At Hockey Day in Brampton, a charity hockey event raising funds to build a second hospital in the Greater Toronto Arena city, Auston Matthews was able to share some very good news that every Toronto Maple Leafs fan should be overjoyed about.
Last season, it was not the best performance from the Leafs captain. After scoring 69 goals and having the historic campaign he did, Matthews lost a chunk of his season due to injury and when he was on the ice, it wasn't at 100 percent.
A trip to Germany in November to see a specialist in the middle of his absence really highlighted the fact that both the Leafs and Matthews were desperate to find a solution to first get him on the ice, but like we said, he wasn't the same. In 67 games, Matthews still scored 33 goals and 78 points but it wasn't the typical eye-popping or league-leading numbers we typically see from the three-time Rocket Richard Trophy winner.
Well, our concerns for that carrying on into this very important 2025-26 season can be slightly calmed. In Brampton at the annual charity event, Matthews made it clear that his health is "good" heading into training camp.
Auston Matthews on Mitch Marner:
— Dave McCarthy (@DaveAMcCarthy) August 20, 2025
“We’ll obviously miss him. He’s a great friend, great teammate. It’s kind of the business side of it, that’s tough. But obviously wish him the best.”
Added that his health is “good” heading into the season.#LeafsForever
Thank goodness.
While it is just one, single word we are going off of, it is good to at least expect to see that peak-level Auston Matthews that we adore.
And the Maple Leafs really need it. After losing Mitch Marner to the Vegas Golden Knights in a sign-and-trade earlier this summer, Toronto is going to depend on Matthews to not only be the sole elite talent on his line (no disrespect to Matthew Knies) but to lead this new-look Leafs offense to the playoffs and not see them potentially take a step back.
We can all breathe a little bit easier knowing that Matthews himself, at least feels good just over a month away until some semblance of NHL hockey is being played.