Auston Matthews (34) of the Toronto Maple Leafs looks on against the Washington Capitals during the third period at Capital One Arena on Oct. 13, 2018 in Washington, DC.Patrick Smith/Getty Images
The bright red practice sweater, signifying no contact allowed, made Auston Matthews a beacon for the hundreds of fans gathered for the annual Toronto Maple Leafs Skate for Easter Seals Kids following Sunday’s practice at the MasterCard Centre.
But it was quickly made clear afterward that the red sweater was just a sign of hope, that Matthews may not even return to the lineup within the minimum four weeks predicted when he sustained the shoulder injury on Oct. 27. Four weeks will be Saturday, when the Leafs play host to the Philadelphia Flyers, but considering Sunday was Matthews’s first full practice with the Leafs since he was injured, a return on that night is a stretch.
“Well, he was wearing red and he wasn’t in any contact drills,” Leafs head coach Mike Babcock said. “He’s got to get back in shape. He’s been able to skate the whole time, but until he’s every day in here I don’t know when he’s returning.”
Outside of saying he feels good and he’s happy the Leafs have been able to run up a 6-3 record in the nine games without him, Matthews did not offer any predictions on his return, either.
“In all honesty, it doesn’t really matter,” he said. “I’m going to come back when I feel ready, but it’s great to see us get a lot of wins. That trip is not an easy one to clean sweep like we did. A lot of guys stepped up in big moments for us.”
“That trip” was the Leafs’ week-long sojourn through California in which they swept all three games for the first time since 1995, with wins over the Los Angeles Kings, San Jose Sharks and Anaheim Ducks. Those three wins made it six in their past seven games, which left the Leafs with a 14-6-0 record at the NHL’s quarter-pole and duking it out with the Tampa Bay Lightning for the Atlantic Division lead as well as first place overall.
This was accomplished not only without Matthews for the past nine games but without William Nylander for the entire season. The Dec. 1 NHL deadline for signing restricted free agents such as Nylander – or they cannot play for the rest of the season – is just 13 days away with no contract resolution in sight. But with the way the Leafs are playing, getting contributions from all parts of the roster, letting Nylander sit will not be a disaster.
Matthews accompanied the Leafs on their California trip at the urging of Babcock, who said it made little sense for a young single guy to sit at home and perhaps brood about his injury while his buddies were tearing up the opposition.
“One of the hardest things about being hurt is you almost feel like you’re not on the team,” Leafs defenceman Jake Gardiner said. “You’re kind of isolated a bit. For him to come eat dinner with us and just be around the guys was good for his mental state.”
Matthews agreed.
“I think Babs hit it on the head,” he said. “[We have] obviously got a tight-knit group and I think going on that trip, the timing, with some nice weather before it gets real cold here, being along with the guys, it was a nice road trip for us. Just spending some time there was definitely nice.
“I mean, LA, San Jose, are really nice cities. The weather was great. It’s tough coming back here when the snow is on the ground when you touch down in Toronto. It felt good to be out there and be with the guys again and feel part of the team.”
Sunday marked the Leafs’ first practice since they returned home after Friday’s win over the Ducks. Gardiner said none of the Leafs probably felt good getting the kinks out in preparation for Monday’s home game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Matthews said his first full practice in almost a month showed he is not yet ready for a game.
For example, Matthews said his shooting is definitely “just not all there. Just the little mechanics of it, the strength in your arm still coming back, not fully there and accuracy is a little off. But I think that stuff will come back soon.”
NHL history dictates the hardest regular-season games to win are the first ones back home after a long trip, especially a western one with its greater travel distances. It was with that in mind the Leafs took Saturday off and limited Sunday’s practice.
“Well, we had it all planned out how we were going to do it,” Babcock said. “Everyone knew that. No one is going out there [Sunday] feeling good but what we tried to do is get the intensity up high enough for just under 35 minutes and give ourselves a chance for [Monday].
“I coached in Detroit when we played in the west and it’s always tough coming home. So you’ve got to get re-grouped and have a good day, get freshened up and get at ’er tomorrow.”