The Toronto Maple Leafs lack of playoff success in recent years can be attributed to Auston Matthews health.
Last year, the Maple Leafs advanced to game seven against the heavily favored Boston Bruins and lost in overtime, despite all three of their best players either being hurt or playing hurt. This of course included Auston Matthews who missed 2 of the seven games, and only scored once in the series.
Clearly, had Matthews even been 50% of his normal self, the Leafs would have advanced.
Same thing the year before when they won against Tampa and lost in Round 2 to the Florida Panthers. I challange anyone who thinks the Leafs deserved to lose that series to watch highlights of all seven games and count the amount of times Auston Matthews should have scored, but didn't. He was playing with an injured wrist and could not shoot the puck to his full power.
The Toronto Maple Leafs Need to Shut Auston Matthews Down for the Season
Now, for the third straight year, the Toronto Maple Leafs are facing an Auston Matthews injury situation. He already missed about a month and nine games earlier this season, but when he came back, he still wasn't close to the MVP we are used to seeing.
The coach spoke about his injury before the game on Friday night, then played him anyways, and he was hurt. He missed the next two games, including yesterday's tilt against the Winnipeg Jets. How many he misses after that is anyone's guess.
However, there is one pretty simple solution here: get Matthews the surgery if he needs it, and then rest him up until the playoffs. I'm no doctor, but I'm reasonably sure that most of the things he could have wrong with him could be surgically corrected and rehabbed in the four months between now and when the Playoffs start.
If he won't be back until the second round, so much the better for making it look legit and re-using that cap space.
Keep in mind that both Tampa and Vegas have won Stanley Cups while suspiciously keeping star players out until the playoffs. Matthews is clearly hurt, so why not take advantage of this glorious loophole?
The Leafs have no cap space and really, short of ditching OEL and Domi in year one of their terrible deals (we wish!), they have no other way to get enough to truly improve their team.
Matthews makes $13.5 million dollars, and is under contract for just one season after this one. The Leafs are already walking Mitch Marner to free-agency and Tanev, Tavares and Rielly aren't getting any younger. The Leafs need to win now, and ironically, the easiest way to ensure that is without Auston Mathews in the lineup until the Playoffs.
With nearly $14 million in cap-space, the Leafs could add two, maybe even three star players if they play their cards right. The path to the Stanley Cup has never been more obvious. Shut Him Down!