Friedman Suggests Auston Matthews Had a Secret Summer Surgery
In 2021-22, Auston Matthews stood alone as the NHL's premier goal scorer, but in 2022-23, he took a major step back, notching 20 less goals than the prior year, so why did that drastic fall happen?
A wrist injury
It's been noted for quite some time that Matthews was dealing with a wrist injury, limiting his ability to get the puck off his stick quickly, and as we saw, it had a major impact on his overall abilities on the ice.
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Matthews had a well documented wrist surgery back in August of 2021, but now, NHL Insider Elliotte Friedman has suggested that he had a surgery in the summer of 2022, something that wasn't known by many people around the league.
Bounce back season?
Unsurprisingly, this hindered him all year long, but now, he's healthy and ready to go, and after back-to-back hat tricks to start the 2023-24 season, we may see him top his 60 goal effort from 2021-22.
The Maple Leafs will be looking for this success to translate to the post-season too, as regular season success is all well and good, but if he can't lead them deep in the playoffs, his tenure in Toronto could ultimately go down as a massive failure.
As Read on Hockey Patrol - The Truth Behind Auston Matthews' Wrist Injury Has Been Revealed
| POLL | ||
18 OCTOBRE | 128 ANSWERS Friedman Suggests Auston Matthews Had a Secret Summer Surgery Will Matthews top 60 goals again in 2023-24? | ||
| Yes | 92 | 71.9 % |
| No | 36 | 28.1 % |
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