegel’s advice to heart.

The Leafs will need Matthews to be at his best as they head into the postseason. A fully healthy Matthews could become the difference-maker if Toronto wants to make a long-anticipated playoff run.