Maple Leafs' Auston Matthews snubbed by ex-NHLers over $500,000,000 Blue Jays star, as the face of Toronto sports

TSN panelists Jeff O'Neill and Marty Biron had no qualms in naming Toronto Blue Jays superstar Vladimir Guerrero Jr. as the face of sports in the city.

The Blue Jays are currently the most talked-about team in the market, a distinction that Auston Matthews' Toronto Maple Leafs usually hold for most of the year. The Blue Jays' MLB postseason run has raised hopes among Canadian fans, who are eagerly awaiting a title for the city.

Guerrero is hitting .455 with a 1.470 OPS in the playoffs. He has posted 11 RBIs and a franchise record five home runs, fitting for someone expected to become the face of the franchise after signing a 14-year, $500 million contract in April.

According to O'Neill and Biron, Guerrero's impact on sports in the city has been incomparable this season.

"This is the biggest layup in quiz history," O'Neill said. "Vladimir Guerrero Jr. went four for four last night, almost hit for the cycle. He's ripping homers. He's goofing on the New York Yankees and the Leafs season is only 10 days old. This is a layup. It's Vladdy Jr."

Biron also referred to Vladdy's father, Guerrero Sr., who was part of the now-defunct MLB franchise, the Montreal Expos.

"It's now and for the next 14 years, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. because he has 500 million reasons to be the face of sports here in Toronto," Biron said. "And also whenever I can work a Montreal Expos reference, I watched his dad play for the Expos, still love him. So yes, Vlad Guerrero Jr. If he gets into the World Series, even in March, I think it's probably still going to be Vladdy."

Their fellow panelist, Darren Dreger, differed slightly, picking Auston Matthews over Guerrero overall. However, even he felt that the title currently belongs to the Blue Jays' first baseman.

"No, I mean it's Auston Matthews because we're not talking about in-the-moment face of Toronto sports," Dreger said. "So, if we ask this question again in March, are we going to say Vladimir Guerrero? Overall, I appreciate. Yeah. Today it would be Vladdy, but overall it's Auston."

Matthews and Guerrero played their first professional games with their respective Toronto organizations in 2016. Matthews was fast-tracked to the NHL later that year while Guerrero made his MLB debut in 2019.

In 10 seasons with the Leafs, Matthews has scored 732 points in 634 games and led them to the playoffs each year. Guerrero, meanwhile, has a career .288 average with 591 RBIs, 183 home runs and a 25.8 bWAR. This is his fourth postseason appearance with the club.

Auston Matthews and Leafs feed off Blue Jays' energy in win against Rangers

Auston Matthews and the Leafs pulled off an overtime victory over the New York Rangers on Thursday. Their game coincided with Game 4 of the ALCS contested between the Blue Jays and the Mariners. That proved to be a motivating factor for Matthews and co.

“I don’t think they put anything on the scoreboard, but you could tell that something was happening in the game cause randomly the crowd just started cheering, so it was great,” Matthews said per Leafs Nation.

”It was a grind tonight, It was back and forth, a little bit of a stalemate there at times. But you’re gonna have those nights and those games where you gotta grind it out and try to fight for that extra point. We did that tonight, so we’ll take it.”

The Blue Jays last won a World Series in 1993, repeating as champions after having won their first title the previous year. The Leafs' Stanley Cup drought dates back to 1967.