Nov 27, 2018
Matthews feels ready to return
Injured Maple Leafs centre could be back in the lineup as soon as Wednesday’s game against the San Jose Sharks, Kristen Shilton writes.
TORONTO – Fresh from his first full-contact practice with the Maple Leafs since suffering a shoulder injury late last month, Auston Matthews made it clear he’s ready to get back in Toronto’s lineup, perhaps as soon as Wednesday’s game against the San Jose Sharks.
“I’ll have to talk to the medical guys, but as far as I’m concerned it’s looking really good,” Matthews said Tuesday. “I’ve been bored to death this past month, so I think I’m just going to be excited to be back with the team and do what we all love to do, which is play hockey.”
The centre last suited up on Oct. 27, when Winnipeg Jets defenceman Jacob Trouba caught his left shoulder with a hard hit. Matthews was on a torrid scoring pace at the time, tied for the NHL lead in goals (10) and tied for third in points (16) after 11 games.
The collision with Trouba not only halted that momentum, it also put Matthews back in familiar territory, rehabbing a shoulder injury similar to the one that forced him out for 10 games last season (although that was to his right side).
Matthews’ layoff has been longer this time at 14 games, but the Leafs have played well without him, going 9-5-0 while the 21-year-old healed.
“You have to find something to do – might as well work on stuff you can when you can’t participate in practice,” Matthews said. “Workouts, rehab, doing everything I can to keep everything in the best shape possible.”
Despite a history with shoulder problems dating back to his junior hockey days, Matthews is past the point of being skittish about taking a hit at game speed. At Tuesday’s practice, he was the first skater jumping into every new exercise, including one-on-one battle drills.
“I took some bumps today, initiated contact and went into the corners and [was] spinning off of guys. That all felt good,” Matthews said. “The real test is a game, but doing contact stuff the past week, everything has felt solid and fine. The goal is to not get crunched again like I did when the injury happened, to see stuff coming. Not shy away from hits, just take the lesser part of them.”
Matthews was skating between Patrick Marleau and Kasperi Kapanen when he got hurt, an arrangement head coach Mike Babcock was non-committal on returning to when asked Tuesday. The Leafs also didn't do their usual line rushes at practice.
“I haven’t thought about it,” Babcock insisted of where Matthews will play. “When he’s available, I’m sure we’ll find him some linemates. [Trainer] Paul [Ayotte] and him haven’t sat down and got all that straightened out, so we’ll know more in the morning. Wasn’t a long practice or anything [on Tuesday], but he looked fine out there today.”
When it comes to his first game back from injury, Matthews has proven to be far better than fine. Sidelined on three separate occasions last season, Matthews recorded a combined four goals and one assist in his three returns.
While he had no explanation for why those games went so well, Matthews is pleased with where his shot is at and confident he can use it successfully.
“It felt good today. Everything comes back over time,” he said. “The more practices and games you get into, you get back to feeling like yourself. That stuff will come along just fine I think.”
At whatever point Babcock settles on wingers for Matthews, he’ll also have to decide who is coming out of the lineup.
Toronto lost Matthews at a time when centre Par Lindholm was playing wing, while Tyler Ennis and Andreas Johnsson were rotating onto the fourth line beside Josh Leivo and Frederik Gauthier. Since then, Lindholm has been Toronto's third-line centre with Johnsson and Connor Brown, while Ennis, Leivo and Gauthier have made up Toronto's fourth line.
Any choice Babcock makes on that front may not last long. The Leafs are days away from the NHL’s Dec. 1 deadline to sign restricted free agent William Nylander before he becomes ineligible to play this season.
Conceivably, both Nylander and Matthews could be back in the span of a week, bolstering Toronto’s depth while also disrupting some established rhythms.
“Our guys all know [Matthews] is going to be here. I expect Willy will be here too,” Babcock said. “So there’s going to be other guys not playing too. But that’s all part of being on a team and doing what you can to help. It’s all about understanding what your lot in life is and being the best you can at it.”