- Auston Matthews says he is “probably the best I’ve felt in a long time” after knee surgery
- The Maple Leafs captain tore his MCL on a March knee-on-knee hit from Radko Gudas
- Read below for his full comments on the rehab, the losing and what he wants out of this season
Auston Matthews has not felt this good in years.
The Maple Leafs captain sat down with team host Ryan Leslie for an interview Toronto released Tuesday, and he went straight at the question everyone in the market has been asking since March. Matthews was asked how he is coming out of an offseason that started way earlier than he wanted.
“I’m feeling really good. I think it’s obviously a tough way to end the season last year, but I think there’s always positive that you can take out of adversity, negative moments. I feel like coming back here now, it’s probably the best I’ve felt in a long time.”
Watch the full sit-down:
That ending came on March 12. Matthews tried to sidestep Radko Gudas in the slot during a 6-4 win over Anaheim and went down with a grade 3 MCL tear and a quad contusion in his left leg.
Gudas got a major for kneeing and a game misconduct, then a five-game suspension from the Department of Player Safety. Matthews had surgery a week later with a 12-week recovery timeline.
Here is the hit that wrecked his year:
Matthews walked through what the rehab actually looked like.
“The first couple weeks were probably the hardest, because you can’t really do much and you’re in quite a bit of pain. You’re still kind of processing everything that happened. But the rehab and everything flew by, and I was really happy with how I felt at the end of the three-month mark.”
He finished with 27 goals and 53 points in 60 games, the first time in his career he missed 30 goals and the first time he missed 60 points. The Leafs went 32-36-14 and finished last in the Atlantic, out of the playoffs for the first time since 2015-16.
Losing in Toronto is its own kind of problem, and the captain did not pretend otherwise.
“It’s tough when you’re losing here in a place that’s so passionate about their team and passionate about winning games. I think it definitely took a toll on a lot of guys.”
His 29th birthday lands on Thursday. The last fully healthy season he had was 2023-24, when he piled up 69 goals and 107 points, and he wants that guy back.
“I’m extremely motivated going into this year to get back to the level that I know I can be at. I’m really excited to be able to show that.”
General manager John Chayka already called him a full green-light for camp, so there is no restriction to manage this time.
