Most NHL teams like to remain as vague as possible when discussing player injuries, however the Toronto Maple Leafs supported Auston Matthews’s decision to tell media Friday that he did indeed suffer a concussion earlier this month.
“From my understanding, Auston Matthews met with the Leafs [management] before meeting the media,” Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston reported during the Headlines segment Saturday on Hockey Night in Canada. “He made it clear to them that he was comfortable or wanted to disclose his injury.”
Matthews sat out six games with what the team was describing as an “upper-body injury” after colliding with teammate Morgan Rielly in a Dec. 9 game against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The reigning Calder Trophy winner said he was feeling “normal concussion symptoms,” before explaining that he felt good enough to return.
Matthews was inserted back into the lineup Saturday and he scored his 14th of the season and added an assist in a 3-2 win over the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden.
The first-overall pick from 2016 has 14 goals, 14 assists and only two penalty minutes in 27 games played this season.
[relatedlinks]
