Matthews skates prior to Leafs' practice, could return Wednesday
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Toronto Maple Leafs forward Auston Matthews skated prior to practice on Saturday after returning from Germany to get treatment for his upper-body injury.
Matthews, 26, has been out of the lineup since Nov. 3 with the injury and says that this is an ailment he's been dealing with since the preseason.
"[The injury] flared up in preseason, felt better and then started getting worse," Matthews told reporters on Saturday. "I just felt it was time to take a step back and re-evaluate. It hasn't necessarily gotten worse, but it wasn't getting better. I wanted to be pro-active."
Matthews also said while he doesn't know when he can return to game action, but said it's possible he could return on Wednesday against the Florida Panthers.
Head coach Craig Berube also added that Matthews will likely skate on Sunday prior to the team's game against the Utah Hockey Club.
The 6-foot-3 centre who signed a four-year, $53 million extension in August of 2023 and was named team captain this past summer, hadn't skated since Nov. 10 prior to Saturday.
The Maple Leafs have played well with Matthews sidelined, posting a 5-1 record, including a 4-3 overtime victory over Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers last week and a 3-0 win over the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday.
In 13 games this season, Matthews has five goals and 11 points. He led all goal scorers a season ago, when he finished with 69 - the most in a single season since Mario Lemieux finished with 69 in the 1995-96 season.