Brad Treliving had spent most of the last decade on the other side of the country in Calgary, so he most likely didn't know too much about Auston Matthews, other than what the masses already knew, which is that he's pretty good at hockey. Now that he's had a few months to acclimate to Toronto, the organization, and its star players, the former Flames general manager, can see what all the hype was about:
"He's a very impressive guy," Treliving said of Matthews on Friday. "There's the outside picture that I had, then when you get behind the door with this guy, spent some time with him in Scottsdale (Ariz.), communicated a lot with him over the summer — he's been back in Toronto now for a while — he's a driven guy.
To watch him do what he's doing off the ice and prepare and setting the tone for our group, it's impressive."
Matthews is a top-4 player in the NHL and the argument can certainly be made that he deserves to be in the top-3. There aren't many like him in the NHL right now. Matthews stormed onto the scene with a 4-goal-game in his NHL debut, and hasn't scored less than 34 goals in a single season - and that was only in 62 games.
After signing his contract extension in August, Matthews showed his devotion and commitment to remaining a member of the Maple Leafs, which was always a contentious topic outside of Toronto. The fact that he had already returned to Toronto, while so many of his teammates were still enjoying their summer vacations, is definitely a good sign as he tries to push the Leafs over the hump after a disappointing post-season exit.
Matthews is also trying to make amends for what he would describe as a rough season - in terms of what he had achieved the year before. Coming off the heels of a 60-goal season, in which he won the Hart Trophy, Ted Lindsay Award and Rocket Richard Trophy, a lot was expected in 2022-23. He still managed to score 40 goals with an injured wrist but now he looks fully healthy, motivated, confident, and doesn't have to worry about the contract situation as we head into a new season.
Treliving and company should be rather excited about having the Matthews situation done and dusted, and his early arrival in Toronto, mixed in with his strong work ethic has the Maple Leafs off to a great start with the regular season so close to resuming.
