The Toronto Maple Leafs had another playoff disappointment this season, which led to plenty of changes in the offseason.
The Maple Leafs traded star forward Mitch Marner to the Vegas Golden Knights in a sign-and-trade. Although losing Marner is tough, Toronto did add the likes of Mattias Maccelli, Nic Roy, Dakota Joshua, and Michael Pezzetta to add more depth to the lineup.
Although the Maple Leafs haven’t added an impact player like Marner, captain Auston Matthews says he’s ‘feeling good’ about Toronto’s roster and offseason.
“Feeling good,” Matthews said at the annual Hockey Night in Brampton charity event about the Maple Leafs’ offseason. “Obviously a lot of changes but I’m excited about the guys we brought in, and obviously excited about the guys we have. We’ve got a great team, a great group of guys in the locker room. So, looking forward to getting started.”
Toronto won the Atlantic Division last season and is looking to build off that this season. The Maple Leafs raised the floor by adding depth to the bottom-six and will be harder to play against.
But if Toronto is going to win the division and go on a deep playoff run, Matthews will need to play much better than he did last season.
Matthews finished the year skating in 67 games, recording 33 goals and 45 assists for 78 points.
Matthews Opens up on Marner Leaving Maple Leafs
A big part of the Maple Leafs’ offseason was Marner leaving in a sign-and-trade.
Marner was close friends with Matthews, and Toronto’s captain says it’s hard, but he wishes Marner the best in his career.
“We’ll obviously miss him. He’s a great friend, great teammate,” Matthews told reporters. “That’s kind of the business side of it. That’s tough, but obviously I wish him nothing but the best, and yeah, we’ll just keep it moving.”
Marner and Matthews were a dynamic duo in Toronto and were a key reason for the Maple Leafs’ success for so many years.
Yet, Matthews will now have to step up even further and look to lead Toronto’s offense and make sure there isn’t a noticeable dropoff after Marner left.
Matthews Dealt With Injuries Last Season
Matthews did struggle last season in large part due to injuries.
The Maple Leafs’ captain got injured in training camp, and it impacted him all season long. He even had to fly to Germany to get checked out. However, Matthews is confident he will be 100 percent healthy going into next season.
“Definitely a tough year physically,” Matthews said on May 20. “But I’m confident with some time off and just going through my own process and treatment and everything. I’m really confident I’ll be back 100 percent next season and it’s nothing for me to worry about.”
As for what the injury is, Matthews wouldn’t get into it.
“I don’t need to get into the specifics of stuff, but I got injured in training camp, wasn’t feeling great through the first month of the season,” Matthews said. “There were some good stretches where I felt good. There were some stretches where I didn’t feel very good.”
Matthews is entering the second year of a four-year, $53 million deal with the Maple Leafs.
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