Auston Matthews hasn't been able to play at full speed the past couple of seasons due to injuries. But forget the past two years, Toronto Maple Leafs GM John Chayka's data suggests that this could be his best campaign in a long time.
The word on the street after a short NHL pre-season is that Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews is much quicker this season compared to the last couple of years.
That's been acknowledged by head coach Jim Hiller, and Matthews himself has referenced multiple times that he has felt great going into this season, saying, "the best I’ve felt in a long time."
On Monday, after the Maple Leafs' last practice before the official start of the 2026-27 regular season, GM John Chayka admitted that he's noticed it too.
"I thought he looked great," Chayka said of Matthews' training camp. "Coming in, he's lighter. He's leaner. I think he worked with some of the best people in the world on his rehab and then through his training. I think that just paid dividends for him."
He went even further to support his claim, revealing some promising findings that he and the Leafs' management came across.
"All of our internal skating data suggests this is the best he's skated over the last five years," he said. "So he looks good, looks healthy. You know, it looks like he's in good spirits. From our side, he's been nothing short of a, you know, perfect captain, and I expect that when the puck drops."
It was clear that Matthews' previous two years weren't up to his standard, in large part because of injuries that he endured throughout those seasons. But for the Maple Leafs' data to calculate this pre-season and training camp to be the best he's skated in the last five years is certainly something.
It's particularly eye-opening when Matthews has won a Hart Trophy and two Rocket Richard Trophies in the last five seasons - scoring 60 goals in 2021-22 and 69 goals in 2023-24.
So, if it's true that this is the best that Matthews has skated in that time frame, he should be in for quite a season and back to playing the way he is remembered for.
See more of The Hockey News on Google — Save us as Preferred Source
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
