Auston Matthews Under Fire for Ducking Media During Marner Return

For the first time in his NHL career, Auston Matthews took the ice at Scotiabank Arena with Mitch Marner on the other side as an opponent on Friday night. The highly anticipated return to Toronto saw Marner — who was relatively quiet — and the Golden Knights handle the Maple Leafs with relative ease, 6-3 in front of a crowd that was itching for something to get excited about.

From coming out of the gates flat to losing a critical game in regulation amidst their playoff pursuit, there was plenty for Leafs Nation to be disappointed about in the aftermath. While the on-ice result was the primary concern, what also didn’t sit well with fans was the fact that their captain chose not to speak to the media either before or after the loss to Vegas.

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Sam McKee voiced his frustration in real time on Leafs Talk when it became clear Matthews would not be speaking postgame.

McKee said:

“I really hate to do the media thing, but like, you’ve got to talk today. You’ve got to talk today. You’ve got to get in there and eat the medicine and just do it again. There’s a certain situation where you’re the captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs and your former linemate — a guy who was a big part of your team for a long time — is coming to town. I mean, for God’s sake, he spoke this morning. At least he did. You can’t do it? It’s crazy. It’s a bad look, man. It’s a bad look,”

The 28-year-old Matthews was held off the scoresheet while being a -1 rating in the loss, seeing his season totals now stand at 42 points (25 goals, 17 assists) in 45 games played thus far.

Auston Matthews Spoke About Mitch Marner on Saturday 

After not speaking pre- or postgame on Friday, the captain did take questions on Saturday morning about how things went and felt in Marners return to Toronto.

This is what Matthews had to say when reflecting on the night: “It was nice that there were some cheers for him during the video tribute… I think it was kinda done the right way… there’s gonna be the boos when he’s on the ice and has the puck and all that stuff, I think it’s pretty expected… I thought it was a good atmosphere, I thought it was fun.”

While it’s understandable that Matthews is likely sick and tired of being asked about Marner and his return, as McKee pointed out, certain responsibilities come with being the captain of the Maple Leafs, and talking to the media on the day of an important game is one of them. For example, John Tavares spoke both before and after the game on Friday.

Fans will just have to hope that getting these two matchups with the Golden Knights out of the way frees Matthews up to get fully back to his game, because outside of those contests, he’s looked far more like himself over the past month. Toronto certainly needs it if they want any hope of extending their playoff streak to 10 in 2025-26.

Next: Rasmus Andersson Takes Subtle Shot at Toronto Crowd After Marner’s Return