Matthews and Team USA are reportedly set to visit the White House for lunch on Tuesday.
If you thought Auston Matthews would sit out the first game for the Toronto Maple Leafs after his gold medal win at the 2026 Winter Olympics, think again.
Team USA is set to visit the White House in Washington, D.C., following their gold-medal defeat against Canada on Sunday. Some wondered whether Matthews would play in Toronto's first game back, against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday, due to the tight turnaround.
But Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube said he expects his captain to be in the lineup against the Lightning.
TSN's Darren Dreger reported that the gold-medal-winning team (or at least Matthews) is headed to the White House for a 12:30 p.m. ET luncheon on Tuesday, instead of attending the 9 p.m. State of the Union address later in the evening.
Further, the coach was asked whether he believes there'll be fatigue from Matthews after playing in an emotionally charged tournament like the Olympics.
"Going off last year, I definitely thought there was fatigue with these guys coming back from 4 Nations. You never know. We'll see. He's riding a pretty good high right now, with winning," Berube said.
"He's feeling good. Again, we'll evaluate that tomorrow and see where he's at. I'll get a better feel when I talk to him tonight."
The Maple Leafs have a crucial stretch of games coming up. They're six points out of a playoff spot — held by the Boston Bruins and Buffalo Sabres, one point ahead of them — and have three straight games against divisional opponents.
Every game matters from here on out, and it doesn't appear that, with what Berube said, any Maple Leafs should be concerned about Matthews missing time to attend the White House on Tuesday.
"It's great," Berube continued. "They won the gold medal and a great honor to go there for these guys and enjoy the day there with them."
Matthews captained the United States to the men's first gold medal at the Olympics since 1980. The 28-year-old tallied three goals and four assists in six games, including an assist on the USA's first goal against Canada in the final.
Coming back to Toronto, Matthews' 26 goals and 48 points in 51 games put him second among the Maple Leafs in scoring, behind only William Nylander (52 points in 40 games), whom he and the United States eliminated in the quarterfinals at the Olympics.
"I'm super happy for him," Nylander said on Tuesday after his first practice back with the Maple Leafs. "But I'm obviously upset that we lost. But I mean, it was a great game and they did a great job, and it's not an easy feat to win the gold medal."