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TSN Toronto Maple Leafs Reporter

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TORONTO – Maple Leafs general manager Kyle Dubas first heard of Auston Matthews facing a disorderly conduct charge when the story broke online Tuesday night.

And, suffice it to say, that’s not how he would have preferred to be informed of the charge stemming from an alleged incident last May in Scottsdale, Ariz.

“I found out on Twitter yesterday and called Auston. He was very honest about it,” Dubas said after the Leafs’ 3-0 preseason win over the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday night. “There was no ducking, there was no denying anything. He was very honest with me about what had happened. I would have liked to have known before, but I’m happy that in the moment when he could have ducked away or deferred, that he was honest with me.”

Admitting he didn’t have a “power ranking” for which was worse – the fact Matthews was involved in the alleged incident or that he didn’t tell the team before the news went public – Dubas said ultimately all aspects weighed on him equally.

“Both are disappointing,” Dubas said. "And [both] will be addressed and we’ll roll from there. We obviously take the matter very seriously. We’re obviously very disappointed.”

The charge is connected to an incident that allegedly occurred around 2 a.m. on May 26 when Matthews and a group of friends allegedly attempted to open the door to a female security guard’s parked and locked vehicle. 

When confronted by the guard, Matthews allegedly, “pulled his pants down, bent over and grabbed his butt cheeks” as he was walking away, according to a police report. The complainant said Matthews was wearing underwear at the time. 

A police officer later observed building surveillance video which showed a man – confirmed by a building manager to be Matthews – walking toward the elevator with his pants “at his ankle.”
 
None of the allegations have been proven in court. Court documents show a pretrial conference related to the case was scheduled for Scottsdale City Court Wednesday morning. A continuance was later issued and the next court date is set for Oct. 22.

Prior to Matthews’ involvement in the alleged incident coming to light, he had been the odds-on favourite to be named Toronto’s next captain, an announcement that was expected before the regular season begins next Wednesday. Dubas swiftly shut down any discussion about whether these revelations change Toronto’s course of action in that respect.

“I don’t think today is the day to talk about the captaincy,” he said tersely.

As for why Matthews didn’t tell the Leafs about being embroiled in legal trouble, the 22-year-old could only concede his silence was a mistake.

“I think that was just an error in judgment,” he said. “We received the complaint, got with [our] legal [team], tried to map out a plan on how to handle the situation and that was just an error in judgment on my part [not to tell the Leafs].”

Matthews tried to put aside the turmoil of his previous 24 hours and focus on Toronto's exhibition tilt Wednesday, scoring once in the victory, but wasn't entirely successful. 

"It's been hard," Matthews said. "But I feel I still got to go out there and do my job and try to block that out. As easy as it is to say, it's, you know, not."

Dubas refused to put the blame entirely on Matthews for not keeping Toronto in the loop, acknowledging that his star centre’s agent, Judd Moldaver, or another connected party could have also started the conversation before it became public.

“Of course I would have liked for somebody to come forth before and let us know, but I think that expectation goes to everyone involved, not to one person or another but all of them,” Dubas said. “We need [players] to be able to come to us and for us to be able to help them or provide guidance. [But] Judd has been great since we’ve learned about it in terms of getting us information.”

Now mostly up to speed on the matter, Dubas said there are steps to take in dealing with the matter further, for Matthews individually and the team as a whole.

“I don’t think it will negatively impact the relationship with Auston," Dubas insisted. "[When] someone doesn’t meet the level of expectation you have for them or [they have] for themselves, it’s an opportunity for them to learn and to grow and that’s how we’ll approach it. You can forget [a player is] 20, 21, 18, 23, 24 and moments like this remind you of that. And they also remind you of the onus we have as an organization to continue to develop our people and how they conduct their business off the ice.

“We have to use it as an opportunity to educate our whole organization…on how they interact with every citizen they come in contact with because when they are doing so, they are representing the Toronto Maple Leafs.”​