Auston Matthews was ‘randomly’ drug tested after four-goal NHL debut
In a completely random coincidence after his four-goal NHL debut, Auston Matthews was “randomly” selected for a drug test the very next day.
Everybody remembers the NHL debut of Auston Matthews on the first game of the 2017 season for the Toronto Maple Leafs. It’s a story that will be told by Maple Leaf fans for generations to come. The 2017 first-overall pick was hyped up to be the long awaited savior of the cursed Toronto franchise, and all eyes were on him on Oct. 12 in Ottawa for the big debut.
Matthews delivered and then some in his professional debut, scoring four goals against the Ottawa Senators in a game that Toronto… lost 5-4 in overtime. Regardless of the result, Matthews set an NHL record for most goals scored in a rookie debut and put the futile Toronto teams of the past officially behind them.
It’s a moment that will live on for a long time for sure, but the it seems like the NHL wasn’t entirely sure there was nothing fishy happening.
According to Craig Custance of the Athletic, the very next day at practice Matthews was “randomly” selected for the no-notice drug testing that happens all season under the NHL’s drug policy.
“All the boys were giving me a hard time, the next day at practice, I didn’t know what was going on,” Matthews told The Athletic.
But alas, it turns out Matthews scored the first four goals of his career without being roided up to the gills on performance enhancers, because certainly something would’ve come out in the two years since.
The 2017-18 season was no better on the drug testing front either, as he was pulled aside and randomly tested almost every time the testers came around.
“For some reason, my name got pulled every single time last year in the season,” Matthews said. “That was insane. Every time they showed up: ‘You. Matthews.’ Every time. I don’t know how many times they came to the rink. I think there was only one time where I didn’t get drug tested.”
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Drug tests are so rarely heard about in the NHL because players failing their drug tests is extraordinarily rare in the today’s league. They’ve been brought back to the spotlight because Nate Schmidt just tested positive for an unnamed substance and was suspended 20 games despite denying ever knowingly taking anything, and claimed the amount found in his system was seven billionths of a milligram.