It's Time for Matthews to Escape the Mushy Middle

There is an interesting place where Auston Matthews finds himself heading into this Maple Leafs season. He's not failing. He's not even playing badly by most NHL standards. He's stuck somewhere in between — in what might be called the mushy middle.

After two difficult seasons, Matthews is still producing numbers that would make most NHL players very happy. In 2024-25, he scored 33 goals and 78 points in 67 games. Last season, injuries limited him to 60 games, and he finished with 27 goals and 53 points. For almost any NHL player, those would be respectable numbers. For Matthews, they feel like the mushy middle.

Maybe what should bother Auston Matthews most isn't criticism. It's mediocre reassurance.

Nobody is saying Matthews isn't good. That's almost the problem. The conversation increasingly seems to be that even when Matthews isn't really Auston Matthews, he's still pretty good. An off year for Matthews is still a good season. His production is still valuable. There is no crisis.

I can't know what makes Matthews tick, but if I were an elite athlete, that would bug me. I'm human, and as a writer, if someone told me I was still good but not as good as I used to be, I'd be pretty upset. I wouldn't want reassurance. I'd want to know how I could get better. That’s the job of an editor on a book. They coach you to get better.

Because elite athletes (or elite anyone) don’t usually become elite by being satisfied with “pretty darn good.” At some point, the question becomes less about proving the critics wrong and more about proving something to yourself. For Matthews, perhaps the most interesting question heading into this season is simply:

How good can I still be?

Matthews has already shown us how good he can be. He has won Rocket Richard Trophies, won the Hart Trophy and scored 69 goals in a season. He has established himself as one of the NHL's premier goal scorers. So maybe he doesn't need to prove that he can still be a good NHL player. Maybe he needs to escape the mushy middle.

Can he get back to 50 goals? Can he once again become the player opposing teams have to build their entire defensive game around? Can he take over games? Can he lead? Can he make the Maple Leafs better simply because Auston Matthews is on the ice?

And, perhaps biggest of all for Toronto fans, can I be the guy who helps this team finally break the curse and win a Stanley Cup?

My bet? Matthews is not motivated as much as people think by the dollar-and-cents value of the money.

Those questions strike me as much more interesting than how much his next contract might be worth. Matthews is already making $13.25 million a season. Money matters, of course, but it doesn't explain why someone who has reached the top of his profession would continue pushing himself. The thing about the money, when you are already making $13.25 million, really isn’t the money. It’s the pride that you’re worth that much.

What might motivate Matthews? Pride might. Competition might. The desire to win a Stanley Cup might. And perhaps the desire to find out just how good he can still be might matter most of all.

Matthews has to see what the Maple Leafs leadership has done around him.

The Maple Leafs have spent the offseason essentially telling Matthews that they still believe he's the guy. They've changed the roster, the coaching staff and the organization's support structure while continuing to build around their captain. That's a pretty powerful vote of confidence.

Maybe Matthews doesn't need another person telling him he needs to score more goals. Maybe he doesn't need another contract incentive. Maybe he simply needs to find out whether he's still capable of being the Auston Matthews everyone once expected him to be.

Because there is a big difference between being a very good NHL player and being Auston Matthews at his best. And perhaps the most interesting question facing the Maple Leafs captain this season isn't whether he can be good again. It's how good he can still be.