Auston Matthews featured in new 2026 Olympics commercial with Team USA firing a warning shot at Team Canada

The Maple Leafs have collected 7 of a possible 8 points across their last 4 games, and as the team begins to pull themselves up out of the hole they dug themselves, hope is beginning to shine through.

Auston Matthews, who has scored 5 points across his team's last 5 games, remains fixated on the goal of helping his team qualify for the playoffs, but his eyes may be beginning to shift a little bit towards the 2026 Olympic Games in Milan, which are set to take place in a couple short months.

Matthews, who appears to be on a shortlist to represent Team USA as captain, appeared in a commercial with Brady Tkachuk, Quinn Hughes, Jack Eichel and actor John Hamm this week, where the group took aim at Team Canada, looking to bring home some "Canadian tears" from Milan.

Team USA and Team Canada remain among the favourites to win gold, but there are a lot of factors that go into which one might have the edge. It's a pretty good bet that, line for line, Canada's forwards are better. However, in defense, the Americans may be slightly better, and in goal, a lot better.

This will be the first time that a lot of these players will have competed in the Olympics, as the last time NHL players participated was back in 2014 in Sochi. Still, for Canada, Sidney Crosby will bring a wealth of experience and a gold medal pedigree, with John Tavares also among the potential candidates to earn a depth spot for Canada.

There has been some early concerns shared about the fact that the arena Olympic arena, currently under construction, may not be finished in time, which could cause issues and potentially even lead to NHL players pulling out of the event.

If the rink is completed in time, we already know it will be 3-4 feet smaller than an NHL arena, and that the ice quality is also a concern.