Matthews 'feeling really good' after injury-plagued season
Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews is feeling fresh heading into the 2025-26 campaign after a lingering injury held him back last season.
"Health-wise, I'm feeling really good," Matthews said Wednesday at the opening of the Leafs' training camp, according to The Athletic's Joshua Kloke. "I had a good summer. I did a lot of things that put me in a position to come into training camp feeling really good. So I'm really happy about that."
Matthews missed 15 games last season after sustaining an undisclosed injury in training camp. Although he declined to delve into specifics after Toronto was eliminated in the second round of the playoffs, Matthews admitted the issue impacted him throughout the year.
The three-time Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy winner's production dipped from 69 goals to 33 in 2024-25, and he managed only three tallies in 13 playoff games.
Matthews was selected this summer as one of the United States' first six players for the upcoming Olympics. With the Games set to begin in February in Milano Cortina, the seven-time All-Star acknowledged he'll need to be more mindful of his schedule to stay healthy.
"I think it's just kind of as the season goes along, how you manage that," Matthews said. "It's a pretty condensed season, similar to, you know, the COVID year with the Olympics. But the main focus right now is obviously camp."
Toronto kicks off its regular season on Oct. 8 against the Montreal Canadiens.