Toronto Maple Leafs Can Overcome Matthews Injury

The Toronto Maple Leafs should be alright even without Auston Matthews.

Despite Auston Matthews being lost for a month, the Toronto Maple Leafs have been built to overcome the absence of the club’s best player.

On the same night the Maple Leafs cemented their status as legitimate Stanley Cup contenders by sweeping the Winnipeg Jets in back-to-back games, Toronto lost that same status when Matthews was lost to a shoulder injury.

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It was a whirlwind of emotions as the Maple Leafs proved they can defeat a legitimate Cup contender twice in four days when healthy but the loss of Matthews leaves an impact that’ll be felt throughout the remainder of the season.

The immediate impact will see the Maple Leafs downgrade from Stanley Cup contender to playoff team status. Without Matthews, it’s difficult for Toronto to remain in the discussion as a top-five team in the league. However, with John Tavares still in the lineup, there’s more than enough for the Maple Leafs to remain in the playoff race.

Had Tavares not signed in Toronto in the offseason and Tyler Bozak still departed in free agency, this would be a different discussion. All of a sudden the Maple Leafs would be a depleted team at the center ice position but with Tavares, Nazem Kadri, and the surprising play of Par Lindholm, the Maple Leafs will be able to survive Matthews’ absence.

For Tavares, this becomes a situation similar to his days with the New York Islanders, where he will be needed to lead the way offensively. The only difference being this current Maple Leafs team is still better than any Islanders team he ever played on. Mitch Marner is still the best winger he’s ever played with. Morgan Rielly is still the best defenseman he’s ever played with and Freddie Andersen is still the best goaltender he’s ever had.

Tavares will be fine over the next month or so as Matthews recovers but someone who might be even more important to the club is Kadri. Kadri has suffered some bad luck through the first month of the season, only getting his first goal of the year a week ago.

The former two-time 30-goal scorer will be relied on to produce more offensively while given significantly more ice-time without Matthews in the lineup. If Kadri is able to return to the same level he was at a season ago, then he could be most responsible for keeping the Maple Leafs competitive without Matthews.

One player the franchise doesn’t have to worry about stepping up is Marner, who routinely has made it a habit of raising his level of play without Matthews in the lineup. When Matthews has been out of the lineup in previous years, Marner has put the team on his back and often played the best hockey of his career.

A season ago when Matthews missed a combined 20 games throughout the year, Marner produced 23 points without the star center in the lineup. Marner has wasted no time in maintaining the habit as he’s already produced three points with Matthews missing a game and a half with the shoulder injury.

Then there’s also the William Nylander situation as the Maple Leafs have been without their 60-point player all season. Could this put more pressure on management to finalize a deal? Does this put any pressure on Nylander to sign? Nylander has been criticized recently in Toronto as being too greedy in negotiations. If he’s able to reach an agreement soon he could help repair his image as appearing like the savior coming to the rescue.

Matthews will be out of the lineup at least a month, it could be more. Therefore, getting Nylander in the lineup sooner rather than later could make the difference in home ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs or not. Still, it’s a luxury no other team in the league has, as Toronto have lost their franchise center yet still have a 60-point player potentially capable of joining the lineup.

The first game without Matthews wasn’t pretty as the Maple Leafs fell on home ice to the Calgary Flames in a 3-1 loss. The game featured a revolving door of lineup changes as coach Mike Babcock never stopped tinkering with his lineup searching for the right combination.

Once the lineup settles and chemistry is allowed to form then the Maple Leafs should be able to withstand the loss of their best player. They might not be able to threaten for a division title without Matthews but maintaining a playoff position should be sustainable.