'Always Working His Ass Off': Sharks' Ryan Reaves Praises Auston Matthews After First Year As Maple Leafs Captain

Auston Matthews might have had a down year with goalscoring, but there was growth in other facets of his game.

The 27-year-old finished the season with 33 goals and 45 assists for 78 points in 67 games, in his first year as captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs. He did all of that while dealing with an injury which he picked up in training camp last October and nursed throughout the entire year.

Amidst trying to manage his injury, Matthews was still one of the first players on the ice for Maple Leafs practice most of the time. He led by example in his first year as Toronto's captain, even if he's not the "rah rah" type of player that other teams have for a captain.

Even Ryan Reaves—who's had his fair share of captains whilst in the NHL—said this on Monday while appearing on Leafs Morning Take with Nick Alberga and former Maple Leaf Jay Rosehill. The veteran forward was traded to the San Jose Sharks on July 10 in exchange for Henry Thrun.

"I think a lot of his leadership is lead by example. He works incredibly hard in practice. And on the ice, I think you see how hard he works in all three zones. Obviously grinding through some issues this year and really trying to to grind through it for the team," Reaves said.

"I think maybe not the most vocal captain I've ever had, but everybody leads differently, right? You can't be the most vocal and leading by example. You can't do it all. It's hard to find those guys. So to me, Auston was a guy who really led by example, really tried to drag guys into battles, practiced, never took days off.

"Never coasted in practice, always working his ass off, on the ice before everybody else, off the ice last. Something that as a vet, it was great to see, but something that it really teaches those younger guys how to be the best in the world."

Matthews became captain of the Maple Leafs last summer after John Tavares and the organization agreed that he'd relinquish the captaincy. Nothing changed for Tavares, though, as he was still one of the hardest-working players on the team, often staying on the ice late after practice to hone his craft.

Tavares finished the season with 38 goals, the second-highest total of his career, behind his 47-goal season in his first go-around with the Maple Leafs in 2018-19. The 34-year-old was second on the team in goals, only trailing William Nylander, who scored 45 last season.

Tavares signed a four-year, $17.55 million extension with Toronto on June 27, with the annual average value of his deal being $4.388 million.

When it comes to Matthews and his injury, the forward said during the team's locker room cleanout day that he's confident that it'll be past him when he returns to Toronto for training camp this fall, adding that surgery isn't on the table.

Matthews was also captain of Team USA at the 4 Nations Face-Off earlier this year. He could be the captain for USA again during the 2026 Winter Olympics, held in Milan, Italy, next February.

This article originally appeared on The Hockey News: 'Always Working His Ass Off': Sharks' Ryan Reaves Praises Auston Matthews After First Year As Maple Leafs Captain