Matthews out for season with MCL tear
- Thread starter herman
- Start date
herman
Well-known member
Might be surgery involved in repairing a grade 3 tear (full tear). The two week wait is to see if the ACL is borked too, I’m guessing. If he’s got other issues previously holding him back, might as well get that stuff sorted too. Makes for a brutal recovery period but it’s overlapped instead of stacked sequentially. It will affect his offseason preparation to some degree.
Joe S.
Moderator
That's because the NHL is the bushiest of the bush leagues.
ZBBM
Well-known member
You know, any other season in Matthews' career, this injury would essentially end the team's playoff hopes. And the penalty for that is 5 games.
If I were the Leafs GM — maybe if Dubas still was — I'd be going ballistic.
EDIT: and I see Petrielli is up with an article on MLHS calling for exactly that.
If I were the Leafs GM — maybe if Dubas still was — I'd be going ballistic.
EDIT: and I see Petrielli is up with an article on MLHS calling for exactly that.
Last edited:
Arn
Well-known member
If it’s the ACL, it’ll be a year til we see him again.
I’d also be worried that, if we thought he was slowing now, a year out and a repaired ACL could be very concerning…
MCL is generally 2-3 months, maybe a little longer if surgery is needed.
L K
Well-known member
MCL tear is better than MCL + ACL. Presumably Matthews had at very least an ultrasound and more likely MRI so the likelihood of a missed ACL injury is pretty low. Clinical assessment of the knee in the first week or so can be somewhat difficult due to the acute swelling and the associated quad contusion might confound range of motion testing.
There isn't a benefit of surgery vs. non-operative for even complete tears like this so its probably unlikely that they go the surgical route. It will definitely be more in the 2-3 month range for Matthews getting back on the ice in any meaningful way. The good news is that there is a lot of strength/conditioning stuff he will be able to do outside of this.
What is less good is that there is usually persistent laxity in the joint after a tear like this. Matthews isn't likely to blow out his knee just doing routine stuff, but the next time a Gudas runs him like this there is a greater chance that this happens again.
5 games for a plug to injure a star player is a joke.
There isn't a benefit of surgery vs. non-operative for even complete tears like this so its probably unlikely that they go the surgical route. It will definitely be more in the 2-3 month range for Matthews getting back on the ice in any meaningful way. The good news is that there is a lot of strength/conditioning stuff he will be able to do outside of this.
What is less good is that there is usually persistent laxity in the joint after a tear like this. Matthews isn't likely to blow out his knee just doing routine stuff, but the next time a Gudas runs him like this there is a greater chance that this happens again.
5 games for a plug to injure a star player is a joke.
Guilt Trip
Well-known member
My understanding is both will be unprotected because they have been moved from the original year. next year's pick could be worse but i think with Matthews out now, the chance of really tanking have increased a lot.
Arn
Well-known member
I’m generally not a big fan of fighting in hockey any more for obvious reasons and I like how the skill side of the game has evolved and generally how the game is played now entertains me more. Often it annoys me seeing people start fights for legit hits just because they’re big hits.
But the pitiful reaction by the team for this one might well have been the real final straw in how this team has been so stupidly soft over the last decade or so.
Signing a Ryan Reaves type single “character” guy, who happens to be a fighter but has absolutely no net positive playing impact is so far from being the answer too.
It’s actually the likes of a couple of Kadris, or Perrys, or even Tkachuks dotted through the lineup. I love Matthews, Marner, Nylander, even Tavares. But I just can’t fathom how they haven’t managed to properly round out the roster around those guys. Apart from of course they probably needed to move a Marner out before his NMC to free up the salary to get a proper top level version of that kind of player.
But the pitiful reaction by the team for this one might well have been the real final straw in how this team has been so stupidly soft over the last decade or so.
Signing a Ryan Reaves type single “character” guy, who happens to be a fighter but has absolutely no net positive playing impact is so far from being the answer too.
It’s actually the likes of a couple of Kadris, or Perrys, or even Tkachuks dotted through the lineup. I love Matthews, Marner, Nylander, even Tavares. But I just can’t fathom how they haven’t managed to properly round out the roster around those guys. Apart from of course they probably needed to move a Marner out before his NMC to free up the salary to get a proper top level version of that kind of player.
L K
Well-known member
Obviously the team ***COULD*** be a lot worse. I'd be more concerned about the 2028 pick than the 2027 one though.
Nylander has been hurt for big chunks of this year. He's still 11th in PPG. He's right on pace to be the 40G 90P player he has been the last few years. Obviously with a more uptempo play style you hope that he can continue that. You hope that Matthews can rebound somewhat with a coach who deploys him more in line with the type of player he should be. If they keep their pick you are going to get a potential impact rookie to throw into the middle six of the team. Cowan gets a year of getting stronger.
The roster isn't losing any quality players right now from what it is. The handful of guys who have been decent are still RFAs or under contract. The ones who are UFAs can all go elsewhere and be replaced with new parts.
I'm not expecting the team to be great next year but it should hopefully be at least in the playoff hunt.
The bigger issue would be if the Leafs aren't heading in the right direction in 2027 whether Matthews says he wants out and you look at trading off guys in 2028...although if we are rebuilding, missing out on one good draft pick is going to happen either way.
This draft still seems like the one that is the most valuable to the team in the short/long-term.
I always thought they needed something like that Islander line - can't remember exactly who was on it - 3 decent sized players who love the physical game, are fast enough to get in the forecheck and pound defenders and will actually do it (and will fight if needed). They could play mostly on a single "energy" or crash line, and be sprinkled onto other lines as needed. Leafs over the past decade have had a lot of big players, but most of them play more like kittens. Lorentz (maybe he's played his way out of town), Roy, McMann, Carlo, Joshua...I'll even throw Matthews and Knies into that group, though with Knies I'm hoping his recent lack of physical play is due to a lingering injury. He could and should be one of those players you are talking about.
In the past there was Gauthier, Engvall, Mikheyev, Holl...probably many others I'm forgetting. Of course they had one in Hyman too (and Kadri), plus others in the system at times like Marchment.
Arn
Well-known member
I do wonder how much, if at all, the impact of the suspensions played into it as mentioned in that MLHS article as well though.
As it says, any time a Leaf did something it’s a long suspension - Kadri “to the end of the playoffs”, Spezza 6 games having never been suspended ever, Matthews 2 games for something nobody else gets suspended for, even the Nylander fined for giving the finger while Sergachev gets nothing etc.
Like did the fact there was the perception leafs get hit harder for misdemeanours further alter how some of those big guys played, even on some subconscious level. Or were they just the “wrong” big guys? Probably the latter mostly I suppose. Or did the management even shy away from signing certain players in case they ended up suspended for X games under Toronto scrutiny?
In terms of Matthews, I actually do think he plays (played?) quite tough. He did use his frame defensively for takeaways etc. Similarly I think Knies will do so more. But they definitely need backup as well I think which they just didn’t have.