Published Jan 25, 2026 \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 Last updated 4\u00a0hours ago \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 9 minute read<\/p>\n
<\/a><\/p>\n You can save this article by registering for free here<\/a>. Or sign-in<\/a> if you have an account.<\/p>\n The Maple Leafs are internally bullied by their captain, Auston Matthews, who seems to have little concept of what a captain in the National Hockey League should be.<\/p>\n Advertisement 2<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY<\/p>\n Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.<\/p>\n Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account.Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on.Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists.Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.<\/p>\n SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES<\/p>\n Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada.<\/p>\n Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account.Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on.Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists.Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists.Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword.<\/p>\n REGISTER \/ SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES<\/p>\n Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.<\/p>\n Access articles from across Canada with one account.Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments.Enjoy additional articles per month.Get email updates from your favourite authors.<\/p>\n THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK.<\/p>\n Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience.<\/p>\n Access articles from across Canada with one accountShare your thoughts and join the conversation in the commentsEnjoy additional articles per monthGet email updates from your favourite authors<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n By his choice \u2014 not the choice of the Leafs media relations staff \u2014 Matthews refused his media responsibilities on Friday, not doing interviews in the morning of Mitch Marner\u2019s return to Toronto and then not doing interviews post-game either.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n That wasn\u2019t a team decision to have him avoid the press, which they have done on occasion. That was a Matthews decision.<\/p>\n It doesn\u2019t sound like much from the outside \u2014 doing or not doing interviews \u2014 and really, it shouldn\u2019t be much. But being a captain in Toronto of all hockey places comes with a certain set of obligations and protocols.<\/p>\n I can\u2019t imagine a Mark Messier, a Sidney Crosby, Steve Yzerman, Joe Sakic, Darryl Sittler or a Mats Sundin avoiding microphones on the largest day of the regular season. Not even a Dion Phaneuf, who captained some of the worst Leafs teams in memory, would shirk those kind of responsibilities.<\/p>\n The Leafs front office has babied Matthews since naming him captain \u2014 and even before that \u2014 and the Leafs media relations staff has followed suit. Relationships between the two are not exactly as they should be.<\/p>\n Your Midday Sun<\/p>\n Thanks for signing up!<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Advertisement 3<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Big picture, that shouldn\u2019t matter. Captains become captains for a reason. Stars get the big money for a reason. With the money and accolades come certain responsibilities and maybe even moreso with Matthews and his team fighting health issues in this challenging season.<\/p>\n Many Leafs \u2014 management, coaches and players \u2014 will tell you that Matthews is a terrific captain. They say that with a straight face. But from both the inside and the outside, there seems little evidence to support that belief.<\/p>\n Forward lines for Team Canada<\/p>\n Would you play rugged Tom Wilson on a line with Connor McDavid at the Olympics? I might. McDavid didn\u2019t fit very well with the skilled Sam Reinhart at the 4 Nations tournament. So the challenge, among many, for Team Canada Olympic coach Jon Cooper is to find the right linemates for McDavid. It becomes an even larger issue if Cooper chooses to play a super line of Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon and Macklin Celebrini<\/a>, the three players who trained together for a part of last summer \u2026 Zach Hyman, not on the Olympic team but a possible injury replacement, has scored 19 goals in his past 27 games with Edmonton. That\u2019s not far behind league leader, MacKinnon, who has 21 in that time. If somehow Hyman was added to the Olympic team, he would play with McDavid. And could you see a line with McDavid, Hyman and Wilson? \u2026 One other thought: Why not play Crosby and MacKinnon on one line, McDavid and Celebrini on another? \u2026 There was basically one defenceman of quality available in the trade market after Quinn Hughes went to Minnesota: And how is it that Vegas GM Kelly McCrimmon came away with Rasmus Andersson? Again. It seems either McCrimmon or Florida\u2019s Bill Zito outmanage most of the rest of the GMs in the NHL. Jim Nill does nice work in Dallas where, over the past two seasons, he added Chris Tanev on defence (short term) and Mikko Rantanen up front (long term). Bill Guerin in Minnesota came away with Hughes this season. But a lot of GMs talk about making big moves and do little to improve their teams \u2026 The Maple Leafs gave up a first-round pick for Scott Laughton and the rather useful player was given 9:28 of ice time on Friday night. Leafs gave up a first-round pick and other parts for Brandon Carlo. That hasn\u2019t worked out well .. I will say this about Mitch Marner: He is one of the finest hockey players I\u2019ve ever had the pleasure of covering up close and one of the most unusual people I have ever known. The best players I\u2019ve covered, in no real order, are: Kent Nilsson, Paul Reinhart, Al MacInnis, Joe Nieuwendyk, Wendel Clark, Doug Gilmour, Ed Belfour, Curtis Joseph, Sundin, Matthews, Marner and William Nylander \u2026 Why didn\u2019t Anthony Stolarz get a minor-league start or two before returning to the Maple Leafs net?