Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube says fans shouldn't be worried about Auston Matthews not scoring after the forward battled an injury for most of last season.
The 28-year-old dealt with an undisclosed ailment throughout the year, even taking a midseason flight to Munich, Germany, to receive treatment. In the end, Matthews finished with a career-low 33 goals in 67 games, despite managing the injury. He added three goals in 13 playoff games.
His game rounded out, though. While he wasn't finding the back of the net, Matthews still contributed offensively (78 points in 67 games), and he was strong in the defensive zone, too. Now, after a full summer of relaxing and training, both Matthews and the Maple Leafs express that there's nothing to be concerned about regarding his health.
"It was an off year. There’s, I think, things behind the scenes that we all sort of know about. He wasn’t a fully healthy player, but fought through it. I thought he played extremely well for what he was going through," Berube said on Thursday ahead of a preseason game against the Detroit Red Wings.
"He doesn’t just score goals, he does a lot of things for us. He’s penalty killing. He goes against top lines. He’s a great defensive player. His work ethic, I mean, I don’t think we should be overly concerned. He’s healthy, he’s looking good. He’s shooting the puck really well.
"It’s not all about goals, but I do get it, he’s a goal-scorer. Everybody looks at him to score goals, and we do need him to score goals, but at the same time, it’s a team and it’s about winning games, and it’s about everybody contributing."
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Before the <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/toronto-maple-leafs/latest-news/i-haven-t-had-that-much-fun-in-a-long-time-james-reimer-reflects-on-first-maple-leafs-practice-in-9-years-and-when-he-may-play">Toronto Maple Leafs</a> headed to Gravenhurst, Ontario, for a team-bonding trip, they practiced at Ford Performance Centre with a trimmed-down group of players.
Toronto will ice a lineup on Thursday night that's very close to what their opening night lineup could look like. Matthews will be at the forefront of that group, with Maple Leafs fans hoping he can return to his goal-scoring form of two seasons ago, when he potted 69 goals in 81 games.
It might be challenging to get back to being a 65-plus goal-scorer, especially with Mitch Marner not by his side. But if there's anyone who can score that many goals in the NHL, it's Matthews.
"Yeah, I don't think they should be worried," Oliver Ekman-Larsson added.
"I think he's a very good 200-foot player. He's doing a lot of good stuff for this team and this organization. And when you're in the room and on the ice with him every single day, you see it a lot more than just watching TV and stuff like that.
"So that's something that I really appreciate about his game. You all obviously know that he can put the puck in the net and make unbelievable plays. But I think, yeah, I think he's chipping in so much more, even if he didn't score 70 goals, but we'll take it."
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