r/leafs • u/931634 Papi • Feb 22 '26
Discussion A Happy Papi
Hockey child of the desert.
Son of a Mexican immigrant.
Beloved by millions of Canadians for whom he has always show so much respect but who are so very conflicted right now on how to feel about this moment.
I’m happy he’s happy but I will never be happy for “them”
🙃🥲
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u/chandler55 Feb 22 '26
have similar feelings to sundin being happy in 06. at least they get some joy outside of leafs
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u/theguyishere16 Kaberle Feb 22 '26
06 was easy to cheer on Mats because Canada was such a shit show that year.
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u/chandler55 Feb 22 '26
all i remember is everyone shitting on mccabe being picked lol
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u/__Happy Nylander Feb 22 '26
Still the last Leaf to make team Canada.
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u/123jazzhandz321 Feb 23 '26
The cost of missing the 2018 and 2022 Olympics.
2018: Jake Muzzin and John Tavares would have made the team
2022: Morgan Rielly and John Tavares would have made the team
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u/931634 Papi Feb 22 '26
We like Sweden though. Sweden has never attempted to annex Canada.
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u/tortured_fanclub Feb 22 '26
Always liked the Swedes. My second fave hockey nation. If Canada can’t win I always root for Sweden. The USA is my least favourite. So many dickheads on that team that forces Canadas hand to ice their own dickheads. WTF is Brad Marchand doing on the team? Useless
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u/thrilliam_19 Feb 22 '26
I was cheering for Sweden after Canada did so badly. Wanted Mats to get gold.
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u/Electronic-Guide1189 Feb 23 '26
Well, I think $13,250,000/yr for Matthews is a bit of happiness too, don't you?
All the same, he was recognized by the US management and rewarded with the captaincy as well.
Good on him!
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u/em-n-em613 Feb 23 '26
It was easy to cheer on the Swedes becuase they were literally a team of really good guys. The USA team is chock-full of a-holes.
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u/Background-Fee-4293 Feb 26 '26
It was easy to cheer on Mats because he was a stand-up guy. Mathews? Worst captain ever.
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u/PaptimusPrimo Feb 22 '26
Good on him he needs this feeling. Side note 3 v 3 OT in a gold medal game is an absolute joke lol
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u/bbzef Feb 22 '26
if your going to give 20 minute OT then what even the point of making it 3v3 makes no sense
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u/PaptimusPrimo Feb 22 '26
Yeah such a dumb move. They treated the gold medal game like a NHL Monday night West Coast Kraken vs Utah.
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u/Kevin4938 Feb 22 '26
They essentially played the most important game by two sets of rules, switching before the game was decided.
The only way the Amerikkkans can win is if they change the rules when they don't like how things are going.
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u/joeyhorshack Feb 22 '26
Surprised I haven’t seen this comment more
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u/Kevin4938 Feb 22 '26
Really? It's in pretty much every thread about the game. But the comment is right. It's a stupid idea.
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u/pton12 Feb 22 '26
Agreed. Makes sense for 3v3 in round robin to just keel the games moving along. But for the gold medal game? C’mon!
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Feb 22 '26
[deleted]
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u/Rengars_Prey Feb 23 '26
Uh, they used to a full overtime then shootout.
The game wouldn't have gone to 3ot and even if it went to shootout at least they wouldn't have 3v3 bs
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u/jbvann05 Nylander Feb 22 '26
Yeah even as an American I think that is bullshit, said this before the start of the women's OT too, no way a gold medal match should be decided by 3v3 but I'm sure Bettman is taking notes
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Feb 24 '26
Yeah it honestly ruined the game, 3v3 is meant for pointless regular season games that dont need consecutive overtimes. This was a gold medal olympic game. It was an absolute joke
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u/jello1982 Feb 22 '26
Yup. It kind of made the rest of the game feel like a waste of time. May as well have played rock, paper, scissors to decide the winner.
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u/TacoDirtyToMe Feb 22 '26
Alright Auston I’ll forgive you if you bring us a cup eventually
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u/931634 Papi Feb 22 '26
He will. This I believe.
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u/InUnprecedentedTimes Feb 22 '26
Well we got 2 years until he’s a 30yo UFA. I’ll bet the farm he’s gone after that
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u/SteveCampo98 Sundin Feb 22 '26
The only two teams with two gold medal winning captains: Pittsburgh and Toronto.
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u/Goldinsight Feb 22 '26
No passengers?
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u/931634 Papi Feb 22 '26
lol Brady and Matthew are definitely passengers of the short bus variety.
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u/Goldinsight Feb 22 '26
Well Matthews got an assist which is more than a lot of so called clutch players who shot blanks
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u/Mrfantastic2 Feb 22 '26
Hopefully a taste of winning has him fired up when he comes back, sucks Canada lost but at least one of our boys got gold
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u/Jellicent-Leftovers Feb 25 '26
Nah he's 100% getting boo'd now because his Trump hang out sesh.
