Speculation: Something is wrong with Matthews...

[BackPassChampions]

Take a deep breath Leafs Nation. He is and will be fine.

I believe if there was a big concern, he would be sitting since it is very early in the season. No sense hiding something and dragging it out and sitting later in the season and aggravating it more than he should be.

 

[HockeyVirus]

I remember Matt Cooke getting Lecalvier with a hit that broke the wrist, wasn't the same shooting threat after.

People like to say that he's playing fine...and he is. However he hasn't had those signature games, like Marner where they take over the game. For the money he's paid and for what he's going to demand on his next deal, if he's incapable of dominating most nights, it's going to be a questionable investment.

IDK. All offseason we heard his 60 goals means nothing because they didn't win anything. You think 60 goals is something he just easily does? Because reality is it put a lot on his body. Sure he is hitting and playing well, but it doesn't seem like his heart is in it so far.

I think he is focused on what matters and is just keeping his body feeling good. I don't think we see him turn it up unless the team is in danger of missing playoffs or we are in Feb / March.

He's also said multiple times he doesn't care about his regular season production he just wants to win the past few months.

 

[Gilmour1996]

Take a deep breath Leafs Nation. He is and will be fine.

I believe if there was a big concern, he would be sitting since it is very early in the season. No sense hiding something and dragging it out and sitting later in the season and aggravating it more than he should be.

I don't think he's hiding anything from the medical staff. What they know and what the fans know are two different things. Don't expect inside information. He's a team player and if he has been told that it will get better with time and surgery not required he might be thinking with all our injuries the team is better off with him staying in the lineup than be replaced by a callup.

 

[Stephen]

Could it wrong, but looks like his wrists might be hurt again. Becoming quite an alarming trend. Has scored a few off tips or net front, and a few on slapshot one timers. Has no wrist shot goals at all really, and his SOG are down.

Could be, but the problem with this thinking is when his wrist was messed up he was still shooting and curling back in 2020 or 2021.

 

[Skullz]

Could be, but the problem with this thinking is when his wrist was messed up he was still shooting and curling back in 2020 or 2021.

He also had a lengthy stretch in all Canadian division with a bum wrist where he mostly scored on tips or backhanders though. I remember one of the games at that time was when we beat the Jets, he had the OT winner on a beauty backhand, but for a few weeks there he really wasn't firing it that much at all...

 

[JT AM da real deal]

I remember Matt Cooke getting Lecalvier with a hit that broke the wrist, wasn't the same shooting threat after.

People like to say that he's playing fine...and he is. However he hasn't had those signature games, like Marner where they take over the game. For the money he's paid and for what he's going to demand on his next deal, if he's incapable of dominating most nights, it's going to be a questionable investment.

He's got his $$$ .. he got his 60 goals .. he got his MVP .. at this point he needs a Cup .. team is playing well with a ton of injuries and he is doing what he needs to do to keep team winning .. he came to camp overweight .. he is now dominating games on ice and tilting ice for us almost every night .. if he was still getting massively outplayed each game then there is reason to worry .. but past 10 games he has been top 3 on ice virtually every game .. goals and points really are not what you guys need to focus on .. watch a game where all you do is focus on Matty da entire game .. then you will see what matters

 

[WTFMAN99]

He's got his $$$ .. he got his 60 goals .. he got his MVP .. at this point he needs a Cup .. team is playing well with a ton of injuries and he is doing what he needs to do to keep team winning .. he came to camp overweight .. he is now dominating games on ice and tilting ice for us almost every night .. if he was still getting massively outplayed each game then there is reason to worry .. but past 10 games he has been top 3 on ice virtually every game .. goals and points really are not what you guys need to focus on .. watch a game where all you do is focus on Matty da entire game .. then you will see what matters

Do you not think it's interesting that he's going for tips etc? Not putting a lot of torque on the wrist like a year ago.

 

[Fogelhund]

Ooof on Kerfoot coughing up the puck. But good for him to get a bit physical there around Murray.

 

[Primary Assist]

100% something seems off with his wrist. in the 2nd period just now he had a wide open lane to the net in his sweet spot and he took a Kerfoot caliber wrister, not something I'd expect from the 2x reigning Rocket champ

 

[saffronleaf]

yet another very pedestrian effort

might want to consider moving him before NMC if there isn't an injury holding him back or something

 

[Tak7]

Think we've seen enough of him over the years to know that something isn't quite right - he doesn't look like he's at 100%.

 

[Ports]

yet another very pedestrian effort

might want to consider moving him before NMC if there isn't an injury holding him back or something

Unthinkable before when everyone was worried if they could re-sign him but if he has a mediocre season and they flame out in the playoffs everything should be on the table.

