Thornton Exposes Ex-Leafs Teammate Auston Matthews' Private Life With Big On-Air Slip

St. Thomas, Ontario native Joe Thornton is in Toronto, set to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame on Monday night. Before being inducted, he and the other inductees were honoured on Sunday during the annual Hall-of-Fame game hosted by the Leafs.

Matthews has taken full advantage of the NHL's new relaxed dress code this season, stepping away from suits and into more comfortable outfits.

Sunday night, the Arizona native paid tribute to his friend and mentor by including Thornton's jersey as part of his outfit.

Known as a 'larger than life' character throughout his career that provided laughs to his teammates, media and fans, Thornton brought that energy to his pre-game interview with TSN's James Duthie.

During the interview, Duthie shared that Matthews wore Jumbo's jersey to the rink, which got an enthusiastic reaction from the 25-year veteran. In the process, Thornton was grateful to call Matthews a friend, noting he and Matthews' family met up briefly. Thornton not only met up with Matthews' family, but also his girlfriend.

Like many athletes, Matthews does his best to keep his personal life out of the spotlight, but Sunday night saw all the lights turn to it when Thornton slipped and publicly confirmed Matthews is in a relationship. Now, the media and paparazzi are almost certainly going to try to discover who the lucky lady is.

Sorry ladies, but if you were hoping he would reply to the DM's you've sent, don't get your hopes up.