Matthias, who missed five games with a neck injury before returning to score in Toronto's 5-4 overtime loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday, will join the Avalanche in Denver later this week, the team announced.
Colorado is coming off a 3-2 win against the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday and only a couple players skated Sunday. Coach Patrick Roy is scheduled to meet with the media two hours before the game, but the only expected lineup change is in goal where Semyon Varlamov will start after Calvin Pickard played in Edmonton.
Matthias, who has 17 points in 51 games this season with Toronto, played 96 games (34 points) with the Canucks from 2013-15.
The 6-foot-4, 231-pound forward who can play wing or center, adds size to the Avalanche. The Canucks, though, are more focused on containing the speedy attack that has helped Colorado win four of its past five games.
"They are one of the better skating teams in the League," Canucks coach Willie Desjardins said. "They got good speed when they come at you."
The Canucks' only lineup change will also be in goal. Ryan Miller will start against Colorado after Jacob Markstrom gave up five goals for a second straight start during a 5-2 road loss to the Calgary Flames on Friday. It was Vancouver's fourth straight 5-2 loss. The Canucks have lost six in a row at home.
Center Linden Vey will miss a second straight game with an unidentified injury that Desjardins insisted wasn't serious. He is considered day-to-day. Jared McCann will play consecutive games for just the second time in almost a month, and the 19-year-old rookie center hopes it helps build chemistry with Radim Vrbata and Alexandre Burrows.
"It can be tough when lines switch but last game was my first with those guys and hopefully tonight will be better," McCann said. "(Burrows) is a vocal guy on the ice and he does a good job helping me out in different spots."
Here are the projected lineups:
AVALANCHE
Mikhail Grigorenko - Matt Duchene - Jarome Iginla
Alex Tanguay - Nathan Mackinnon - Gabriel Landeskog
Cody McLeod - Carl Soderberg - Blake Comeau
Andreas Martinsen - John Mitchell - Jack Skille
Francois Beauchemin - Erik Johnson
Nick Holden - Tyson Barrie
Chris Bigras - Andrew Bodnarchuk
Semyon Varlamov
Calvin Pickard
Injured: Ben Street (chest), Jesse Winchester (concussion-like symptoms), Brad Stuart (back)
Scratched: Zach Redmond, Chris Wagner
CANUCKS
Daniel Sedin - Henrik Sedin - Jannik Hansen
Sven Baertschi - Bo Horvat - Jake Virtanen
Alexandre Burrows - Jared McCann - Radim Vrbata
Derek Dorsett - Adam Cracknell - Emerson Etem
Ben Hutton - Chris Tanev
Dan Hamhuis - Luca Sbisa
Matt Bartkowski - Alex Biega
Ryan Miller
Jacob Markstrom
Injured: Brandon Sutter (broken jaw), Alexander Edler (fractured tibia), Linden Vey (undisclosed)
Scratched: Yannick Weber, Alex Friesen
Status report: Desjardins expects Vey to be back on the ice before the Canucks' next game on this five-game homestand Thursday against the Ottawa Senators. … The Avalanche traded forward Colin Smith, who has 13 goals and 34 points in 54 games for San Antonio of the American Hockey League this season, and a fourth-round pick in the 2016 NHL Draft for Matthias.
Who's hot: Barrie has seven points in his past five games after two goals and an assist against the Oilers on Saturday. … Daniel Sedin has one goal and four assists during a four-game point streak.
