Auston Matthews has an underrated weapon, and Team USA is leaning on it

For all the criticism that Auston Matthews has received for being appointed captain of Team USA for the 2026 Olympics, he's done his best to silence the doubters and show that he can still bring the heat when it matters most.

A three point outing against Germany was as good as you can get, and he's been able to showcase all that offensive talent he's known for -- and could be a huge factor in USA achieving the ultimate prize.

But Matthews is a player who is able to find his lane and be able to get the puck on net regardless of the situation and it seems like Matthews is going to be a huge factor going forward:

While Matthews used to have Mitch Marner to feed him passes, there is something about letting him focus more on goal-scoring than playmaking. It's why Max Domi is on his line because realistically, Toronto has very few options at their disposal.

But with Team USA having guys like Matt Boldy, Tage Thompson and Brock Faber all able to give Matthews the puck, he's got more than a few superstars to lend him a helping hand.

Toronto would love to add a player like Marner to their ranks though clearly that's much easier said than done, and if Matthews is that dependent on someone feeding him the puck, then perhaps it's something the team needs to focus on come the summer time.

They could get a bit of a head start on things with a trade this season, and maybe a deal for Dougie Hamilton will give Matthews enough offensive help from the backend at least to help him score more, but it doesn't solve their top-six issues (especially if they trade Bobby McMann).

Give Matthews credit though, as the Maple Leafs and USA captain has proven that he can be counted on to make things happen and although it was just a preliminary game, there feels like there's a lot more emotion and passion behind Matthews' performance as of late.

Team USA has arguably the best roster they've ever assembled at the Olympics and it's looking like making Auston Matthews a priority is paying off quite well for the red, white and blue.

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