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The Auston Matthews Problem the Maple Leafs Didn’t See Coming
Auston Matthews is out a week, but Toronto’s real concern started long before his injury. Looking at the hidden struggles of the Leafs’ star.
Auston Matthews being out at least a week with a lower-body injury is bad news for a Toronto Maple Leafs team already fighting uphill. Still, the truth is, the Matthews problem started long before he left Tuesday’s game in Boston. The injury is the headline. The performance dip before it is the real story—one the Leafs can’t afford to ignore any longer.
Matthews simply hasn’t looked like the game-breaking force fans and the organization expected heading into the season. This latest setback is only going to shine a brighter spotlight on his ability (or lack thereof) to stay in the lineup. Analysts have called him out, and fans have noticed it night after night. The numbers back it up in a way that’s becoming impossible to wave away.
At five-on-five, the Maple Leafs are generating less with Matthews on the ice than in any season since he entered the league. Shots, scoring chances, high-danger looks, expected goals—you name it, it’s down. Even his defensive calling card has slipped. 3.7 takeaways per 60 in 2021–22. This season? 1.2. That’s not a blip.
And it matches the eye test. Before he left the game and walked down the tunnel at TD Garden, Matthews was practically invisible. TSN’s panel put it bluntly: he hasn’t looked anywhere near a top-10 player this year. That’s not hyperbole—it’s a summary of a week’s worth of concern bubbling under the surface.
That many believe he got hurt, not on the hit from Nikitka Zadorov, but from trying to run Zadorov afterward, is the ultimate sense of irony. Matthews hasn’t been known to show emotion or stand up for himself. When he finally does, and shows any bit of fire, he gets hurt and misses a week.
Instead of driving play, he’s often been dragged into it. Now he’s hurt again. What are the odds he finds the MVP form everyone assumed was coming? He has been good, but not great, Bryan Hayes argued. He’s missing Marner, and now he’s dealing with whatever this latest injury issue is.
The Leafs need Matthews back quickly, but healthier isn’t the same as fixed. Toronto’s real problem isn’t the week he’ll miss—it’s the version of Matthews they’re getting when he returns.
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