Maple Leafs C Auston Matthews is "finishing up the most impressive rookie season in the 100-year history" of the franchise, but fans "won’t find his picture around the Air Canada Centre -- not on the scoreboard, on billboards or even in the promotion of team merchandise," according to Jonas Siegel of the CP. The Leafs have "strict measures in place to shield rookies like Matthews from the spotlight." The club also wants to "prop up forgotten veterans and ensure that no one -- not even the highest-scoring first-year player the team has ever seen -- is bigger than the logo." Leafs GM Lou Lamoriello said, "People have to earn what they get, not because it’s a good media exposure or we’re always trying to look for something there." Siegel noted Matthews was "selling more jerseys league-wide" than anyone but Penguins C Sidney Crosby in the first three months of his NHL career, but when the club "had new sweaters to promote for the Jan. 1 Centennial Classic, they chose to feature their four alternate captains." During breaks in the action at home games, the Leafs "might air pre-taped bits of players reading mean tweets or guessing which artist sang which song, but those bits won’t include a single rookie." Lamoriello "declined to say whether the practice would extend to next season" with the current crop of Leafs rookies, which includes three players with more than 60 points. Lamoriello: "Just be a hockey player" (CP, 4/5).
