The Toronto Maple Leafs have been pushing to make it back to the playoffs this season, and seem poised to make it back to the postseason with a stronger roster in hopes of winning their first Stanley Cup since 1967. They bolstered their depth between the pipes and on the blue line as they added Anthony Stolarz, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and Chris Tanev and it seemed as though they had no issues heading into the 2024-25 campaign. Unfortunately, their new captain, Auston Matthews, went down with an injury that kept him out for a little while, and now, it seems as though it’s not something he can fully move past this season.
Related: Maple Leafs Should Target Morgan Frost to Bolster Centre Depth
As one of the strongest offensive producers in the league, losing Matthews hurts the Maple Leafs immensely. The team has been dealing with several injury issues this season as they’ve already been through issues with both of their goaltenders that have continued with Stolarz remaining out for a few more weeks, as well as Calle Jarnkrok and Jani Hakanpaa, going down earlier on.
According to The Athletic’s Jonas Siegel, Matthews doesn’t know if he’ll be able to move past the injury that kept him out earlier on in the season but hopes he can. Siegel added on X(Twitter) that head coach Craig Berube said “When he’s available he’ll let us know.” Matthews, who is 27 years old, has scored 11 goals and added 12 assists for 23 points through 24 games played this season. His production has dropped this season, considering he is coming off of a career-high 69-goal campaign in the 2023-24 regular season.
Auston Matthews is unsure if he’ll be able to fully move past his injury this season: “I don’t know. I hope so.”
— Jonas Siegel (@jonassiegel) January 1, 2025
The latest on the Maple Leafs captain: https://t.co/BGg7sp8Plf
Throughout his career, Matthews has scored 379 goals and added 293 assists for 672 points through 586 games which comes out to a 1.14 points-per-game average. Luckily, the Maple Leafs have continued to find success without their superstar forward as they sit tied for first with the Florida Panthers in the Atlantic Division with a 23-13-2 record and 48 points. However, they would love to have him back in full health for the postseason considering the positive impact he brings at both ends of the ice once the playoffs get underway.
Matthews’ Injury Seems Much Worse Than Originally Anticipated
According to several sources, Matthews went to Germany to deal with his injury earlier this season because he trusted the clinic and it seemed the Maple Leafs completely supported his decision to do so. During his time in Germany, it was made clear by those same sources that surgery was not being considered, but Matthews wanted to keep as many details about his injuries away from the public eye considering how private he is about that kind of situation.
However, it seems as though the injury he has been dealing with is much more serious than everyone originally anticipated. While it seems as though he plans to play out the season and deal with the injury in the offseason, it’s concerning for Maple Leafs fans who wanted to see him at full health in hopes of trying to break the 65-goal plateau again. However, with the NHL season almost halfway complete, that goal seems unrealistic at this point.
As the team looks to have more postseason success than last season, they will be hoping their superstar forward can come back in time for the playoffs and give them a chance to win. They made the changes in the offseason to solve their defensive depth issue, but bad luck seems to be following them at every turn.
As the 2024-25 season moves along, be sure to continue following The Hockey Writers as your source for news from around the NHL and the hockey world.
