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Toronto Maple Leafs: Auston Matthews is not injury prone

By David Morassutti

TORONTO, ON - APRIL 19: Auston Matthews #34 of the Toronto Maple Leafs waits for a puck drop against the Boston Bruins in Game Four of the Eastern Conference First Round in the 2018 Stanley Cup play-offs at the Air Canada Centre on April 19, 2018 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Bruins defeated the Maple Leafs 3-1. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Auston Matthews
TORONTO, ON - APRIL 19: Auston Matthews #34 of the Toronto Maple Leafs waits for a puck drop against the Boston Bruins in Game Four of the Eastern Conference First Round in the 2018 Stanley Cup play-offs at the Air Canada Centre on April 19, 2018 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Bruins defeated the Maple Leafs 3-1. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Auston Matthews /
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The Toronto Maple Leafs announced that Auston Matthews will be missing four weeks with a shoulder injury which has people suggesting that he’s injury prone.

Losing Auston Matthews for four weeks is not something the Toronto Maple Leafs planned for but are better equipped to deal than in past seasons.

Matthews sustained the injury on a hit by Jacob Trouba in Saturday’s win over the Winnipeg Jets and you could see right away that something wasn’t right. Now there was still some shock to hear the diagnosis but it looks like it’s a similar the injury to the one he had last season.

The obvious difference that Mike Babcock pointed out was that this was the other shoulder he injured this time around and Matthews made it a point to build up the muscle in order to protect his shoulder this time around.

Those suggesting that Matthews is injury prone after missing 20 games last season need to consider how the injury happened and whether it could’ve been prevented. No matter how much a player trains, sometimes they get unlucky especially when they collide with another player and that’s what happened here.

https://twitter.com/markhmasters/status/1056934591838117891

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Many players go through injuries, it’s what happens when you play a contact sport. Just ask Sidney Crosby, Victor Hedman, Patrice Bergeron or pretty much any player who has had a couple of injuries during their careers. Even Connor McDavid missed three months from a broken collarbone because of an unfortunate collision.

This is why team’s try to build depth around their star players because to think a player won’t get injured is like expecting to win the lottery. A player can get hit by a puck unintentionally and be forced to miss time, those things just happen.

One suggestion that has been thrown around is Matthews getting surgery in the offseason for his shoulder but the Leafs medical and sports science department will think long and hard before they consider that.

For any Leafs fans worried about Matthews’ health in the long haul shouldn’t unless he misses more than half the season. Injury prone players struggle to play 20-50 games in a season so unless Matthews reaches that level, there’s nothing to be concerned about.

The Leafs will need some players to pick up their game after Matthews, John Tavares and the rest of the top six carried the offensive load in the early going. Seeing how they responded against the Jets on Saturday, that shouldn’t be a major concern.

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What do you think about Matthews’ injury? Is it something to be concerned about or is it being overblown?  Let us know in the comments below. 

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