There is a particular satisfaction in watching a player rediscover the version of himself that made him great—not the tentative, diminished figure of recent memory, but the one who moves with purpose and finishes with authority. For Auston Matthews and the Toronto Maple Leafs, that rediscovery arrived this week, and the NHL took notice.
On Monday, Matthews was named the NHL's First Star of the Week after leading the league with nine points across three games . He scored three goals and added six assists, including a pair of four-point performances. Against Nashville on Tuesday, he delivered a goal and three assists, scoring the overtime winner in a 5-4 comeback victory—his fifteenth career overtime goal, second in Maple Leafs history . He closed the week with a two-goal, two-assist showing in a 6-3 win over Colorado on Saturday, his nineteenth career four-point game .
The numbers matter, but the context matters more. Matthews had surgery on a grade 3 MCL tear and a quadriceps contusion following a hit from Radko Gudas in March, ending his 2025-26 season early . That came after two difficult years in which he dropped from 69 goals and 107 points in 2023-24 to 33 goals and 78 points the following season, then failed to hit 30 goals for the first time in his career . Questions about his health followed him all summer.
General manager John Chayka addressed those questions directly during training camp. "Obviously it was a long summer for him," Chayka said. "I thought he looked great coming in. He's lighter, he's leaner. I think he worked with some of the best people in the world on his rehab, and I think that just paid dividends for him. All of our internal skating data suggests this is the best he's skated over the last five years" .
That data is now showing up on the scoresheet. With Mitch Marner no longer on the roster, the Leafs need Matthews to be their anchor night after night. Through three games, he has been exactly that . Dallas goaltender Jake Oettinger took second star honors for the week, while New York Rangers forward Alexis Lafreniere was named third .
Whether Matthews can sustain this level over the course of a full season remains unknown. The injury history is real, and the demands on him are greater than ever. But for a player who spent two years looking like a shadow of himself, the early signs are better than anyone had reason to expect. For Toronto, that is enough to feel good about—for now.
AI Image Disclaimer: The visual content in this article was generated using artificial intelligence for illustrative purposes only and does not depict the actual players or games described.
Sources: Winnipeg Free Press, The Canadian Press, NDTV Sports, Niagara Falls Review
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