Inside the Media Dynamics Around Auston Matthews and the Maple Leafs
On the morning of his highly anticipated return to Toronto, Mitch Marner-now wearing Vegas Golden Knights colors-was made available to the media at 10:45 a.m. at the team’s hotel. Just 15 minutes earlier, the Maple Leafs had started their morning skate at Scotiabank Arena across town.
That overlap in timing forced Toronto’s media contingent into a decision: cover the Leafs’ skate or catch up with Marner. Most chose Marner, and that choice had ripple effects.
With fewer reporters at the Leafs’ skate, no one requested to speak with Auston Matthews. The same thing happened after the game, a frustrating loss to Vegas.
Matthews didn’t speak-but not because he refused. He simply wasn’t asked.
There’s been some confusion about what actually went down that day, and how media access works with Matthews and the Leafs. So let’s clear it up.
How Media Access Works With the Leafs
Before games, the Leafs typically make two players available to the media in the dressing room. Those names are usually chosen based on a request from a single media rep acting on behalf of the entire group. That doesn’t mean other players are off-limits-any reporter can still ask to speak with someone else who skated that morning.
Postgame, the process is similar, but expanded. The group usually requests four players-often a combination of goal scorers, the starting goalie, and, in the case of a tough loss, a member of the leadership group. Again, additional requests can be made individually.
Following that Friday loss to Vegas, the group requested Scott Laughton, Bobby McMann, John Tavares, and goaltender Anthony Stolarz, who had just made his first start in over two months. All four spoke.
Matthews, who had been told earlier in the day that he might be needed postgame, was ready and expecting to speak. But the formal request never came. The Leafs, recognizing the sheer volume of media demands Matthews typically draws, didn’t push the issue.
In hindsight, that was a miss-on the media’s part.
The Marner Factor
One possible reason Matthews wasn’t requested? A bit of pregame tension.
During a broadcast interview, TSN’s Mark Masters asked Matthews about Marner’s return, and the response was noticeably curt. That exchange might’ve made some reporters hesitant to go down that road again postgame-especially after a loss.
But should Matthews, as captain, speak after every loss? That’s a fair question.
The Leafs do try to manage his media load. Toronto is one of the most intense hockey markets in the league, and Matthews, both as captain and the team’s biggest star, is the focal point for nearly every storyline. With Marner now in Vegas and William Nylander sidelined by injury, the spotlight on Matthews has only gotten brighter.
Matthews’ Availability: A Closer Look
Through his first 46 games this season, Matthews has spoken to the media 43 times, according to the team. That’s not counting another dozen in-game broadcast interviews. So while there are moments when he doesn’t speak-like after a tough loss to Edmonton in mid-December-those moments are rare over the grind of an 82-game season.
Still, there are limitations. Matthews isn’t as accessible for one-on-one conversations as some might like.
Unlike John Tavares, his predecessor as captain, Matthews often isn’t sitting at his stall when the media enters the room. That makes both formal and informal chats harder to come by.
And if he’s already spoken the day before a game, he’s not always made available again the next morning.
But when he’s requested postgame, he usually shows up. The system isn’t perfect, but it’s not broken either.
The Bottom Line
This isn’t about Matthews ducking the media. It’s about how media access is managed-by the team, by the player, and by the reporters themselves. That Friday in Toronto was a rare confluence of timing, priorities, and assumptions that led to a missed opportunity to hear from the Leafs’ captain.
Matthews is doing the media work. Maybe not always in the format or frequency everyone would like, but he’s showing up. And in a market as demanding as Toronto, that matters.