Opinion: Were Matthews' Comments on NHL's Disciplinary Hearing Process Warranted?

Auston Matthews James Carey Lauder-USA TODAY Sports

The relationship NHL players have with the league’s Department of Player Safety is a complicated one.

On one hand, the DOPS is tasked with making the game as safe as possible for players. On the other hand, it is there to take a hard line on players who cross the boundary between legal and illegal play. Sometimes, even the league’s best players run afoul of the DOPS. When that happens, there’s an opportunity for those players to defend themselves.

Last week, Toronto Maple Leafs star center Auston Matthews suggested that nothing he planned to say in his hearing with DOPS officials in 2022 would sway them from their initial instincts. The Hockey News’ Maple Leafs site covered his comments at the time.

Matthews referenced a brouhaha in which he cross-checked Buffalo defenseman Rasmus Dahlin during a game, an act that ultimately got him suspended for two games.

“It’s definitely very eye-opening,” Matthews told reporters on Feb. 12 of the process. “I felt like my bed was already made when I hopped on that phone (for the meeting).”

When a run-of-the-mill NHLer speaks out on a suspension, it doesn’t make many waves at the league level. But when it’s an icon of Matthews’ stature, a critical word or thought resonates to the top levels of the sport.

One of Matthews’ bosses in Toronto, team president Brendan Shanahan, made waves as a retired star when he worked to make the game more enjoyable and entertaining in what was at the time called the “Shanahan Summit.” He used his experiences as a star player, as well as his cachet on and off the ice, to effect notable change. And while Matthews hasn’t taken that route yet in his playing career, his willingness to give his side of the story in this case could lead to him using his voice for change in the game later on.

This is not to argue that Matthews or any player should be free of supplemental discipline. If someone breaks a rule egregiously, the suspension they receive will be justified, as Matthews’ was back in 2022. However, speaking up at the hearing at least gives the individual a chance to offer their opinion of what took place, and that could affect the length of games they’re suspended for.

Most times, even when filing an appeal to the NHL commissioner over a suspension – as we’ve just seen recently in the wake of the five-game suspension handed to Leafs defenseman Morgan Rielly – the commissioner will support the DOPS’ decision. But the only way players can mitigate the number of games they’re suspended for is to defend themselves behind the scenes and publicly. This is why Matthews, Rielly and other NHLers deserve the right to speak up if they see fit. The subjective essence of player safety measures isn’t always fair to all involved, but if the league is going to create a better work environment, it needs to take into account all perspectives before handing down a ruling on someone.

Matthews was probably right – his bed was more than likely made the moment he cross-checked Dahlin. The same goes for Rielly after he cross-checked Ottawa’s Ridly Greig. The long arm of the law is supposed to be impartial, but taking a few minutes to defend yourself, both in the public eye and in the league’s perspective, is what more players, stars and otherwise, should be doing.