As the hometown fan favourites at NHL All-Star Weekend, Auston Matthews and his Toronto Maple Leafs teammates basked in the limelight and provided the crowd with the satisfying conclusion they were hoping for.
In the All-Star 3-on-3 tournament final on Saturday, Matthews scored twice, including the game-winning goal, and added an assist as his side defeated the team of reigning MVP Connor McDavid 7-4. The MVP was declared to be Matthews, the American-born star of the wealthiest team in Canada who re-signed last summer to remain in Toronto through 2028.
Toronto loved it, the NHL loved it, we all loved it:
Together with Matthews, Mitch Marner of the Leafs scored a goal as well. The club celebrated by splitting the $1 million reward with teammates Morgan Rielly and William Nylander.
“The whole weekend in itself is special for all of us, especially the host city and the hometown guys,” Matthews said. “Nice to cap it off with a win, and everybody goes home happy.”
It was a dream occasion for the league on the ice when Team Matthews won the last game of a revamped All-Star Weekend, which included the popular player draft returning and a reconfigured skills competition in the Leafs' home rink. Off the ice, the celebrations, which also featured an Olympic agreement for 2026 and 2030, were shadowed by the Hockey Canada sexual assault probe and accusations against four active NHL players.
The Leaf's quartet's triumph transpired the day after McDavid, who significantly influenced the game's format, stole the show by winning the skills competition. As driven as the captain of the Edmonton Oilers was on Friday night, Matthews' squad was more concerned with winning the 3-on-3 competition.
“We wanted to win, for sure,” Matthews said. “Talking in the locker room, I don’t think there was much messing around. Everybody was on the same page to try to go out there and put in a pretty good effort and try to come out with a good result.”
Any other manner would be unacceptable to Marner. He loved being in an All-Star Game in Toronto, having watched them growing up in neighbouring Markham, Ontario.
“You always dream of being a part of one,” Marner said. “To have it in this city, it’s pretty remarkable and to be able to enjoy with the ones that got me to where I am, it’s even better.”
For Rielly, an All-Star for the first time who did not anticipate feeling anxious before the 3-on-3 exhibition, it could not have gone any better.
“I think when you’re in that environment around all those elite players, I think I was a little nervous,” Rielly said.
Not just in hockey, but also in general, the event that leaned into being held in Canada's largest city had a lot of star power. Tate McRae, Michael Bublé, Justin Bieber, and actor Will Arnett were the celebrity captains. McRae gave an MVP-caliber performance in between the semifinals and final.
“Just cool to have somebody like (Bieber) and the other celebrities we had over the weekend come in,” Matthews said. “They’re so down the earth and engaging with players, staff, people that are around.”
Arnett was sitting behind the bench for the 3-on-3 competition, so New York Rangers coach Peter Laviolette had plenty of opportunity to spend time with him. Arnett might have also contributed a small amount of the winning inspiration to cap off an exciting All-Star Weekend.
“He gave a speech before the first game that was right up there with some of the best,” Laviolette said. “For a guy like him to come in — a huge fan of the game, loves the game — (and) to be a part of that is good.”
