Auston Matthews' One-Word Health Update Leaves Leafs Fans Wondering
Photo credit: Nick Turchiaro-Imagn Images
Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews was asked about his health going into the 2025-26 season, and his brief response left fans wondering if he was truly 100%.
Although last season could be considered a pretty rough one all things considered, for Matthews it was a hard-fought season that saw him still put up 78 points in 67 games, and while his goal-scoring was drastically down, his playmaking and two-way game improved even more.
But now heading into 2025-26 there is a lot of hope for Matthews to bounce back and be the dominant force he was in the past, and it's hoped that his injury concerns are a thing of the past.
What Matthews Said About His Health
However his recent comments may make fans question if they are. Appearing as part of Hockey Night in Brampton's charity event, Matthews was asked about how his health was heading into the season and he responded bluntly:
Good.
That does not give a lot of hope to fans who may have been hoping for a much more enthusiastic response, however for Matthews it is par for the course, as he often keeps his injury status close to his chest; be it part of his strategy or to just quickly disperse the media.
But for Leafs fans, good isn't enough and there will be a lot of attention to Matthews' start of the season, and will be under the microscope for potentially the entirety of the year.
Why It Matters for the Maple Leafs' Season
First and foremost, the Maple Leafs can't really be a cohesive and complete unit without a healthy Matthews. Last year while he was out, the team had the luxury of still having Mitch Marner and with that out of the question this year; can Toronto weather things if he's out again?
Toronto added some solid role players for sure, but you'd be asking a 34-year-old John Tavares and William Nylander to run the show, and while they are fantastic players, there's no guarantee that Tavares will replicate last year, and Nylander has never run an offense by himself.
Matthews is the Maple Leafs' best player, and while it's great that the team has the potential to work through a potential injury; they'd rather him be healthy.
Plus, the Panthers are going to be without Matthew Tkachuk for a while potentially, so if the Leafs wanna get a head start in the Atlantic; they need their captain.
So if Toronto wants to have success this season, they will need to make sure they have their captain at full capacity.
From the looks of it, he's getting there but it isn't good enough for fans right now.
