Auston Matthews made a point this week that heโs ready to turn the page โ and he didnโt mince words when a reporter pressed him on Mitch Marner, his former longtime Maple Leafs teammate.
During a recent media session, Matthews was asked whether he would look for a new warm-up partner now that Marner is gone. After a brief, measured response, he added:
> โYou got two more weeks, and then weโre done with these questions.โ
That simple ultimatum underscored his frustration with repeated lines of questioning about Marnerโs departure. When the same topic came up again โ this time suggesting whether itโs less of a distraction now that Marner is no longer in Toronto โ Matthews attempted to reframe it:
> โYeah, I donโt know โฆ Maybe you guys will ask a couple more Mitchy questions here for the next couple of weeks, but hopefully thatโll die down here shortly.โ
Throughout the exchange, Matthewsโ tone shifted โ what began as polite and cooperative slowly became firm, with a clear boundary drawn.
The context: Marner was traded to the Vegas Golden Knights in a sign-and-trade deal on June 30, ending a nine-year run as Matthewsโ teammate in Toronto. With that era over, Matthews seems determined to shift focus entirely onto this seasonโs roster, goals, and collective identity.
By giving the media a limited window to raise the subject, Matthews isnโt just avoiding tangents โ heโs steering the narrative. He wants to move from a past defined by speculation around Marner to a present defined by what this Leafs team can accomplish now.
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