Same-Day Analysis: Matthews makes an investment in his career

With his two-game suspension for crosschecking, Auston Matthews has made it clear he's had enough. And it's likely to succeed because, sadly, that's how the NHL works

Here is the crosscheck that earned Auston Matthews a two-game suspension.

There is absolutely no doubt that Auston Matthews deserves to sit and cool his heels, and his hot stick, for the next two games for his vicious crosscheck to Rasmus Dahlin in the Heritage Classic Sunday evening. The suspension will cost Matthews $116,402.50 USD, and any hopes he had of winning the Lady Byng Trophy in 2021-22 have gone down the sinkhole. Matthews has probably given himself enough of a cushion to win the Rocket Richard Trophy even if he misses two games, but at least this will make the race a little more intriguing.

And when it is all said and done, it might be the best investment Matthews has made in his career. That’s because Matthews made a couple of statements with his actions. The first is that just because hockey culture tells him he simply has to accept abuse because he’s better than most other players, he’s not going to do that. The second is that he’s had enough of a ridiculous NHL officiating crew that has called only eight penalties on infractions against him this season.

When it comes to producing offense, Matthews is having an epic season. In fact, just as last season was probably the absolute best we’ll ever see of Connor McDavid, the 2021-22 campaign may very well represent the apex of Matthews’ powers. It could end up in Matthews becoming the first Maple Leaf to win the Hart Trophy in 67 years, and it may very well end up being the most dominant offensive season a Maple Leafs player has ever produced. He has scored in all varieties of ways and has become a danger to score almost every time his skate blades hit the ice.

Matthews’ run has put him fifth in NHL scoring. The six other players who make up the league’s top seven scorers have averaged 25 penalties drawn this season – with McDavid leading the way at 41 and Johnny Gaudreau the fewest with 11. Matthews has drawn eight, 26 fewer than linemate Michael Bunting. As a point of comparison, Radko Gudas has drawn 21. Radko Gudas.

It has long been established that part of the rite of passage for the best players in the league includes a period of their career when they simply have to accept the abuse heaped upon them by inferior players and shut their mouths. Sidney Crosby was labelled a whiner early in his career when he tried to make the referees accountable. It took a hue and cry, and a very public campaign by the Oilers, to finally get officials to start calling penalties on McDavid, and now he leads the league in penalties drawn. It’s ass-backward, counterproductive and skewed against players who happen to be more gifted and/or work harder to hone their skills than other players, but it’s the way this Neanderthal league works.

So now, you can bet that the officials will be calling the infractions against Matthews with more frequency. And remember, it’s not a matter of the officials not seeing the infractions, because they’re standing right there most of the time. It’s a matter of making the calls, which they seem to refuse to do. It happened Thursday night in overtime when Kendrick Nicholson watched Jakob Chychrun of the Arizona Coyotes blatantly hold Matthews in the neutral zone before scoring a goal in overtime.

There was no call on this infraction Thursday night, which led to Jakob Chychrun's overtime goal.

On the play in question during the Heritage Classic, Matthews was hit from behind by Dahlin as the two battled for position in front of the net and there was obviously no call from T.J. Luxmore (the same referee Gabriel Landeskog called out a few nights prior) because NHL. Matthews got frustrated, a heated battle ensued and a season’s worth of frustration got the better of Matthews. Given the severity of the crosscheck, you could argue that he probably got off lightly, but what can you do when the NHL’s Wheel of Justice™ falls on two games?

Even George ‘The Violent Gentleman’ Parros’ word salad that accompanied the suspension was full of contradiction. He actually said the following: “While we acknowledge Matthews’ argument that this is not a crosscheck meant to harm or injure his opponent…” You can’t make this stuff up. He then goes on later in the suspension video to say, “This is a high, forceful crosscheck that makes contact with an opponent’s neck with sufficient force to merit supplemental discipline.”

So which one is it? The problem, of course, is that the NHL actually loves this stuff, until it inevitably goes over the edge. When that happens the league clucks its tongue and wags a finger at the offender. No wonder none of these guys know the actual boundaries. They’re always fluid and they always change.

So perhaps the league’s best player this season will sit for two games, as he should. His portfolio will be six figures lighter, but Auston Matthews will undoubtedly be reaping the benefits of his actions for years to come. Because that’s the way this league works.