Toronto Maple Leafs Captain Auston Matthews Placed on Injured Reserve

The Toronto Maple Leafs announced on Friday afternoon that captain Auston Matthews will be placed on the injured reserve list, which will be retroactive from November 3.

Matthews missed Tuesday night's game when the Toronto Maple Leafs shutout the Boston Bruins by a score of 4-0. Unlike the Long Term Injured Reserve (LTIR), Matthews only needs to miss seven days and since it is dating back to Sunday, it means that he will not play at all this weekend, but he will be eligible to return on Tuesday when the club hosts the Ottawa Senators.

The three-time Rocket Richard Trophy winner has suffered from injuries over the seasons, however he has been able to avoid any long term injuries. In 2024-25, he played in all but one regular season game, unfortunately he missed a pair of games in the Boston Bruins seven game playoff series.

The most recent setback was identified as an upper body injury on Tuesday when he was held out of the game, fortunately, Matthews confirmed it was nothing to do with his wrist, which is a nagging problem he has had difficulty with over his career.

Toronto Maple Leafs Step Up in Auston Matthews Absences

During his absences, his teammates have proven to step up and have posted a 36-19-2 record when he has been out (ref: statmuse.com). This last spring when he missed two games against the Bruins, the team was able to pull off victories in both contests.

In response to Matthews being placed on the injured reserve Connor Dewar has been recalled from his conditioning stint with the Toronto Marlies after starting the season on the long term injured reserve. The 25-year old Dewar was acquired from the Minnesota Wild at the trade deadline for a fourth round pick and prospect Dmitry Ovchinnikov who has since gone back to play in Russia.

Dewar who is known as a defensively responsible forward can play both wing and center recorded five points in 17 games for the Maple Leafs down the stretch last season, averaging nearly 13-minutes a night. He played through the playoffs with shoulder injury that resulted in off-season surgery that kept him out of training camp.

Last week, Dewar along with Jani Hakanpää were assigned to the Marlies on a conditioning stint as they both prepared to rejoin the team shortly. They both each skated in a 4-2 loss to the Cleveland Monsters where Dewar recorded a goal and an assist in the contest. At the time of writing it is unclear whether or not he is going to draw into the line-up for Friday nights game.