Auston Matthews’ U.S. captaincy a testament to health but comes with risk
Auston Matthews being named Team USA captain comes as no great surprise but it is a testament to his health as he’s looked better in January than any other month this season.
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TORONTO — In 10 days, Auston Matthews will be ditching the Maple Leaf on his sweater but keeping the C.
The captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs was named captain of Team USA for the 4 Nations Face-Off Thursday, with Charlie McAvoy and Matthew Tkachuk rounding out the American leadership group as alternate captains for the highly anticipated event.
“It’s gonna be extremely competitive. And I think there’s a lot of pride in playing for your country,” said Captain America, upon being initially named to the roster.
“It’s kind of just putting the ego aside and doing what’s best for the team, and then coming together as quickly as possible.”
Matthews, 27, is the youngest of the four national captains — and the only one still hunting his first Stanley Cup.
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4 Nations Face-Off
With the inaugural edition of the 4 Nations Face-Off fast approaching, be sure to catch up on all the latest news about the highly-anticipated best-on-best event. Puck drops on Feb. 12, 2025, on Sportsnet.
Canada’s Sidney Crosby, 37; Sweden’s Victor Hedman, 34; and Finland’s Aleksander Barkov, 29, are the others.
The 69-goal centreman’s latest honour comes as no great surprise — Matthews has essentially taken the torch from Patrick Kane as the most prominent face of USA Hockey — but it is a testament to his health.
An undisclosed upper-body injury has forced Matthews to miss 15 games over two separate stints on injured reserve this season.
Questions over the sniper’s availability for the mid-season tournament peaked around New Year’s Day when Matthews himself wondered publicly if he’d be able to put his ailment behind him for good this winter.
Glass half empty: Three or four extra games for Matthews in February means more injury risk and time that, arguably, could be used resting for his club’s Cup run.
Glass half full: High-stakes elimination games against the NHL’s elite will invigorate Matthews and help him grow as a leader.
Since Matthews’ latest return to action, on Jan. 4, his previously spotty attendance at practice has been perfect, and he has averaged nearly 20 minutes a night in 12 consecutive games for the Leafs, putting up nine goals and 15 points in the process.
In short, he’s looked better in January than any other month this season. Matthews assures he’s feeling better every day.
Good news for both U.S. fans and Leafs Nation — except for the two weeks of 4 Nations, which begins Feb. 11.
“It’s gonna be good that it’s kinda halfway through the year, not necessarily trying to get the cobwebs out like at the start of the season, how the World Cup was,” said Matthews, who suited up for Team North America as a teenager in September 2016.
Matthews will face a Leafs teammate in every game.
Mitch Marner figures to be a prominent figure for Canada. Jani Hakanpää’s knee (fingers crossed) will be in shape to help Finland, whose blueline took a major hit this week with Miro Heiskanen bowing out due to a lower-body injury. And William Nylander will surely be treating Sweden to a couple of breakaways per 60.
“Telling Matty that we might drop the gloves,” Nylander joked.
“We still got a lot of games to play before we get there, but it’ll be exciting,” said Marner, who trained at a mini-camp with Crosby, Connor McDavid and Nathan MacKinnon in Vail, Colo., over the summer.
“Representing our countries, it’s always a great honour and always some hard-fought games. So, we’re all excited.”
Count Jack Hughes among the antsy. The New Jersey Devils’ No. 1 centre is on record saying he’ll gladly shift to the wing if it means being centred by No. 34.
“I’d love to play with Matthews. Seeing him and Marner do their thing, and it’d be fun to play with a guy that has scored (69) goals in the NHL,” Hughes said. “Even if it’s a few games, I’m definitely looking forward to the possibility of that.”
A proud product of the U.S. development program, Matthews was part of the 2014 gold medal-winning U.S. under-18 men’s national team and suited up for Team USA at the 2015 IIHF World Junior Championship and 2016 IIHF Men’s World Championship.
“Best-on-best is something that guys have really been wanting for a while,” Matthews said. “And I think it’s just great for the game.”
Matthews and Team USA open their 4 Nations Face-Off action Feb. 13 against Finland at Montreal’s Bell Centre.
