The Matthews Question the Maple Leafs Haven't Answered Yet

There’s nothing wrong with feeling good about Auston Matthews looking good in his first preseason game. Actually, it’s probably a pretty good idea. After the knee injury, last season’s uncertainty, and all the changes around him, seeing Matthews move well and look like Matthews again is encouraging. Nobody should dismiss that.

But then readers started chiming in, and there was a fair bit of agreement about something else. Looking good is one thing. Scoring goals is another.

That’s the Matthews question this season.

The Maple Leafs have put Jack Roslovic on Matthews’ right wing, with Matthew Knies on the other side. It makes sense. Roslovic knows Matthews from their USA Hockey days; he can skate, and he has enough offensive ability to make the experiment worth trying. Coach Jim Hiller has already made it clear that nothing is written in stone. And that’s probably the right approach.

Still, something about the situation is fascinating. For years, one of the easiest answers when Toronto needed more offence was to put William Nylander with Matthews. Those two understand the game at a very high level, and there is a certain comfort in knowing that if one of them does something unexpected, the other will probably understand it.

The problem is that separating them also gives Toronto two lines with dangerous offensive players. That’s the theory, anyway. This season, though, the theory will get tested pretty quickly.

If Matthews is scoring, Roslovic is producing, and Knies is doing the heavy lifting around the net, nobody will care about who plays with whom. That line will stay together.

But what happens if Matthews’ goals don't come?

That’s when the conversation gets interesting. Matthews is no longer simply the best offensive player on the team. He’s the captain, the face of the franchise, and the centrepiece of a roster rebuilt around him. He has already said he feels 100 percent healthy and energized by the changes in Toronto. There is going to be pressure. And there should be.

The interesting part is that Matthews may not need another superstar beside him. Maybe Roslovic is exactly the sort of complementary player he needs. Roslovic brings speed and can carry the puck through the neutral zone, something Matthews has specifically identified as a reason he likes the fit. Maybe this works just fine.

That’s what makes the Maple Leafs preseason worth watching.

It’s not whether Matthews scores every night. Nor whether Roslovic looks like a 40-goal winger for a week. It’s whether the three players start to look like a line.

Because if they do, Toronto has solved a pretty important problem before the games even start to count. And if they don't? Well, there’s always that other guy named William Nylander.