The Toronto Maple Leafs had some great news yesterday when Auston Matthews finally stepped back on the ice with his teammates. While he was on the ice with his teammates, he was wearing a non-contact jersey and didn't participate in any line rushes.There was some speculation that he would be able to return to the lineup this week, but it doesn't look too likely. "I don't know what they'll do. I just noticed he was wearing red today, and we don't have a whole lot of red in our uniforms, so…" Babcock said.
It sounds like he's still got some work to do, but skating with his teammates will definitely help his and the team's morale. "I think it's good for him. Just mentally; instead of hanging out by yourself and we were gone for 10 days and these are his buddies, so who do you hang out in Toronto with? I think the priority for him, obviously, is to do as much as he can each day and when he's ready — or over-ready — we'll get him back into the lineup."
The team has struggled without him in the lineup, however we're pretty sure everybody can agree it's better to make sure he's 100% before he returns.
