Shoulder injury ends Matthews’ night
Auston Matthews, the Maple Leafs’ best player, took a hard shoulder-to-shoulder hit from Jets defenceman from Jacob Trouba early in the second period and left Saturday night’s game against the Winnipeg Jets. There was no timetable for his return.
Leafs coach Mike Babcock labelled Matthews doubtful for Monday’s visit by the Calgary Flames and said the shoulder injury would be reassessed that day.
The 21-year-old Matthews, who has been dogged by shoulder injuries, initially sat on the bench — in obvious discomfort, apparently unable to lift his arm — and then left for the night. He’s the team’s leading scorer with 10 goals and six assists, though he has gone five games without a goal and four without a point.
Matthews played the full 82-game season in his rookie year, but missed 20 last year — including 10, from Feb. 22 to March 22, with a sore left shoulder. Babcock said this injury was to the other shoulder.
The Leafs were11-7-2 without their star centre last season.
The centre is counting on a productive season with his entry-level contract expiring on July 1. A healthy Matthews would likely finish among the league’s highest scorers and command top dollar, up to 20 per cent of the team’s salary cap.
“It’s tough,” said teammate Mitch Marner, also in line for a big raise after this season. “He’s a big part of this team. Everyone knows that. Hopefully we get him back soon.”
A healthy Matthews is also key to the Leafs’ Stanley Cup aspirations.
“Hopefully it’s not severe,” said centre Nazem Kadri, who scored the Leafs’ first goal in a 3-2 victory over Winnipeg at Scotiabank Arena.
The11th game of the season had a gritty feel from the beginning with a lot of hard hits — particularly Kadri on Trouba in the first period. Some of it may have been bad blood that spilled over from the Leafs’ 4-2 win in Winnipeg on Wednesday.