Mike Babcock was recently asked if Auston Matthews will be joining the penalty kill unit this season. According to Kristen Shilton, who covers Toronto for TSN, Babcock responded saying, "I talked to him about that two years ago. His basic thought was, I never done it, and I don't plan on doing it."
Matthews has played some very minimal penalty kill minutes in his three seasons with the Leafs. He has averaged between one and a half to two minutes for the entire previous seasons, and a total of about 4.2 minutes in his NHL career.
With the departure of Nazem Kadri, Babcock said that Matthews, as well as Tavares, will have to take more touches on the penalty kill. This does raise concerns about expensive players blocking pucks.
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That said, with Travis Dermott and Zach Hyman sidelined to start the season, Babcock will have to look deep into his lineup for penalty killers.
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