The Leafs need to avoid putting a band-aid on a bullet wound when it comes to Auston Matthews
Everything was looking up for the Leafs coming into this week's games against Nashville, Detroit and Boston - that was until it was announced that Auston Matthews was dealing with something that the Buds referred to as a "lingering issue", which has forced him out of Wednesday and Thursday's games against the Preds and the Wings. Now, thanks to the latest update from Sheldon Keefe, Matthews is also in jeopardy of missing tonight's game in Boston.
There has been no in depth update as to what is ailing Matthews, other than this is something that he's dealt with for much of the season. Some have speculated that he's been dealing with something since Jamie Benn cross-checked him in the ribs/lower back back at the beginning of the season on October 20th. Others have raised concerns about his wrist issues carrying over into this season. However, neither of these theories can be substantiated without either Matthews or the team confirming them.
On Thursday, Keefe confirmed that Matthews was not only dealing with the injury issue, but that he had also come down with an illness. The Leafs had a much-needed day off on Friday, so no update was provided on Matthews' status yesterday. Now we patiently await Keefe's comments following today's morning skate.
The Leafs have a bit of a conundrum in front of them here. It's obvious that whatever Matthews is dealing with - even if it is perceived as "minor", it's not nothing. The team can either encourage him to get back out there and play through it, hold him out a couple more games or they can shut him down until he's back at 100%. Giving him another night or two off is a short-term solution. Pushing him to play doesn't seem like Dubas and Keefe's style. Holding him out and getting him back to 100% before he comes back, in my opinion, is the play here.
Matthews is a player who, when he's on, there's no stopping him. When he's trying to play through something, however, you can tell. He's not nearly the same player. Not nearly as dominant. Not nearly as comfortable. When Keefe had revealed that Matthews had been dealing with a lingering issue, there was sort of this "Ah-ha!" moment for a lot of Leafs Nation. Here's a guy who scored 60 last season who is barely on pace to break 40 this year. Something had to be wrong for that sort of steep drop off - and it wasn't just that he was focusing more on his defensive play or his physicality. We've seen Matthews bobble pucks and whiff on shots this year that he would have buried last season.
With the playoffs not far off now, the last thing the Leafs need to be doing is prolonging any injury, minor or otherwise, that Matthews may be dealing with. If it's an injury that requires Matthews to be off on a week-to-week basis or to spend a stint on LTIR, so be it. There's no question that the Leafs are better with Matthews than without, but if the goal is to win in the playoffs, then Matthews heading into the postseason at 100% is much better than Matthews entering the postseason at 85%. Whatever is ailing him - whatever the lingering issue is - the team has an obligation at this point to intervene and have that difficult conversation with him to sit out awhile and deal with the issue. And whether that means rest, rehab or even surgery (if it's minor), the team has to explore those options.
| POLL | ||
JANVIER 14 | 172 ANSWERS The Leafs need to avoid putting a band-aid on a bullet wound when it comes to Auston Matthews How should the Leafs and Auston Matthews proceed through his "lingering issue"? | ||
| Allow him to play when he says he's ready | 63 | 36.6 % |
| Sit him out one or two more games | 14 | 8.1 % |
| Sit him out until he's 100% | 95 | 55.2 % |
| List of polls | ||
