The Toronto Maple Leafs are still well out of the playoff race, but the Auston Matthews injury news is still vital. If they have any chance of making the playoffs, their captain has to be at full strength. After missing their most recent game, a win against the New Jersey Devils, Matthews is returning, per Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.
“Auston Matthews returns tonight,” Friedman simply reported.
The Maple Leafs were without both Matthews and William Nylander in their 4-0 win over the Devils that closed 2025. Their captain is returning to open 2026 on Thursday against the Winnipeg Jets. Toronto flips the calendar at 18-15-6, four points out of the final playoff spot.
Matthews has not been as productive this season as Maple Leafs fans are accustomed to. In 33 games, he has 15 goals and 27 points. If that pace holds, it would be the first season in his career with under one point per game since his rookie year. That season, he scored 40 goals with 69 points in 80 games at 19 years old.
The Maple Leafs lost Mitch Marner to the Vegas Golden Knights in the offseason, ending the ill-fated Core Four era. While Marner has not put up huge numbers in Vegas, he has been missed on the wing in Toronto. Matthews' offensive numbers have cratered for plenty of reasons, but Marner's absence is key.
In 2024, Matthews traveled to Germany to get help with an injury that was bothering him at the end of the 2023-24 season. Since then, his offensive numbers have not been at the MVP-level they were at before. His 69-goal 2022-23 season feels like ancient history, especially considering his lack of production this year.
Matthews will be back at center for the Maple Leafs when they take on the Jets on Thursday night at home. Can it be the start of a winning streak?
