from Jack Todd at the Montreal Gazette,
Then there was the on-ice incident during the exhibition season in which Matthews ridiculed an obscure opponent by pretending to try to see the name on his jersey during an altercation. Minor stuff, yes — but can you imagine Jean Béliveau acting like that? Gordie Howe? Wayne Gretzky? Sidney Crosby? Never.
That Matthews stunt was pure Brad Marchand — but Marchand has always been an outlier, not a No. 1 draft pick and the face of a franchise, cheesy moustache and all. There is a pattern here: a pattern of entitlement and arrogance, of “I can get away with anything because I’m a big deal and you’re not.”
Of course, Matthews will get away with it, given most people will take his behaviour for boys-will-be-boys hijinks, even if the boy in this instance was a highly paid professional star. He’ll probably have to do no more than make an apology and at worst, he’ll do a little community service — some onerous task, like dropping in on a couple of schools to sign autographs and talk about how great he is.
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