Leafs’ Auston Matthews ‘feeling really good’ about health heading into camp
The star in The Six has a positive outlook on his health.
When speaking to the media on Wednesday, Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews was asked about his status heading into training camp.
“Health-wise, I’m feeling really good,” Matthews said. “I had a good summer. I did a lot of things that put me in a position to come into training camp feeling really good. So, I’m really happy about that.”
Auston Matthews: "Health wise, I'm feeling really good. I'm really happy about that."
Matthews says he will have to manage his workload as the season goes on with the Olympics coming up.
"The main focus right now is camp. When that time comes, I can take it on when it comes."
The now-28-year-old suffered an injury during last year’s training camp that nagged him throughout the 2024-25 season. To this day, neither the team nor Matthews has specified what has been ailing him, but it was enough to force him to miss 15 games during the regular season. He missed nine games in November while visiting Germany to see a specialist about his injury, and was also held out of the lineup six more times in December and January.
Yet, the Arizona native managed to score 33 goals and 45 assists for 78 points in 67 games, marking eight straight seasons where he averaged a point per game. Matthews did miss the 40-goal mark for the just the third time in his NHL career. He also finished second on the team in playoff scoring, with 11 points in 13 contests before Toronto was knocked out in the second round by the eventual Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers.
With Matthews’ health still in question, the topic of the condensed schedule with the 2026 Winter Olympics on the horizon. He mentioned that there will be some management to ensure that he stays close to 100 percent.
“I think you just kind of have to manage it as the season goes along. So, I think it’s just kind of as the season goes along, how you manage that. It’s a pretty condensed season, similar to, you know, the COVID year with the Olympics. But the main focus right now is obviously camp.”
Matthews, who captained the United States at last year’s 4 Nations Face-Off, was one of the first six players named to Team USA for this February’s Winter Games.
The Leafs’ training camp is scheduled to begin on Thursday.