Matthews did not vacation like many of his teammates over the break; he did this instead
The Leafs are finally back in action tonight for the first time in what feels like a month, but in actuality it was really only a 9-day break for the All-Star weekend, followed by the Leafs' bye week.
While many of the Leafs players enjoyed some downtime and went on vacation, we already saw on Thursday what William Nylander was doing, running drills with his brother at the Leafs' practice facility. There was another Leaf who decided against vacationing as well. Of course, I'm talking about Auston Matthews.
Sheldon Keefe revealed to the media on Thursday that Matthews didn't even return to Arizona, instead opting to remain in Toronto over the 9-day break to continue rehabbing his injured knee.
Matthews has been sidelined since January 25th after suffering a knee sprain during warm-ups ahead of the Leafs' tilt against the New York Rangers. Matthews revealed on Thursday that he attempted to play through it, but that the pain only increased throughout the course of the game.
To have these top guys putting the team ahead of themselves and showcasing this kind of dedication and sacrifice is one of the key details that this team has been missing in past years. As small of a detail as it seems like to have Matthews and Nylander putting in work over the break, these are the things that separate champions from challengers. Good on Matthews, good on Nylander and hopefully the rest of the team is taking notice of things like this - which I'm sure they are.
| POLL | ||
10 FEVRIER | 330 ANSWERS Matthews did not vacation like many of his teammates over the break; he did this instead Is Auston Matthews next in line to captain the Leafs? | ||
| No | 60 | 18.2 % |
| Yes | 270 | 81.8 % |
| List of polls | ||
