Toronto Maple Leafs vs Nashville Predators: Auston Matthews Injured

Oct 22, 2022; Winnipeg, Manitoba, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews (34) looks on in the first period against the Winnipeg Jets at Canada Life Centre. Mandatory Credit: James Carey Lauder-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 22, 2022; Winnipeg, Manitoba, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews (34) looks on in the first period against the Winnipeg Jets at Canada Life Centre. Mandatory Credit: James Carey Lauder-USA TODAY Sports

The Toronto Maple Leafs are going to take on the Nashville Predators tonight in Toronto.

Unfortunately, the Toronto Maple Leafs will be without their best player, and potential future addition to the MVP conversation, Auston Matthews.

At this point, I have only recently heard of the injury, and will update as new information becomes available.

The Leafs will dress Bobby McCann in his NHL debut to replace him.

Not good!

Toronto Maple Leafs vs Nashville Predators

Sheldon Keefe said Matthews has been dealing with this injury for a while, and it appears he is day to day at this point.  This is pretty dumb if you want my opinion.  If Matthews has any kind of injury, he should never try to play through it.  Rest him up, the Playoffs are assured.

The NHL is a billion dollar league that makes tons and tons of money for the people involved, all because of the fans who pay for it.  But do those fans deserve to know why their favorite player isn’t going to play?

No, the team isn’t releasing injury details.

Hey did you drop $600 bucks to go to tonight’s game?  Ouch! Not only are you not going to see the player you  paid to see, but they won’t even tell you why.

Seems really respectful to the fans, but then again, this is a league that is over 100 years old and still isn’t 100% what is and isn’t a penalty.

Oh the times we have!

With Matthews out, Nylander will supposedly move to centre a line with Engvall and Bunting. I am psyched to see Engvall get a chance to prove he’s more than just one of the best defensive players alive.

Honestly, the Leafs should do some research to find out which fans of theirs actually appreciate Pierre Engvall the proper amount, then give those real fans the “corporate stooge” tickets that populate the lower bowl.

Some people complained about their being no fans when Covid mostly shut down the NHL, but I personally didn’t notice a difference between that and a regular Leafs game.  Maybe that’s why they don’t win in the playoffs – other teams actually let their real fans into the building, but the Leafs price theirs out.

Anyways, Nashville more or less stink, but they have won four in a row.  Even without Matthews they shouldn’t be much of a match for the Leafs, though in the NHL anyone can win at any time.

Next. How Will the Leafs Approach the Trade Deadline. dark

The Leafs record hasn’t been as good lately, but somewhat ironically, they’ve been mostly crushing their opponents.  Matthews is out, hopefully not for long.