Leafs Captain Auston Matthews Under Fire As Analysts Claim His Best Years Are Behind Him

Auston Matthes has been out of the lineup since last Tuesday with a lower-body injury. It's the second time in as many seasons that the Leafs' captain has missed time in November.

Two seasons removed from a 69-goal campaign, Matthews registered a career-low 33 goals last season in an injury-plagued season. Until his injury, he was on pace to crack the 40-goal mark again this year, but with extremely high expectations since his 60 and 69-goal seasons, even 40 seems low for him now.

On Thursday's edition of 'Real Kyper and Bourne', Nick Kypreos, Justin Bourne and Sam McKee debated Matthews' future and if he has enough star power to help the team capture a Stanley Cup.

He did, however, note that Matthews is elite and elite players do what they do best for a long period of time, citing Alex Ovechkin as an example of someone who can still be effective late in his career.

Kypreos didn't deny that Matthews could continue to score 30 or 40 goals per year, but questioned if him scoring at that rate while playing the way he is playing right now is enough to help his team in the playoffs.

I have to give credit to Matthews for attempting to play through whatever injury nagged him last season. At the same time, though, there comes a point when getting back to 100-percent is more important than playing through an injury just because you're the captain and you want to lead by example.

Can I see Matthews winning another Hart Trophy? Potentially, if he finds a way to remain healthy -- and if he sees consistent time with William Nylander. However, if he produces 30-40 goals during the season, combined with his significantly improved defensive play, I would take that.