The Maple Leafs will be without their captain for the next few games.
Auston Matthews was placed on injured reserve on Friday after already being ruled out against the Detroit Red Wings. By being placed on injured reserve, Matthews has also been ruled out for Saturday’s game against the Montreal Canadiens
The Leafs also recalled forward Connor Dewar from his conditioning stint. Dewar started the season on long-term injured reserve as he was working his way back from a shoulder injury that kept him out of training camp.
Matthews has been dealing with an upper-body injury and did not participate in the team’s optional skate Friday morning.
The forward missed Tuesday’s 4-0 win over the Boston Bruins and was considered day-to-day heading into Friday and Saturday’s back-to-back slate against the Red Wings and Montreal Canadiens, respectively.
After missing Thursday’s practice, Berube was non-committal when asked about Matthews’ availability for the weekend, saying “That’s to be determined still. It’s hard for me to answer that question knowing what I know right now with him today.”
Berube said Tuesday that it’s a lingering issue that the captain has been fighting through for a bit. However, he made it clear that the issues aren’t related to past problems he’s had with his wrist over the past few seasons.
The reigning Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy winner has had a slow start to the season offensively after potting 69 goals in the previous campaign. He has five goals and six assists through 13 games so far.
The Maple Leafs (7-5-2) deployed Max Domi as the team’s first-line centre in the win over Boston, flanking him with Matthew Knies and Mitch Marner.
Toronto is set to host the Detroit Red Wings on Friday and the Montreal Canadiens on Hockey Night in Canada on Saturday.