<\/p>\n Advertisement 4<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Don\u2019t blame the Dodgers<\/p>\n The Los \u00c1ngeles Dodgers aren\u2019t ruining baseball by spending more than anyone else. You know who is ruining baseball, if baseball is in fact being ruined? The 15 teams spending less than $150 million apiece in salaries \u2014 five of them under $100 million. They are virtually non-participants in the sport. That\u2019s not the Dodgers\u2019 fault \u2026 The Dodgers by the way, according to the fine baseball writer Bob Nightingale, signed Mookie Betts after Boston said no; signed Shohei Ohtani when the Angels wouldn\u2019t match; signed Freddie Freeman after Atlanta let him walk; and signed Kyle Tucker, when two teams didn\u2019t want to pay him \u2026 Here is what happens in leagues with salary caps: The difference between the highest and lowest salaried teams in the NHL this season is only $26 million. The difference in the NBA is $92 million. The difference in the NFL is $139 million. The difference in baseball: $341 million \u2026 Luis Aparicio was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1984, 12 years after his major- leaguer career ended. His election was applauded. This is 13 years since Omar Vizquel played shortstop in the bigs. Aparicio won nine Gold Gloves at shortstop. Vizquel, getting very little Hall support among voters, won 11. Aparicio was a .262 career hitter; Vizquel hit .272, with a higher on base percentage, a higher OPS and 200 more hits. Vizquel is the finest defensive shortstop in the American League over the past 20 years and has one year left on the Hall of Fame ballot. If he is to be elected, which he should be, it will certainly have to come from the veterans committee. He got only 17.8% of votes on this year\u2019s ballot. You need 75% to get elected. Clearly, defence doesn\u2019t get enough respect among voters \u2026 Without Bo Bichette, the Blue Jays still need one solid bat, one starting pitcher, one high-leverage relief pitcher and more affordable tickets \u2026 The CFL, as a league, produced record revenues in 2025, $10 million more than ever before. The Blue Jays, as a team, did about $100 million more than budgeted for in the 2025 season.<\/p>\n Advertisement 5<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Broncos need a Stidham breakout<\/p>\n Is Jarrett Stidham, starting for the Denver Broncos in the AFC championship game any better than B.C. Lions quarterback Nathan Rourke? We\u2019ll find out Sunday afternoon \u2026 And it is fun to see sort-of Canadian Alex Singleton, the former Calgary Stampeder, starring on defence for the Broncos \u2026 With Bo Nix healthy, I figured the Broncos were heading to the Super Bowl and he would be this year\u2019s breakout star. Now the only way Denver can beat New England in the AFC final is if coach Sean Payton pulls a masterclass kind of day and Stidham does a Nick Arbuckle kind of thing \u2026 This is how long Matthew Stafford has been around: In his first big NFL season, he finished third in passing, ahead of Eli Manning, Aaron Rodgers, Tony Romo, Matt Ryan and Cam Newton, and behind Tom Brady and Drew Brees. That was in 2011. Six of those guys make a living these days on television \u2026 Brandon Beane put together the Buffalo Bills roster that essentially cost coach Sean McDermott his job. So what happens? McDermott gets fired and Beane gets promoted to team president. Go figure \u2026 Also hard to figure is Mike McDaniel, the unusual former head coach of the Miami Dolphins. He had a chance to interview for the Bills and Cleveland Browns positions and chose to say no. Cleveland I get. Buffalo I don\u2019t \u2026 The Pittsburgh Steelers have this fabulous history of Chuck Noll coaching, then Bill Cowher, then Mike Tomlin. And that\u2019s it. And now Mike McCarthy? How does that happen? \u2026 Sorry to see Toronto\u2019s Kevin Abrams get bounced by the New York Giants. He leaves after 27 years in the front office with two Super Bowl rings. He says he\u2019s not ready for retirement \u2026 This should be a tough NFC final on Sunday. Seattle\u2019s fabulous defence against the coaching mastermind, Sean McVay \u2026 Three former and one current CFL players \u2014 Keaton Bruggeling, Jay Dearborn, Shaq Murray-Lawrence and Luka Staikos will represent Canada in the bobsled at the upcoming Olympics. This isn\u2019t necessarily new, turning football players into bobsled pushers. Jesse Lumsden took part in three Olympics for Canada \u2026 I love stories such as Darren Raddysh, the undrafted defenceman with the Tampa Bay Lightning. He played parts of five years of junior hockey, was passed over in the NHL draft, played parts of six seasons in the AHL and this is his third full season in Tampa. And all of a sudden he has 42 points in 43 games for the Lightning. That\u2019s 12 more points than anyone on the Maple Leafs defence.