‘For me, it sucks’: Auston Matthews admits what still bothers him, and why the Olympics matter
Auston Matthews admitted he has come up a bit short in being able to win it all, and why these Olympic Games give him the best chance to rewrite his own history.
As captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Auston Matthews has a lot of pressure to not only be one of the best players in the world night in and night out, but rally a team who has some pretty significant flaws into a potential playoff push.
It's unknown territory for Matthews and he's been a playoff staple for a decade nearly, however it's his inability to really win anything substantial that brings a lot of criticism.
Matthews frustrated with himself over lack of big-game accomplishments
That's something not lost on the Maple Leafs and Team USA captain, as he admitted that he knows he's come up short before and doesn't feel particularly great about it.
Speaking to reporters, Matthews admitted that his losses have gotten under his skin and was blunt in his assessment of his career accomplishments outside his own individual accolades:
I think that’s part of life. It’s not always going to work out in your favour. For me, it sucks. But there’s nothing I can do to fix that now.
Well, for Matthews -- he certainly can fix things going forward.
Matthews can rewrite his legacy as more than just a regular season force
Sure, he can't go back in time to replay and redo the games he lost, but he can rewrite his own legacy now. Team USA has arguably the strongest roster they've ever had at the Olympics and have a legitimate shot at contending vs. Canada for gold.
This is Matthews' first Olympics and he's also been named captain. There's a lot riding on this and another failure will all but cement him as a player who can do it for 82 games but when it comes to best of -- he falters.
But this isn't the Matthews we saw last year who was struggling with injuries and never felt like the player we were used to. This year he has a chip on his shoulder, looks more like the 69-goal scorer of old and his only goal is gold.
Team USA hasn't won gold at the Olympics since Lake Placid in 1980, and they've always been the bridesmaid and never the bride when it comes to securing gold. 2002 in Salt Lake and 2010 in Vancouver spring to mind as two intense games that saw the US come so close but never reach the top.
That can change if Matthews can come out of the gates swinging and not let up. This is the chance for him to prove to not only his teammates but the entire hockey world that he isn't just a regular season wunderkind.
He's Auston Matthews -- the right guy to lead both the Maple Leafs and Team USA to victory.
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| POLL | ||
FEVRIER 11|905 ANSWERS ‘For me, it sucks’: Auston Matthews admits what still bothers him, and why the Olympics matter Do you think Auston Matthews will help lead Team USA to a gold medal? | ||
| Yes | 189 | 20.9 % |
| No | 716 | 79.1 % |
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