Former Leafs forward Shawn Matthias jokes that he helped Toronto land Auston Matthews

“That’s my claim to fame, that’s what I tell everyone about my Leaf career. I helped you guys get that number one pick,” he said.

Of course, before his time in Toronto, he also spent some time with the Florida Panthers during the years they drafted Aleksander Barkov and Aaron Ekblad.

“I also helped Florida with some high picks for a few years,” Matthias said. “I got Barkov in second place one year and we actually came in last, so we should have had Nathan MacKinnon. But Barkov did pretty well for Florida, too.”

All jokes aside, Matthias looks back on his time in Toronto fondly. As a native of Mississauga, he said it was a dream come true to play for his youth team and that he would have liked the opportunity to play more games in the blue and white jersey if he could have done so.

“Yes, I would have liked to play there for twenty years,” said Matthias. “It was special. I met the Leafs before July 1 and I felt like this was a team I could go to. And the Leaf fan from my youth just came up. I thought, that’s where I want to go, that’s where I want to sign. I knew Babcock from Detroit when I got drafted there. I met him before I signed and I liked what he told me. I learned a lot from him. I teach hockey, and when I go out I learn things that Babs learned. I… It was a great experience, I wish we could have won more games.”