Babcock makes bold statement about Matthews following first game of the season

​This is a way to push the focus away from his off-ice antics I guess…

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 4 years ago
Babcock makes bold statement about Matthews following first game of the season
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The Maple Leafs may have decided to name John Tavares the new franchise’s captain on Wednesday, Auston Matthews managed to steal the show, scoring two goals in the season opener in Toronto. 

Many believed Matthews was in the running for the job of captain, at least until word surfaced last week about the complaint for disorderly conduct he received following a drunken incident outside his condo building in Scottsdale, Ariz., in May.

Matthews is alleged to have dropped his pants - though he did keep on his underwear - after he and a group of friends attempted to open the car of a female security guard.

The regrettable incident was only made worse by the fact the Leafs management was blindsided by the news when the story broke on Twitter.

On Friday, head coach Mike Babcock took the attention away from the incident and Matthews’ behaviour, and made a blunt statement about his star forward. 

 “I think he has a chance to be the best two-way centre in hockey.”


That’s a strong statement! We get that Matthews is just 22 years old and has plenty of time to develop, however, many fans think of Boston Bruins’ Patrice Bergeron when it comes to the league’s best two-way centre. And that’s without adding Aleksander Barkov, Sidney Crosby and Mark Stone to the mix… 


What do you guy think? 

Matthews has already established himself as the NHL’s most dangerous 5-on-5 scorer, but we might want to see more of him on the opposite end of the ice to agree with this bold statement… 

Source: Twitter