Auston Matthews Reveals Season-Long Injury Woes After Maple Leafs' NHL Playoff Exit

Despite having a 2024-25 season that would qualify as the best year for many NHL players, Toronto Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews didn't live up to his usual standard because of a lingering injury.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday in the wake of Toronto's Game 7 playoff loss to the Florida Panthers, Matthews revealed he dealt with the injury throughout the entire season.

Matthews didn't provide specifics about the injury but did note he expects to be "100 percent" for the start of the 2025-26 campaign without undergoing surgery.

Matthews only played 67 games in the regular season, his second-fewest in an 82-game season (62 in 2017-18). His 15 games missed came across two extended absences in November (nine games) and late-December into early-January (six games).

The official designation from the Maple Leafs during both absences was an upper-body injury. Matthews explained it occurred during training camp and "impacted a lot of different things" over the course of the season:

"Obviously, I wasn’t feeling great throughout the first month or so of the season, took some time off, went to Germany (to see doctors), did all these things to try to feel better. Then kind of got to a place where I felt like I could manage it.

"There was obviously some good stretches where I felt good. There were some stretches where I didn’t feel very good. Definitely a tough year physically, but with some time off and just going through my own process and treatment and everything I’m really confident I’ll be back 100 percent come next season. And there’s nothing to worry about."

Matthews finished the year with 33 goals and 45 assists. His 78 total points were his fewest since the 2020-21 campaign that was shortened to 56 games due to the COVID-19 pandemic (66 points).

It also marked a 29-point decrease for Matthews from his 2023-24 season that earned him the Maurice Richard Trophy as the league's top goalscorer and a fourth-place finish in voting for the Hart Memorial Trophy.

The Maple Leafs had plenty of talent around Matthews to win their first division title since 2020-21. He was held to 11 points in 13 playoff games, including one goal in the seven-game series against the Panthers.