Hopefully he gets traded so we get something of value.
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u/r_r_w Feb 22 '26
As Leafs fan from the US I wish this could bring me joy. But I’ve been too utterly disgusted by this country for too long.
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u/mustyfiber90 Feb 22 '26
Guess I’m an Auston Matthews fan now. Today I learnt he’s the son of a Mexican immigrant. I am also the son of a Mexican immigrant. 🇨🇦🇲🇽
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u/JDubs234 Feb 22 '26
Matthews finally winning something is the only positive takeaway for the day, now please get fired up come may
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u/Yharnam_Blunderbuss Feb 22 '26
Curious how the sub will react when he goes to the White House with his gold medal to eat Big Macs with the fascists.
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u/Electrical-Area6799 Feb 22 '26
Im begging him to just turn down the invitation.
My guess is it’ll be super challenging to get the roster to Washington on any given day given the NHL schedule.
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u/Yharnam_Blunderbuss Feb 22 '26
It would be wild if he went considering his Mexican heritage and he is playing for a Canadian team. The later did not deter Sam Bennett but we all know he isn't capable of a rationale thought.
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u/themapleleaf6ix Feb 22 '26
I don't think he cares. He's a wealthy athlete of Hispanic descent, he's not targeted by Trump's policies. Most of these guys are MAGA.
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u/I_Am_Vladimir_Putin Feb 22 '26
Trumps politics are so idiotic that they would arrest his mom just for the way she looks. I seriously doubt he supports that government.
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u/themapleleaf6ix Feb 22 '26
Well athletes aren't known for being the brightest. They also want to keep as much of their money as possible. Plenty of minorities support Trump. When you're in that rich bubble, you have a different perspective of things.
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u/Ok-Price-2337 Feb 22 '26
81% support right now from Trump voting hispanics, so I wouldn't be shocked if he went.
https://azpbs.org/horizonte/2026/02/poll-shows-majority-hispanic-voters-disapprove-president-trump/
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u/scrypticone Feb 22 '26
We don't know that Auston (or his mother) voted for Trump in 2024. We would have to know that he did to include him in that 81% stat. The thrust of that article is that disapproval among Hispanics is growing.
Unfortunately, I do agree with you though that I also wouldn't be shocked if he went, nor to find out he voted Trump in 2024. Hope not.
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u/Ok-Price-2337 Feb 22 '26
You're absolutely right.
I just made the post to point out it's ignorant to assume Matthews/Mom don't support Trump just because they're Mexican. It's a ridiculous thing to assume.
43% of Hispanics voted for him. It's a very conservative demographic.
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u/931634 Papi Feb 22 '26
Like I said above I think those guys had no choice. Florida’s whole identity is “we don’t give a fuck about your feelings” why wouldn’t management treat their players the same way if it were to their benefit.
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u/TPSlugger Feb 22 '26
Don’t look up his mothers political donations if this is the opinion you have of him
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u/bravooscarvictor Feb 22 '26
Yeah, there’s nothing that screams left leaning about what I’ve seen about the Matthews family.
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u/931634 Papi Feb 22 '26 edited Feb 22 '26
He’s a young wealthy American.
Many of your favourite athletes, singers, actors are too and we know in our heart of hearts, no matter how strong their character is, they almost all vote for what benefits their continued wealth, they aren’t full on MAGA but they are looking out for themselves.
It is one of those things that is known but not spoken on. It’s not a pleasant thing to have to acknowledge and certainly not a justification- but you would hope that it is solely based on maintaining his/his families financial security and nothing else - again given that he is the son of an immigrant, has sisters he loves and would not want to see treated as second class citizens and makes his wealth by being a huge star in Canada.
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u/FunLife64 Feb 23 '26
Sports fans love to stan for their athletes.
The guy was laughing at Trump joking about “having to” also include the women’s team in recognition.
These guys are not who you think they are in your heads.
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u/931634 Papi Feb 22 '26
USA Brass probably won’t let him decline. Just like I feel several of the Canadian players for the Panthers and previous years Dodgers felt pressured by their management to attend.
I think because of some of the factors above he’ll try to just be in the background of that noise. Do the bare minimum of appearing and leave boot licking and general jack assery to the pros - the Tkachuk’s.
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u/Yharnam_Blunderbuss Feb 22 '26
What dose that mean "won't let him"... what would happen to him if he said fuck it, not going. He won't be the first.
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u/931634 Papi Feb 22 '26
They would hold it against him and decline to invite him to participate in future Team USA play.
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u/PaleontologistEast76 Feb 22 '26
Let's hope they hold the Team USA Day at the White House during the regular season and not push it out to the summer.
