Maple Leafs’ Auston Matthews out day-to-day with upper-body injury
On Tuesday, the Toronto Maple Leafs announced that captain Auston Matthews will not be in the lineup for the team’s important game against the Boston Bruins. The team added the centerman is out day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
Maple Leafs F Auston Matthews is not available for tonight’s game and is day-to-day (upper body).
— Leafs PR (@LeafsPR) November 5, 2024The Maple Leafs haven’t disclosed when or where Matthews was hurt or specifically what was injured. However, when speaking to the media, head coach Craig Berube confirmed Matthews’ current injury is unrelated to the wrist issues he has had in the past.
Matthews did take a bump in front of the net during Toronto’s 2-1 overtime loss to the Minnesota Wild but went on to play the rest of the game without missing any shifts.
While a definitive timeline for Matthews’ return is unknown, a few days off might do the 27-year-old some good. While he has five goals and six assists for 11 points in 13 games, the former U.S. National Team Development Program product hasn’t found the touch that has led him to be a point-a-game player that we have seen throughout his career.
Upper-body injuries have followed Matthews over the past few seasons. The former No. 1 overall pick took a few days off this preseason with an undisclosed injury, with shoulder and wrist injuries forcing him to miss time during the 2021-22 and 2022-23 campaigns. Other notable ailments limited Matthews to less than 70 games in both the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons as well.
Matthews entered the 2024-25 season after having the best goal-scoring season in franchise history. He set a new Leaf record with 69 goals in 81 games, posting a career-high 107 points. Unfortunately, an illness kept him out of a couple of games in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, as Toronto fell to the Bruins in seven games (again).
In 575 career appearances, Matthews has scored 373 goals and 287 assists for 660 points, including another 48 points in 55 postseason games.
The Maple Leafs (6-5-2) sit tied for second in the Atlantic Division with the Tampa Bay Lightning in points (14) despite having the fourth-best winning percentage in the division (.538).