If there wasn’t concern about Auston Matthews’ injury before, there probably should be now.
The Maple Leafs captain won’t be available to play against the New York Islanders on Saturday night at Scotiabank Arena because he aggravated his previous injury, TSN’s Chris Johnson posted to X on Saturday afternoon.
There was no immediate confirmation from the Leafs on the status of Matthews.
The Leafs didn’t hold a morning skate on Saturday, and coach Craig Berube is scheduled to have a media availability a couple of hours before the opening faceoff.
Matthews missed nine games with an upper-body injury from Nov. 5-27 — during which time he was seen by a doctor in Germany — and in the 11 games since his return, the 27-year-old has six goals and six assists.
Of those nine games without their No. 1 centre, the Leafs won seven.
Matthews didn’t take part in the Leafs’ morning skate in Buffalo for maintenance reasons. During the game, not only did he absorb a big hit by the Sabres’ Tage Thompson, but he was cross-checked in the ribs by Dennis Gilbert.
Matthews scored a power-play goal in the first period and finished the game with 19 minutes, 18 seconds of ice time.
The longer Matthews goes without being able to put this injury behind him, it goes without saying that he shouldn’t play for the United States in the 4 Nations Face-Off in February. There’s no reason for the Leafs to risk Matthews suffering a greater injury in a tournament that, in the grand scheme, means nothing.
Whether Matthews could play in the Leafs’ next game, on Monday at home against the Winnipeg Jets in their last match before Christmas, was not clear.
Meanwhile, the Leafs assigned goalie Matt Murray to the Toronto Marlies and recalled Dennis Hildeby. The move was made for roster management/salary cap reasons.
The expectation is that Hildeby will back up Joseph Woll against the Islanders.
Don’t be surprised to see Murray recalled again soon, possibly in time for the game versus Winnipeg.
Against the Sabres, Murray made 24 saves in his first NHL game since April 2, 2023.