Auston Matthews Has Earned Himself the Title of Coward by Another Former NHLer

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Aaron Itovitch
November 4, 2022 (6:35 PM)

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Auston Matthews is off to a tough start this season. The outgoing Hart and Rocket Richard winner only has four goals in his first 10 games, which is embarrassing for a player who's supposed to be among the best in the league.

Even worse, in the Leafs' game against the Philadelphia Flyers, Matthews was a true embarrassment in a scuffle with Travis Konecny.

Former NHLer and now-analyst Mike Rupp didn't hold back in his criticism of Matthews.

He doesn't have to fight here, although he's the one who started this whole thing as far as going after him in the corner.

But you can't just stand there and be okay with your teammates coming to your defence and you just laugh about it. We've seen this movie, I've seen this time and time again with Auston. Playing the cool card doesn't work, it doesn't float. It may look cool on social media, but in that locker room, at some point it will wear thin.

Former Montreal Canadien and Chicago Blackhawk equally shared his opinion on the incident.

He stood there smiling while everyone on the ice is either in a scrum or a fight because of his actions. This isn't a good example of a good leader at all.

For a player who pledged to play with more physicality just a few weeks ago, this is a deplorable effort.

Matthews is losing the respect of his peers, and it's not a good look for the Leafs.