The Truth Behind Auston Matthews' Wrist Injury Has Been Revealed

While Auston Matthews still had a very productive 2022-23 season, his goal scoring was down a bit. His shooting percentage was down about three points from his career average and he scored twenty less goals than the previous year. Now we might know why.

Matthews May Have had Secret Surgery

NHL insider Elliotte Friedman revealed today that he believes Matthews may have had a minor wrist procedure in the summer of 2022, impacting his ability to score last season.




Notably, Matthews had major wrist surgery in August 2021 although that did not seem to impact his ability to score in the 2021-22 season as he lead the league with 60 goals.



That being said, it is certainly possible that the more minor procedure played a bigger role in Matthew's ability to use his wrist shot which is arguably the best in the league. So far this season he's shooting at over twice the efficiency he did last year with a whooping 28% shooting percentage. While that is certainly going to regress back to a reasonable number, it is clear that he is fully healthy and at his peak of his goal scoring capabilities.