Toronto Maple Leafs: What to Expect from Auston Matthews This Season

To assume that Toronto Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews delayed his wrist surgery on purpose is naïve, unfair and shameful. It is just another string in the bow of petty fans  and downright crazy people. Matthews is a professional who devotes his time, energy and body to the game and to suggest otherwise is foolish.

For the people who aren’t happy that the Toronto Maple Leafs superstar is on the cover of the NHL video game again. Come on…

Back to the matter at hand, for lack of a better word, no professional athlete chooses to have surgery, especially not one who makes his living and has his reputation hinging on the ability for his wrist to snap a cold rubber puck past a goaltender in excess of 100 km/h. Even the most cynical of fans can understand that.

While the exact reason for the surgery remains “discomfort during on-ice training”, after last season it’s not hard to believe that something was bothering the Arizona native. After a successful operation, Matthews is now 10 days into his expected 6-week recovery which lines up with the start of training camp.

Due to the fact that there were no hiccups in the procedure we can now turn our attention to what we should expect and what we want to expect from Auston Matthews this year. The Toronto Maple Leafs enter this year with a weaker roster on paper than the one that suffered an abysmal exit last playoffs.

Even more so now, the pressure has piled on the ‘Core Four’ of which Matthews is front and centre.