Matthew Tkachuk handed Auston Matthews and Jack Roslovic a warning this week, and the Maple Leafs pair did not look shaken by it.
The clip made the rounds overnight. Score on him, break out the Superman celebration, and there will be consequences. He didn't phrase it gently.
Roslovic gave the Toronto media the short version. He's willing to find out.
That's camp week in a nutshell. Three guys who know each other well enough to run their mouths on camera and laugh through the whole thing.
The Florida winger played only 31 games last season and still finished with 34 points. Whatever you make of the noise, the production never left.
He carries a $9,500,000 cap hit. His brother Brady now sits in that same room on an $8,205,714 deal.
Matthews appeared in 60 games and finished with 53 points. A season that ended well short of what Toronto needed from him.
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Matthew Tkachuk threatens consequences for Matthews and Roslovic celebration
Roslovic scored 21 goals across 69 games last season. Nobody in Toronto expected that number when he arrived.
He did it on a $1,500,000 cap hit. That's the sort of contract every cap sheet in the league wants more of.
Five of those goals won games. Not a guy who fades once the third period tightens up.
Matthews is carrying a $13,250,000 cap hit into a season where the questions won't wait until December.
The Maple Leafs finished 32-36-14 and landed 28th overall. Nobody in that dressing room wants a rerun.
They scored 253 goals and gave up 299. That gap explains the entire year without another word.
Florida wasn't much better. The Panthers finished 40-38-4 for 84 points.
They allowed 276 goals and fell apart away from home, going 17-23-1 on the road.
The two clubs split four meetings last season. Toronto took the first two, then got run 6-2 at home in April.
Paul Maurice also opens this camp with Brad Marchand expected out until at least November 2. The jokes are free. The lineup isn't.
So does anybody actually try the celly? Trash talk in September works like a gym membership in January. Loud, confident, rarely followed through.
These two will see each other again. Somebody scores, somebody decides what to do with their arms, and the rest of us find out how serious Tkachuk was.
Would you want Auston Matthews to pull out the Superman celly on Matthew Tkachuk?
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