Auston Matthews' Status for Team USA for the 4 Nations Face-Off Officially Confirmed

There has been so much debate this season about whether Auston Matthews should participate in the 4 Nations Face-Off in February, given the lingering injury that he's battled all season long.

Matthews has been sidelined on two separate occasions this season with a mysterious upper-body injury, and even sought treatment overseas in Germany. Now, with the injury appearing to he behind him, Matthews' status for the 4 Nations tournament appears to be a green light.

According to TSN's Pierre LeBrun, Auston Matthews met with Team USA general manager Bill Guerin on Wednesday. In addition, Guerin also held talks with Leafs GM Brad Treliving. It's believed that those talks were about confirming Matthews' participation in the tournament.

Team Sweden's William Nylander has already fired a playful little warning shot at his captain ahead of the tournament, which has lent some credibility to LeBrun's report. It's a pretty safe bet that Nylander and Matthews have discussed the 4 Nations Face-Off, and Nylander wouldn't be chirping his captain if he wasn't playing in the tournament.

The focus for the Leafs must firmly be on the Stanley Cup Playoffs, so if they feel comfortable with Matthews playing in the 4 Nations Face-Off, it's a pretty good indicator that the captain his healthy and that the risk of re-injury or re-aggrivation is low.

Aside from Sweden and Team USA, the Leafs will also have representatives on Team Finland (Jani Hakanpaa) and Team Canada (Mitch Marner).