Report: There's a clear disconnect in the Leafs' dressing room and Auston Matthews is to blame

It's been a pretty awful start to the 2025-26 season for the Toronto Maple Leafs and captain Auston Matthews.

The Leafs are 15-15-5 and dead last in the NHL's Atlantic Division through 35 games. Yikes.

Matthews is on pace for the lowest goals and points totals of his NHL career. Double yikes.

So... what's going on?

There are rumors that Matthews has been playing through injury that he suffered early on in the season. Of course, he missed 15 games and travelled to Germany last season for some sort of experimental, unspecified treatment.

There are also theories that he misses playing alongside long-time teammate Mitch Marner. Marner, of course, left for the Vegas Golden Knights this past offseason and fans are pointing to Matthews' dip in production as a proof that the Leafs blew it with Marner.

Whatever it is that's ailing Matthews this season, it's kind of besides the point to me. Even if Matthews was leading the league in scoring, I still think the Leafs would be struggling in the standings. If you listen to Matthews speak and listen to his teammates speak, it's clear that there's a disconnect within this team and it comes from the messaging of their captain.

Just yesterday after another brutal loss Matthews told the media that there's nothing from a mental approach that the team needs to change and that they are "mentally fine." Matthews' teammates and head coach Craig Berube then went off about how the team needs a "mental shift" and that all of their problems come back to their mentality.

Mentally you're not fine, Auston. This is the worst Leafs team in Matthews' 10 year NHL career and it's not really close.