 

[Guided by Veseys]

Seemed pretty responsible today defensively and had some nice blocked shots. Offensively though he was turnover prone and not too dangerous. Oh well. Team keeps winning

 

[KPower]

Chronic wrist injury,

Deeply concerning.

 

[Menzinger]

I'd wager a shiny nickel that he's dealing with an injury the team has kept quite about

 

[saffronleaf]

I'd wager a shiny nickel that he's dealing with an injury the team has kept quite about

lol in this economy that ain't much sir, no matter how shiny

 

[Arthur Morgan]

I thought he was having issues around Game 3 when he was playing differently, not going to his regular spots and shooting less then 90mph.
worries me, his biggest tool has barely been used this year. sometime went wrong near the end of last season and he barely got his 60. I think he's still dealing with whatever happened back then

 

[Leafsfan74]

Recall during the covid season when Matthews was injured and the Leafs shutout Oilers in two straight meetings over three days. It was the best show of defense this team has played, and I believe it was because they knew their top sniper was out.

Relying on a guy who you just expect to score every time he touches the puck can develop into a crutch for bad habits. So, in a meaningful way, him not being his usual goal scoring self has been a blessing in disguise for a team trying to be a grinding winner come playoffs.

I sense he probably is slightly injured and the team is keeping it close to the vest, letting him work through it. As long as he is effecitve in other ways until he is 100%, it is what it is. He is still getting shots and playing responsibly as the team accumulates wins.

It certainly helps develop a team first, defense first, block shots, get in lanes and get to the net type of attitude. Imagine how much easier it will be once his shot starts falling again? Until then, pile on the wins and strong habits.

 

[Larcos_Unal]

We can yap all we want, let's hear from the experts who will weigh in with stats and eye test

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[BallardEra]

Maybe it now has to do with Matthews adapting his game because teams have adjusted to him. I remember young Ovie dealing with exact same thing. He used to curl around and shoot through the defender's legs. Teams adjusted and he had to do likewise.

Just throwing that out there as a possibility.

 

[budzz]

I'm trying to remember what game it was, maybe a month ago, where Matty took a hard crosscheck stick from someone in the side/ribs. You could tell it hurt him. (Anyone remember who that was?) Anyway, in that spot it would be easy to crack a rib, or even a deep bruise. Depending on the spot, you can play through that and let it heal, but it would definitely affect your shot... trying to crank a wrist shot, alot of those muscles/areas are torqued, and it would likely be uncomfortable. Obviously I don't know for a fact and am not a doctor, but it was after that game he lost his twitch from what I can see. Would explain alot.

 

[mclaren55]

I'm trying to remember what game it was, maybe a month ago, where Matty took a hard crosscheck stick from someone in the side/ribs. You could tell it hurt him. (Anyone remember who that was?) Anyway, in that spot it would be easy to crack a rib, or even a deep bruise. Depending on the spot, you can play through that and let it heal, but it would definitely affect your shot... trying to crank a wrist shot, alot of those muscles/areas are torqued, and it would likely be uncomfortable. Obviously I don't know for a fact and am not a doctor, but it was after that game he lost his twitch from what I can see. Would explain alot.

Yea I remember that, it was on his left side. Having just bruised my ribs, I can attest to it sucking and it definitely has a way of limiting your mobility. Being a right shot with a bruised left rib, I can report that it indeed is very uncomfortable to put weight on the stick for my wrist shot.

 

[Throw More Waffles]

His play is, quite franlky, unacceptable.

There should be a f*** ton more heat on him.

He demanded McDavid money (when term is included). McDavid is pacing for 65 goals and 143 points. Matthews is pacing for 33 goals and 79 points.

I do NOT accept this. Keefe, Dubas, and Shanahan should be calling him out in the media.

 

[hockeyes]

Don't think he is injured, just looks like a guy who isn't putting in the work to be at his best.

 

[Jojalu]

His play is, quite franlky, unacceptable.

There should be a f*** ton more heat on him.

He demanded McDavid money (when term is included). McDavid is pacing for 65 goals and 143 points. Matthews is pacing for 33 goals and 79 points.

I do NOT accept this. Keefe, Dubas, and Shanahan should be calling him out in the media.

Are you serious?

No one outside maybe Torts would do that. Also, they would know what is wrong.

As for your McDavid example, if he was struggling most people would consider him injured as his track record would lead to that conclusion.

People have down years. He just won the Hart and Lindsay and back to back Rockets.

You don't throw a guy under the bus for 20 games