The latest round of Toronto Maple Leafs news hit like a bucket of cold water on Thursday. The club announced the worst-case scenario for captain Auston Matthews.
Matthews, who will miss the remainder of this season following the devastating hit from Anaheim Ducks blueliner Radko Gudas, has undergone surgery to repair a torn MCL, The Athletic reported.
The surgery went ahead successfully. That’s good news, considering the nasty nature of the hit itself. While the initial hope was that Matthews could avoid surgery, that didn’t turn out to be the case. Likely, the surgery accelerated Matthews’ recovery from the initial injury. It’s plausible that rest and rehab would have taken much longer.
The timeline at the moment is 12 weeks. That’s fantastic Maple Leafs news. A 12-week timeline would put Matthews on track to hit the ice around early summer. While he could certainly begin skating before then, the Leafs will likely avoid rushing him back to the ice.
In the meantime, Maple Leafs news will focus on what the future holds for the club as the final month of the season unfolds.
Toronto came out strong following Matthews’ injury. However, the club has regressed since earning five or six points after the incident. The Leafs will likely take this time to assess which players will return next season, as they hope to get the captain back in the mix.
Matthews Could Make More Maple Leafs News this Summer
Matthews could also make significant Maple Leafs news this summer. The chatter posits that the Olympic gold medalist and the club will figure out their future moving forward.
The biggest question mark is what seems to be an impending rebuild in Toronto. While the organization has vowed to avoid a full-on rebuild, the situation seems to dictate other circumstances.
That said, the issue would be Matthews’ willingness to remain with the organization throughout what appears to be a retool, at least. The Leafs’ captain has two more years left on his contract. As such, time is running out for both the player and organization to decide on their future.
Fans would love to see Maple Leafs news declare that Matthews is staying put. But until that happens, there will be plenty of uncertainty.
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Leafs Looking to Make Offseason Moves
The next major step for the Toronto Maple Leafs will be to make offseason moves. That said, there will be a challenge for the club to find serviceable pieces at the right price.
Indeed, that will be the challenge. The good news is that the club has been savvy in signing NCAA free agents. The Leafs signed Brandon Buhr out of Union College this week. He looks like someone who could make some Maple Leafs news down the line.
The 24-year-old could follow in the footsteps of other college free agents like Luke Haymes, who have made their way up the organizational depth chart.
Beyond that, it remains unclear what other moves the organization could make. The expectation will be for the Leafs to get back into contention next season, potentially returning to the playoffs.
Maple Leafs News: Worst-Case Scenario for Matthews Injury