Matthews will miss his eighth consecutive game on Wednesday against the Golden Knights.
Matthews will miss his eighth consecutive game on Wednesday against the Golden Knights.
Auston Matthews won't be in the Toronto Maple Leafs lineup on Wednesday against the Vegas Golden Knights as he deals with an upper-body injury.
Given Toronto's light schedule this week, with games against Vegas on Wednesday and Utah Hockey Club on Sunday, the team will use all its time off to allow their captain to heal.
"Well, I think it's a little bit of a holding pattern, but he's not getting worse, so that's a good thing," Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube said on Monday.
"It just takes time. It's just taking time. It's taking long. But it is what it is, and he's doing what he needs to do to get back in the lineup and get healthy and our team needs to just push on without him right now."
Matthews hasn't played since Toronto's 2-1 overtime loss to the Minnesota Wild on Nov. 3, where the forward had an assist and played 22:12 of ice time in the game.
He's been seen skating once since then; before the Maple Leafs' morning skate against the Montreal Canadiens on Nov. 9.
The 27-year-old dealt with an upper-body injury during training camp but was ready for the Maple Leafs' season opening against the Canadiens. Berube has confirmed that was the same injury the forward is currently dealing with.
Matthews has five goals and six assists for 11 points in 13 games this season.
Toronto's captain is in the first season of a four-year, $53 million contract he signed on Aug. 23, 2023. The deal carries an annual average value of $13.25 million, the highest cap hit in the NHL.
After Sunday's game against Utah, Toronto doesn't play until next Wednesday against the Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers.
"I've talked before we want to get him 100 percent [healthy]. We want to get it behind us, so he can move forward and we can forward here. But [the schedule] does help," Berube said last Friday.
"Would I like him back? Yeah, for sure. But it is what it is. We just gotta keep moving on without him right now."