'IT'S AN HONOUR': Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews caps hat deal
He’s the first NHL player and first pro athlete from a Canadian team with such a partnership.
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Auston Matthews is a man of many hats — and some hat tricks.
He memorably debuted with a four-goal game against the Ottawa Senators in 2016 and has had four more hatties as part of 245 goals, already 10th in Toronto Maple Leafs franchise history.
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'IT'S AN HONOUR': Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews caps hat deal Back to video
And what happens to all those chapeaus that float to the Scotiabank Arena ice when he notches three, such as Dec. 1 against Colorado and Jan. 31 versus New Jersey?
“They let me take home some of the ones I really liked.” Matthews told the Sun. “I had my eye on a few in there, which were pretty sweet.”
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Matthews, with his flair for fashion, has just agreed to be the face — make that the head — of Lids, the North American sports cap retailer. He’s the first NHL player and first pro athlete from a Canadian team with such a partnership.
“It’s an honour for me. I’ve always been into hats; I think they’re a really big part of hockey culture,” he said.
“Guys have had long hair and it’s easier to fling it back and put a hat on it. I found it was a really, really big thing my last couple of years of youth hockey. All of us thought we were sweet because we all had super long hair and when you took the hat off, it would be all slicked back. It’s one of those kid things, I guess, that just never stopped for me.”
Raised in sunny Arizona, some kind of hat was de rigueur for Matthews. Between those, the various team and promotional hats the Leafs wear, Matthews’ own collection and now the pick of the bunch with his new deal, his shelves are full.
“Lids has all kinds — buckets, fedoras, visors,” he said. “I’ve always had a wide variety for different things, be it tennis, golf, whatever, here in Toronto and back home. I don’t have an exact number for you. They just keep growing and growing, then I have to sort through them all, give some away, then make space for new ones.”
As a young baseball player before he fell in love with hockey, Matthews had a favourite cap.
“Boston Red Sox. Maybe not the first one I owned, but the most memorable because I really loved the Sox and David Ortiz was my guy when I wore it all the time, got some pretty good use out of it. I don’t remember what happened to it, I probably just wore it out.”
Matthews has been spotted with a stylish flat driver’s cap, as have other Leafs, as many NHL teams and TV networks have now made the players’ arrival at the rink on game night something of a red carpet affair. He looks forward to making unique hats part of that package.
“We’re somewhat strapped to a dress code right now,” Matthews said with a laugh of the younger Leafs trying to push the envelope on conservative tradition when the team is out and about. “Maybe that changes here soon with more stuff allowed. There’s not a whole lot of leeway there now. You can call it a (subject for negotiation).”
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