Fueling that feeling is the fact that Matthews is fully recovered from the knee injury that ended his season on March 12 sustained in a knee-on-knee collision with then-Anaheim Ducks defenseman Radko Gudas.
He said he has been skating in Toronto for several weeks in preparation for the new season.
“He looks great,” new Toronto general manager John Chayka said. “Obviously not the end that anyone wanted to the season, specifically his end. But give him credit, he’s put in the work and worked with some world class rehab specialists and trainers trying to find any little extra edge to bring his game to another level. He’s full go 100%, physically he looks great. More importantly he’s smiling, having fun and engaging with his teammates and being a great leader that he is.”
Chayka is one of the reasons Matthews is so ready to get going this season and no longer has doubts about his future in Toronto.
The Matthews who spoke Wednesday was much different than the Matthews from the end of last season, after the Maple Leafs failed to reach the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since Matthews arrived in Toronto in 2015-16.
The team had fired GM Brad Treliving, and the future of coach Craig Berube, who would be eventually be fired, was in doubt.
“I can’t predict the future…,” Matthews said at the end of the season when asked about how he sees his place within the team. “I don’t really know. I can’t really predict the future.”
But since then, Chayka was hired as general manager and was joined by senior executive advisor Mats Sundin, a legendary Maple Leafs player. Jim Hiller, who was an assistant coach with Toronto from 2015-19, replaced Berube. The Maple Leafs also won the NHL Draft Lottery and the right to select Penn State superstar Gavin McKenna with the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. The Maple Leafs also added defenseman Darren Raddysh and goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, a two-time Stanley Cup winner with the Florida Panthers, among others.
“I’m here with John now and I really like what he’s done this summer,” Matthews said. “He’s made some great changes, brought in some great people, some great players, great outside hires as well and it’s been great so far meeting everybody. It’s been super positive, great energy at the rink. I think for myself it was more so just taking a step back and seeing who comes in because you never know, they might think something different or have different plans or visions for what they see fit so I thought it was just appropriate to take a step back, see what happens and go from there.
“I think my intent was always to be here. I think with the way things finished last year, general manager gets fired before the season is over and there was a lot of incoming change that you never really know who is coming in, what their plan is, what they think and for myself it was just to take a step back, see what happens and have open lines of communications with whoever was hired.”
After his goal production dropped from an NHL career-high 69 in 81 games in 2023-24 to 33 in 67 games in 2024-25 and 27 in 60 games last season, Matthews is looking to return to the form that saw him score more than 40 goals in each season from 2019-20 to 2023-24.
“The expectations for myself are always high,” Matthews said. “I try to hold myself to an extremely high standard. It was a frustrating year last year of course but it’s a new season, a lot of time to think about it and going into this year, I’m feeling as good as possible. A new group of guys, a lot of new people and new change which is inevitable but I think it’s also exciting to come to the rink and have that energy and that excitement again.”
Part of that excitement comes from the addition of forward Jack Roslovic, who signed a two-year contract with Toronto as an unrestricted free agent on July 1. Roslovic, who had 36 points (21 goals, 15 assists) in 69 games with the Edmonton Oilers last season, and Matthews are expected to begin the season together on the same line. The two were teammates in 2014-15 with the U.S. National Under-18 team.
“I’m really excited to play with him again,” Matthews said. “We’ve definitely stayed in touch and stayed pretty close over the years. Hanging out with him and seeing him again, he’s a lot of fun to be around, he’s funny and he’s always got something to say. He’s a chattier guy which is great in the locker room so I’m excited to rekindle that chemistry with him. He’s been here for a couple weeks now so we’ve been skating with each other. Hopefully it’s as seamless as possible as we kind of get going here.”
Matthews has two seasons remaining on a four-year contract he signed August 23, 2023, and is eligible to sign a new contract with Toronto on July 1, 2027. Amongst the fanbase, there is always a lingering concern that at some point Matthews will look to play elsewhere, though he has never really indicated anything other than pride and joy for being a Maple Leaf.
If there was any doubt about his commitment to the Maple Leafs, it should have been eliminated on Wednesday. In the meantime, Chayka said fans should focus on Matthews’ play during the season ahead rather than looking almost a year into the future.
“My message to fans is just enjoy it,” Chayka said. “I know there’s a lot of talk about him and his contractual status. One day he won’t be a Toronto Maple Leaf, hopefully that ends with retirement. Ultimately being able to have the privilege of working with him and watching him not only on the ice but off the ice, it’s a great honor for us and something where we are excited to link arms with him and walk side by side as we try to accomplish our goal.”