<\/p>\n Advertisement 6<\/p>\n This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below.<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Too many Norris Trophy candidates<\/p>\n What a race this has become already for the Norris Trophy, as best defenceman in the NHL, with Cale Makar the clubhouse leader. But after him, there\u2019s Hughes in Minnesota, Columbus star Zach Werenski, Dallas\u2019 Miro Heiskanen, Detroit\u2019s Mo Seider, Montreal\u2019s Lane Hutson and Islanders rookie Matthew Schaefer. There are only five spots on a Norris ballot: There\u2019s probably more than 10 names to choose from \u2026 The Hart Trophy favourites remain MacKinnon, McDavid, Celebrini and now Tampa\u2019s Nikita Kucherov. And just about 30 games to go \u2026 The hockey, from now until June, should be rather amazing and fascinating. The Olympics are in February. After that, there are about 25 games left for most teams and more teams to fight for fewer playoff spots than in recent memory. And then more than two months of Stanley Cup playoffs. It\u2019s a lot to look forward to \u2026 The talented Dougie Hamilton is with his fourth NHL team in New Jersey and the discovery doesn\u2019t seem to change: He\u2019s 6-foot-6 and too often plays likes he\u2019s 5-foot-6 \u2026 Life in this century: Leafs executive Shane Doan played 20 years in the NHL, scored 402 goals, and never made the money his son, Josh Doan, will be paid the next seven seasons with the Buffalo Sabres. The most money Shane made: Just more than $6 million a year. Josh will make just less than $49 million for the next seven seasons \u2026. Brent Burns is 40 years old, has played in 972 straight NHL games and is plus-27 with the Colorado Avalanche, the highest mark of his career. He may never retire \u2026 Hard to believe, but just four years ago, Jonathan Huberdeau had 115 points<\/a> in a season. Honest \u2026 Three of the five highest goal-scoring American players in the NHL \u2014 Jason Robertson, Cole Caufield and Alex DeBrincat \u2014 are not on Guerin\u2019s U.S. Olympic team. Neither is the Montreal hotshot on defence, Hutson. If the Americans have trouble scoring goals in Milan, you\u2019ll understand why and Guerin will certainly hear about it \u2026 Victor Hedman hasn\u2019t played since Dec. 9 after suffering an elbow injury and undergoing surgery. Team Sweden needs a healthy Hedman two weeks from now. The men\u2019s hockey tournament in Milan begins on Feb. 11. Sweden does have Rasmus Dahlin and Gus Forsling on defence but it does need what Hedman brings in play and leadership \u2026 The 10 best goaltenders I\u2019ve ever seen, in no particular order: Belfour, Dominik Hasek, Patrick Roy, Martin Brodeur, Glenn Hall, Ken Dryden, Bernie Parent, Henrik Lundqvist, Grant Fuhr and Tony Esposito \u2026 Close to the top 10: Joseph, Andrei Vasilevskiy, Terry Sawchuk, Carey Price, Johnny Bower and Roberto Luongo \u2026 Last Sunday, I informed you that my X social media account had been hacked<\/a>. The @simmonssteve account is now back working after much consternation and online support from X. Only advice I\u2019ll pass on: If anyone asks you to vote for anything online, don\u2019t do it \u2026 As someone who has covered 18 Olympic Games, 10 of them winter, I\u2019m offended that the once great Washington Post has chosen not to send any reporters to Milan, even after paying $80,000 for housing during the Games \u2026 The late kids football legend, Pop Ivy, would have turned 109 today \u2026 Happy birthday to Milt Stegall (56), Scott Milanovich (53), Chris Chelios (64), Rick Bowness (71), Esa Tikkanen (63), Tim Biakabutuka (52), Balor Moore (75), Rob Dibble (62), Whit Merrifield (37), Honky Tonk Man (73) and Carl Eller (86) \u2026 And hey, whatever became of Victor Cruz?<\/p>\n Article content<\/p>\n Share this article in your social network<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Breadcrumb Trail Links Sports Get the latest from Steve Simmons straight to your inbox Sign Up Published Jan…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":432578,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[433],"tags":[49,48,448,82],"class_list":["post-432577","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-nhl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/432577","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=432577"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/432577\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/432578"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=432577"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=432577"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=432577"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"matthews](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/2249343516-e1769312316539.jpg\")
Auston Matthews is showing a cavalier side to the way he approaches some of his responsibilities as captain of the Maple Leafs. Photo by Jaylynn Nash \/Getty ImagesArticle content<\/p>\n![\"Toronto](\"https:\/\/dcs-static.gprod.postmedia.digital\/20.4.0\/websites\/images\/identity\/logo-identity-tsun.svg\"){kind=logo}
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