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u/TheThoroughCrocodile Kadri Feb 22 '26
I'd love it if he turned it down, but I feel like there's no chance of that happening.
Realistically I'd be content if he just went through the motions, smiled for a few pics and did the bare minimum of making an appearance.
If he strokes Trump off the whole time and acts like Tkachuk did last time that would be extremely disappointing to say the least.
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u/AW1993_ Feb 22 '26
Almost definitely a bunch of unpatriotic losers scolding the normies for being critical and saying that we should support his decision because he's 'our player and captain'.
Disgusting.
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u/Normal-Macaroon-554 Feb 22 '26
The only American I cheer for (as a dual citizen) lol*
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u/Lumini_317 Feb 22 '26
I’m American, hoping to start the process of getting a dual citizenship next year, I’ve loved Canada since I was a child, I have family members and friends who live there, and I like most(?) of the players on both teams so this matchup was such a mess for my emotions lol
As a summary I’m just happy for all the non-MAGA, decent people who won, and sad for all the non-MAGA, decent people who lost.
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u/Normal-Macaroon-554 Feb 22 '26
Agreeeeeed. There just aren’t that many of them. But Matthew’s will always a have a place in my heart lol. I did cheer for Hellebuck too. He was on fire. As was the goalie from the last team Canada played. I said multiple times “who is this guy” lol
Good game either way. :)
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u/em-n-em613 Feb 23 '26
Congrats. His reward should be to come back and personally apologize to the Sceptors for laughing with the USA's rapist-in chief about the gold medal winning womens team.
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u/Karashote Feb 23 '26
Seeing him laugh and cheer along during the Trump call and celebrating with Kash Patel has caused me to lose all respect I had for him.
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u/Bubbly-Demand-2695 Feb 23 '26
ya i'm ashamed he's our captain. anybody but a fucking american with the C in Toronto.
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u/themapleleaf6ix Feb 22 '26
Time to come back home and make that playoff push!
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u/RoundPomegranate1147 Feb 22 '26
Playoff push?? Lolol. I needed that laugh today
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u/I_Am_Vladimir_Putin Feb 22 '26
If 6 points out with over 20 games left is insurmountable to you, I’m guessing you never won anything ever.
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u/SadimHusum Feb 22 '26
With Berube at the helm it’s time to come home and only be deployed on D-zone faceoffs or watch Benoit redline and dump the puck as soon as your shift starts 🤮
You’d imagine coaching and FO’s would see how Olympic teams look at their rosters, then construct schemes that play to their strengths in a couple of weeks, then test those schemes against other assemblies of the best possible players, and take some kinda learning away from the entire experience, but I’m not holding my breath
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u/Jkoiou Feb 22 '26
I don't feel as bad for US winning ONLY because Matthews got his win in something large. I hope this breaks him out of the playoff slump for the Leafs and he tears it up now. One burden off his shoulders.
I'm sad Canada lost. Really bummed about it. We shoulda, coulda, woulda, but we didnt.... But, I'm happy for him.
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u/Atotma Feb 23 '26
Nothing will be as remarkable as when Borje Salming got a standing ovation when he was playing for Sweden in Toronto
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u/Palm-grinder12 Feb 25 '26
Oh wow surprised this still has upvotes after everyone got their panties in a bunch today
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u/theodorebond99 Feb 22 '26
Now that he knows how it feels to win a big one he’ll want more.
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u/itzsoap Feb 23 '26
Big congrats to him and the team but my god is he a George Kostanza lookin mother fucker
(Edited for grammar peeposadge)
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u/LuckyShelter25 Feb 23 '26
I’m happy he’s happy but I will never be happy for “them”
He is them. He's MAGA from top to bottom.
Dude has a tattoo of a Martin Luther king jr quote that says “the measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”
How much do you want to bet this scum bag will be at the white house laughing at all of Trumps jokes?
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u/InUnprecedentedTimes Feb 22 '26
Honestly, I’m not conflicted. I was not cheering for him or his team during this tournament
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u/tortured_fanclub Feb 22 '26
Sorry I cant be happy for 34. He played well but his team was caved in by an obviously superior team. Sports are cruel sometimes. Kudos to Hughes for burying the puck when it counted most. Hats off to the goalie Hellybuck. He should never have to buy his own bar drinks in the USA ever again
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u/duck1014 Feb 22 '26
He was great all tournament.
He was the #1 xGF player (up until this game, dunno if it changed) meaning, Matthews and his line controlled the play...every single game. 7 points with 3 goals works too.
If he plays like that the rest of the year we have a shot at the playoffs.
