Leafs coach Craig Berube Drops Official Update on Auston Matthews

While it may only be pre-season, it's slightly concerning that Toronto Maple Leafs' captain, Auston Matthews, is already nursing an upper-body injury -- even a minor one. He is set to miss tonight's pre-season tilt against the Montreal Canadiens and when asked about his status for Saturday night, Craig Berube remained very non-committal.

On the bright side, Matthews did take part in today's optional skate and yesterday was reportedly just a maintenance day as he continues to nurse the injury. It seems like they are taking a cautious approach considering it is just pre-season but should it continue to linger, it might be something to concern ourselves with.

The injury took place during practice earlier in the week when Matthews left the ice early. At the time, it was reported to be nothing serious and there didn't seem to be any signs of an injury, but Berube confirmed the worst following practice and labelled it as an upper body ailment.

It's a good sign that Matthews was participating in today's optional skate and that he hasn't been officially ruled out for Saturday's contest against Montreal. Beyond Saturday's game, Matthews will have two more opportunities to get back into the lineup with games against Detroit scheduled on the 3rd and 5th of October before the regular season opener on the 9th of October.