The Toronto Maple Leafs are reportedly going to explore giving Auston Matthews a role on the penalty kill for this season, and Matthews is open to playing that role.

“You're down a man but at the same time, it's hockey, a lot of anticipation, a lot of reads, and I feel like I have a good stick and can break up plays,” Auston Matthews said, according to Sean O'Leary of theScore. “I'd love to be utilized on it.”

Many dangerous offensive forwards are used on the penalty kill in the NHL, as long as they have the necessarily defensive skills. It could be a good opportunity for Matthews to play with a chance to score on some counterattack rushes with some more room on the ice due to one less player being out there.

Matthews brought up Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand's success on the penalty kill as a reason why he would look forward to playing in that role for the Maple Leafs.

“I've always thought of it too when you go out against guys like Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand on the penalty kill, it definitely makes you think a little bit more maybe just because not only are they very good defensively, they can knock pucks out of the air and force you to make plays in tough positions and then transition the other way,” Matthews said, according to O'Leary. “Obviously, you're not trying to score every time you are out there, but there's definitely a lot of opportunity there and something I definitely want to embrace.”

The Maple Leafs lost penalty killers Noel Acciari, Ryan O'Reilly and Alex Kerfoot this offseason. It will be interesting to see if Matthews could fill one of those holes.

With Matthews' skill, he could bring more upside to the penalty kill than Noel Acciari, Ryan O'Reilly and Alex Kerfoot did.