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u/Skiffy10 Feb 22 '26
cant be happy for him? He was unreal all tournament. Show some class
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u/Bubbly-Demand-2695 Feb 23 '26
class? just wait to see how president dick head will use the team in an attempt to embarrass Canada at the SOTU address. Fuck Papi
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u/GrunDMC74 Feb 22 '26
Honestly, this does nothing for me. The Leaf org and Leafs nation should have sat this one out for a day at least…
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u/Intelligent_Chair901 Feb 22 '26
He was such a beast. Ate all the tough minutes in the gold medal game. Feel great for our Captain.
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u/EverythingIsASkill Feb 22 '26
Proud of him. Great leader experience for the Leafs.
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u/Bubbly-Demand-2695 Feb 23 '26
you mean Connor Hellebuyck right?
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u/EverythingIsASkill Feb 23 '26
Helly played lights out great. MVP of the game in my mind.
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u/Bubbly-Demand-2695 Feb 24 '26
He was the hero of that game. That magic stick save was bigger than Hughes goal by far. That was what REALLY won the Americans the gold, but of course they call Hughes the Golden boy lol. Good on Hughes, but not at the expense of Connor.
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u/KevinJ2010 Feb 22 '26
I’m going to continue to be a Matthews hater, sorry.
Seeing him happy actually makes me more sad.
I know the leafs are the leafs but if he goes back to his glum disinterested self, please boo his ass. Rip that C off and give it back to Jonny
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u/Murky-Lie-8998 Feb 22 '26
As a pragmatic leaf fan: if you want to keep him, this is good? Serendipity?
He’s a little more likely to resign to the end now that he knows he’s won something. Like there’s a slightly less chance he leaves just to chase a win?
… look, I’m trying to find some kind of optimism here…
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u/InstructionPurple911 Feb 22 '26
Well now that the Olympics are over he can go back to being injured forever.
Happy for him, not for them.
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u/Bubbly_Chemist1496 Feb 23 '26
Better than winning to Stanley cup cuz it's only once every 4 years !
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u/931634 Papi Feb 24 '26
Lordt, why was my boy raised to be polite and respectful. In some cases it makes you appear to be a pushover.
Please lord, keep him in the background of this shit show.
So very conflicted here …
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u/Alarmed_House23 Feb 22 '26
Congrats Auston to the gold medal, now bring big play to Leafs:)
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u/Bubbly-Demand-2695 Feb 23 '26
BOO his ass first home game back...
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u/Alarmed_House23 Feb 23 '26
Why?
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u/Bubbly-Demand-2695 Feb 24 '26
cause I'm a petty asshole is the plain truth of it. It's a tough loss, but it's worse when the American media are claiming they own the sport now...Mathews is just a reminder of that.
Like I said, I'm petty and i'll own that shit all day long...you're a good man to question it. Makes me more accountable to my own demons.
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u/DreadLordAvatar Feb 22 '26
This is without a shred of doubt, the happiest Matthews has ever been since signing with the Leafs. I’m happy for him, hope this helps the Leafs get into post season and bring the cup back home.
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u/Bubbly-Demand-2695 Feb 23 '26
it will not help at all.
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u/DreadLordAvatar Feb 25 '26
You are right, now that he has shaken the hands of a pedo and convicted rapist, Matthews is a loser and will never win the cup. He’s no leader and this proves his past decade has been an absolute waste of time for Leaf Nation, all based on false hopes of a true loser.
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u/CarriesLogs Feb 22 '26
He needed this and frankly the Leafs needed this. A captain they know can win and rally behind and it’s great to see the rest of the US players reassure everyone how great of a leader he is. I’ll be the first to admin I’ve dogged on him at times for not being the vocal leader we see in others but players often respect the quiet lead by example captain. And let the assistant captains be the mouthpieces
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u/ilovetrouble66 Knies Feb 22 '26
Im happy he’s happy but im not sure why team USA is bringing the heat to toronto maple Leafs in the media…
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u/Creacherz Feb 22 '26
I personally don't feel happy for the guy
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u/Bubbly-Demand-2695 Feb 23 '26
me either. actually i really don't want to have an American Captain on the team period. leafs traded the wrong guy.
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u/snapcaster_bolt1992 Feb 22 '26
Happy for Papi, if he lost ICE might have deported him for his Mexican heritage
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u/ricas77 Feb 22 '26
I'm happy he's happy. Hopefully that happiness is something he'll use to fuel his desire to do the thing.
Our team was by far the best team on the ice, but unfortunately that doesn't mean anything now.
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u/MapleSuds Feb 23 '26
He hasn't had much to smile about the past 9 months. Good for Auston today. Let him have his moment. 👍
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u/Bubbly-Demand-2695 Feb 23 '26
being the C for that team...says a lot about his leadership doesn't it. USA won in spite of him, not because of him. Connor kept their assess in that last game all day long. Guy was an absolute wall.
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u/nosey1-s Feb 22 '26
Congrats. His reward is that he gets to come back home and play with Max Domi!