Bryan Hayes makes his opinion on Auston Matthews' injury 'secrecy' crystal clear

By Zachary Roberts

Modified Nov 19, 2024 14:39 GMT

Auston Matthews has been out of the lineup since Nov. 3. He hasn't practiced or played in over two weeks, and he's not going to play again until at least Sunday. There is no clear timetable or even an official diagnosis of what the player is dealing with.

Hockey insider Bryan Hayes had his take on the situation, and he didn't hold back (1:05) on TSN:

"I mean, Austin Matthews is the most popular player in the biggest hockey market in the world, and he's been day to day for weeks, and now he's not skating for a week, like you just stated, and he's not going to play for at least another week."

He continued, lambasting the Toronto Maple Leafs for not being clear and for the league allowing this:

"So all of this secrecy, all of this or upper body, lower body, body, kind of jargon that's been around this game for decades now is because the league allows it. And from my standpoint, I have no idea why they do this and why they're so backwards and why they're so behind the times. When you consider the way the NFL operates, a very physical sport."

Auston Matthews is still injured (Imagn)

Matthews is currently on IR, but he's not on long-term Injured Reserve. The team does expect him back at some point, but it is holding all the information close to its chest.

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Auston Matthews not improving or declining in injury recovery

The latest report out of Toronto is that Auston Matthews won't be available Wednesday night. The team knew and revealed this Monday, indicating that he's not exactly close to a return.

In that same update, head coach Craig Berube said that the captain had not even been on the ice for a few days. He acknowledged that Matthews isn't getting worse, but he's also not getting any better.

The coach called it a "bit of a holding pattern." He also added that Matthews is doing what he needs to do to get back healthy and in the lineup, but that the team will just have to continue pushing without him. They're 5-1 in his absence.