Ex-Leafs enforcer blasts Auston Matthews for his early season slump: "A guy that's collecting a paycheck right now"

The Toronto Maple Leafs have struggled to get off to a good start this season. A lot of the blame has been pinned on captain Auston Matthews' lack of form.

This season was supposed to be a test for Matthews playing for the first time without winger Mitch Marner. In 16 games played so far, he has scored just 14 points. That has translated to the Leafs having a 8-7-1 record and second last in the Atlantic Division.

Leafs insiders Nick Kypreos and Justin Bourne expressed their concerns with Auston Matthews on the latest episode on Real Kyper and Bourne Show on Monday. Bourne suggested that Matthews seemed drained physically. Kypreos, who made his final NHL stop with the Toronto Maple Leafs, had more to say about it.

"You can add to physically, mentally, emotionally, all of it it's dropped for him," Kypreos said. (29:00) "We just know it's visible in the numbers, and what we see is that he's lost an edge. They all have to play with an edge, but whatever light was lit is pretty dim right now.

"He is not hungry. He is not. There's no edge to him at all. Zero. He looks to me like a guy that's just collecting a paycheck right now."

Matthews has been struggling since last season, scoring 78 points in 67 games. While that was an impressive feat in itself, it wasn't up to the high standards he set after his 69-goal season in 2023-24. Two seasons prior, he scored 60 goals solidifying his place in the league as a prolific goalscorer.

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Mats Sundin willing on Auston Matthews to break his franchise record

While Auston Matthews' struggles continue, he is ten goals away from the Leafs franchise record for most goals. Currently, the record belongs to Mats Sundin who scored 420 goals and 987 points. In an exclusive with NHL website, ahead of the Leafs' game against the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday, Sundin endorsed Matthews breaking his record soon.

"I can’t wait to see him break my record,” he said.

”Auston’s not just a superstar, he’s the captain, he’s the leader,” Sundin continued. “Guys look up to him. And getting to know him a bit, he’s also a great person."

The Leafs play the Boston Bruins in their next fixture on their Wednesday. They dropped Saturday's game against the opposition with yet another late game collapse.