"When the Toronto Maple Leafs signed John Tavares, 95% of fans and media members were ecstatic. However there was 5% of fans who thought Auston Matthews wouldn't be supportive of the signing and lose some ice time. That is likely far from the truth as Tavares definitely helps Matthews bring the Leafs closer to the Stanley Cup. After two first round exits from the playoffs, the media who hounds the players everyday will be looking for a big improvement from the Leafs and Leafs legend Doug Gilmour believes Tavares will help Matthews deal with the new pressure. "One hundred percent it will," Gilmour saidof Tavares. "He's old enough (27). He's smart enough. He's good enough. He was the captain of the New York Islanders. He's a leader and can help shield some of the [attention] from Auston, who's still only just 20."Gilmour made the comments at Dominic Moore's annual ping pong tournament. "Look how many media are here just to cover a pingpong tourney in the offseason," Gilmour said. "That's hockey life in Toronto. But John can handle it. He can absorb a lot of the pre- and postgame demands and let a lot of the younger guys do their thing. "He's been in this fishbowl before. He knows. He came here for a reason. He's going to accept this pressure like we all did, and he's not going to shy away from it." "
