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Kristen Shilton, ESPN NHL reporterNov 18, 2024, 01:38 PM ET
- Kristen Shilton is a national NHL reporter for ESPN.
Toronto Maple Leafs‘ forward Auston Matthews “isn’t getting worse” but remains at least another week away from returning from an undisclosed upper-body injury.
That was the latest from Leafs’ coach Craig Berube on Monday when questioned about the status of his team’s captain, who hasn’t played since Nov. 3. Matthews clocked over 22 minutes that night in Toronto’s overtime loss to Minnesota before being put on the shelf with an ailment he began dealing with in the preseason.
The 27-year-old has been classified as day-to-day while the injury lingers, and Berube confirmed Monday that Matthews will not be available for Toronto’s game Wednesday against Vegas. That puts his earliest possible return for the Leafs as Sunday’s matchup with Utah.
“It’s a little bit of a holding pattern,” said Berube of Matthews’ recovery. “He isn’t getting worse, so that’s a good thing. It takes time, it’s taking long. It is what it is. He’s doing what he needs to do to get healthy and get back in the lineup. Our team needs to push on without him right now.”
Berube said Matthews hasn’t been on the ice over the past several days after previously being spotted at the team’s optional morning skate Nov. 9. He has been placed on injured reserve in the interim but is eligible now to come back off at any time.
Toronto has managed to excel in Matthews’ absence, notching a league-leading 5-1-0 record and .833 winning percentage over the previous two weeks. John Tavares — who has replaced Matthews as the Leafs’ top-line center — has four goals and six points over the past six games, while his wingers Mitch Marner (4 goals, 10 points) and Bobby McMann (3 goals) have been equally productive.
That production will remain key for Toronto as its forward depth was further impacted Monday by another injury. The club announced that center Calle Jarnkrok underwent groin and sports hernia surgery and is listed as month-to-month. Jarnkrok had been slowed by the issue since training camp and missed time with it early in the season before eventually deciding to go the surgery route.
“He’s got to get it fixed and he will be out awhile,” Berube said. “It’s too bad because he’s a player that we liked and can help us but really hasn’t had that opportunity to do that. It’s one of those types of things, see how he heals up and how everything goes, so that’s where that’s at.”
