Auston Matthews Reveals His Idol's Involvement In His Decision To Sign With Maple Leafs
Brad Treliving's primary goal when he began as GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs was to sign Auston Matthews.
He can now check that off the list. But in getting to this point, how important was bringing on Matthews' boyhood idol Shane Doan into the Leafs Organization?
Doan's Connection with Matthews
Shane Doan, being a Coyote back in his NHL playing days, has been long connected to Matthews, an Arizona native.
Their friendship goes back to when Matthews was just 16, when he attended a Coyotes offseason skate organized by Doan.
That desert connection 🌵
When Doan was brought on as Assistant to the General Manager under Treliving, the implications were clear that this would help keep a strong relationship between Matthews and prospect Mathew Knies, also an Arizona native.
Auston Matthews and Matthew Knies both have significant connections to Doan. Also the Leafs get another incredible hockey mind in the org.
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Brad Treliving: "He allows people to have a voice"
Auston Matthews: "I enjoy & admire him ... We got a great relationship"
Matthew Knies: "He stopped by yesterday & gave me a Leafs jersey"
Doan's Involvement in Matthews' Decision
Matthews has explained that Doan's involvement in the contract negotiations was limited, occurring only during the beginning of the process and early conversations.
It is very likely that Doan wasn't physically involved in the contract negotiations, as this was one of the biggest to ever occur and Doan is only an assistant to Treliving. However, it's hard to imagine that Doan's presence in the organization could hurt Matthews' chances of re-signing.
As read on Maple Leafs Daily:
Auston Matthews reveals what Shane Doan's level of involvement was in his contract extension negotiations
| POLL | ||
Do you think Doan had an influence on Matthews' decision to stay in Toronto? | ||
| Yes | 833 | 70.1 % |
| No | 356 | 29.9 % |
| List of polls | ||
