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GDT #16: NOV 5, 7:30, TSN - Kings at Leafs

Something else to consider with the puck retrieval magic.

He has the puck a lot more than he did in his rookie season, and when he doesn't have it, he's on the right side of it defensively more often.

Corsi Against:

19/20 - 52.42 (24.1 SCA/60)
18/19 - 61.76 (31.64 SCA/60)
17/18 - 61.75 (30.94 SCA/60)
16/17 - 58.92 (27.44 SCA/60)

Yeah, when the opposition has the puck a bunch less, and you're in better position when they have it, you're going to make less of those flashy puck strips from behind.
 
Something else to consider is that the league is still evolving into a more flat out skill league. It's not all the way there yet but there are very few players that contribute nothing to creativity out there. This likely means you're going to see less of a gap between the very best and the worst of players. To dominate for every shift in a league like that is going to be extremely difficult.
 
Volcanologist said:
Imagine what this kid could do if he really went after the play instead of coasting around waiting for it to come to him. He's huge, is an incredible stickhandler, and should be close to impossible to handle along the boards.

Actually, we don't have to imagine...we saw it pre-Trouba/Kronwall hits.

that Matthews has since vanished near-completely.

I'm hoping this is a Babcock thing and this kid will resume what looked to be a very steep upward curve under a new coach who can hopefully work better with him.

Or...maybe I simply overrate Matthews, he's not some kind of truly elite player, and is "only" a top 20ish scorer.

If that is the case, then yeah, criticizing him would be unfounded(contract aside). he's producing fine.
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He is currently 4th in SF 5v5 among forwards and 3rd overall in shots all situations
 
The Datsyuk comparisont made me currious about his advanced stats, and damn prime Datsyuk was ridiculous.

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leafman101 said:
Also Auston > Connor

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Auston is legit putting up those kinds of stats this year - though really this is the first time, so we'll have to wait on it.

But he is playing at an absolutely ridiculous level so far this year, which makes leafs media more ridiculous than ever before
 
I'm being facetious, but its interesting that Matthews is getting shit for being lazy, one dimensional floater when in reality his defensive metrics are well above average, and far superior to McDavid and prime Crosby, in tougher competition than he has faced in previous years.

Imagine how lazy Toronto would think that floater McDavid "looks".
 
leafman101 said:
I'm being facetious, but its interesting that Matthews is getting shit for being lazy, one dimensional floater when in reality his defensive metrics are well above average, and far superior to McDavid and prime Crosby, in tougher competition than he has faced in previous years.

Imagine how lazy Toronto would think that floater McDavid "looks".
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"McDavid just doesn't play a winning brand of hockey. All perimeter flash."
 
Do we have any access to the advanced stats from Sundin's prime?

He's another guy that constantly got shit on by the Toronto media and a good portion of the fanbase for looking "lazy" out there, but it always seemed to my eye test that he was just as good on the other side of the puck as he was offensively.
 
Volcanologist said:
okay, so the response is that I'm nuts and Matthews is better than McDavid.

alright then.
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what is the position you are arguing, other than 'Matthews hasn't been good enough'?

and if that is the position you are arguing, given his performance relative to his peers, you may simply need to revise your expectations.
 
for everyone expecting Matthews to all of a sudden develop in in prime Scott Stevens/Eric Lindros type physicality and mean streak... that's just not going to happen. and if it did, it would probably shorten his career anyways.
 
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