Matthews takes blatant shot at Laine in ESPN interview!

The Leafs’ superstar knocks Laine down a peg!

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Published 4 years ago
Matthews takes blatant shot at Laine in ESPN interview!
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One young star is set for the next five years with a lucrative contract in Toronto; the other is waiting to get paid by the Winnipeg Jets as a first-time restricted free agent. 

However, Auston Matthews has always had a slight edge on Patrik Laine, being selected first overall by the Maple Leafs back in 2016, just before the Finnish boy was picked by Winnipeg. Ever since, continuous comparisons have been made about the two, but Matthews had one on Laine again on Wednesday. 

In a fun complete interview with ESPN, Matthews was asked about his personal life and off-ice hobbies, more specifically requested to speak about his love for video games. When asked precisely about Fortnite, Matthews made sure to explain that he enjoyed the game, but wouldn’t spend too much time on it, especially prior to an NHL game. 

“I’ve played it. Like I said, I go through stretches were a play a lot of games, and Fortnite was one of them. I don't think it ever got to the point where I was playing all night and not sleeping. I didn't play to the point where it was affecting my life. But I would play three or four hours a day after getting home from practice. Log on and play with all the boys. But nothing too crazy.”

Then, Greg Wyshynski went where everyone thought he would. He brought up Laine. We all remember how Laine mocked the Vancouver Canucks’ Fortnite ban last season and how he was caught playing more than 14 hours straight on the video game. 

Matthews took this opportunity to take a blatant shot at Laine. 

ESPN: No, you're not from Finland.
Matthews: Exactly.

No holding back there. But you gotta love a healthy competition and little mockery. Especially when it does not happen on the ice or - in this case - during a Fortnite battle. 

Laine is coming off his three-year entry-level contract and is believed to be looking for a significant salary worth more than $8 million on a mid-range deal with the Jets. Winnipeg has just over $22.872 million in salary cap space, as per Cap Friendly and is likely to use every penny this offseason. 

Maybe Laine could take a discount and attempt to make money with Fortnite tournaments! 

Source: ESPN