Craig Berube's Most Recent Auston Matthews Update Forces Leafs Fans to Exercise Patience

The Toronto Maple Leafs have been without Auston Matthews over the last week or so and it sounds like it might stretch a little further based on the recent comments coming from head coach Craig Berube.

The reporting on Matthews' injury front has been confusing at best because one day it sounds like he's on track to returning to game action in short order, however the next day a more somber update comes about that sounds like he could be sidelined for the foreseeable future.

The betterment and health of Matthews is of the utmost importance with the post-season being the ultimate goal. However, they still need their captain and former MVP back on the ice, despite their level of success without him in the lineup.

Berube mentioned that while he hasn't seen the ice over the last couple of days, he was trending in the right direction and was making real progress. Unfortunately there is no target date for his return and he's currently without a timetable. Still, even without a return date, the update was positive.

Just as early as today, there was speculation that he could be trending towards a return as early as Tuesday when the Maple Leafs welcome the New York Islanders, but it sounds like at this rate the club has no idea.

The Maple Leafs open 2025 with a road matchup against the Islanders on the 2nd of January before welcoming the Boston Bruins and Philadelphia Flyers to Scotiabank Arena on the 4th and 6th, respectively, before heading back on the road to finish their home-and-home with Philadelphia on the 7th.

It's a busy schedule and the Leafs assuredly would love to have Matthews back, but it sounds like they're playing it as safe as possible with very little concrete updates coming our way.