Maple Leafs place Auston Matthews on injured reserve with upper-body injury
The Toronto Maple Leafs are going to be without their captain once again, and maybe a little bit longer.
When speaking to the media on Friday morning, head coach Craig Berube stated that forward Auston Matthews would once again not be in the lineup for their game against the Detroit Red Wings. The 27-year-old was later placed on injured reserve with an upper-body injury, retroactive to Nov. 3.
The @MapleLeafs have placed F Auston Matthews on IR (retroactive to November 3).
F Connor Dewar has been recalled from LTIR conditioning loan and activated from LTIR.
In response, the Maple Leafs called up Connor Dewar from their American Hockey League affiliate, the Toronto Marlies. Dewar has been down in the minors on a long-term injured reserve conditioning loan.
Berube did mention that Matthews is doubtful for their meeting with the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night, but “we’re going in the right direction.”
The Maple Leafs have yet to disclose what exactly is ailing the Arizona native, but Berube assured earlier this week that Matthew’s current injury isn’t related to his past wrist issues.
Matthews appeared in Toronto’s first 13 games of the 2024-25 season. He got off to a little bit of a slow start, but has managed to score five goals and six assists for 11 points with a plus/minus of +2. It is a little off the point-a-game pace that we have grown to expect from the former No. 1 pick.
In 575 career appearances, Matthews has scored 373 goals and 287 assists for 660 points, including another 48 points in 55 postseason games.
Dewar started the 2024-25 season on the injured list as he was recovering from offseason shoulder surgery. He played in just one game during his loan, scoring a goal and an assist last Saturday against the Cleveland Monsters.
The Leafs (7-5-2) are second in the Atlantic Division in both points (16) and winning percentage (.571).