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Season pause “frustrating and disappointing” for Matthews

April 9, 2020, 8:03 PM ET [135 Comments]
Mike Augello
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When the Toronto Maple Leafs won 2-1 over the Tampa Bay Lightning on March 10, Auston Matthews scored his 47th goal of the season in the third period, putting the 22-year-old just one tally behind David Pastrnak and Alex Ovechkin for the NHL goal scoring lead and on pace to break Rick Vaive’s club-record of 54 in 1982, but that pursuit and likely the remainder of the regular season ended two days later, when the league suspended play due to the COVID-19 outbreak.

"It's kind of frustrating and disappointing to see this season go on pause, when you think about those kinds of achievements and accomplishments, being really close to scoring 50 goals and stuff like that," Matthews said in a conference call on Thursday. "Everybody would love to be playing hockey right now and be able to live their normal life, but (the pandemic is) obviously bigger than sports, it's bigger than a lot of things and I think the most important thing is obviously is to be safe and try to stay as healthy as possible."



Toronto had a slim hold on third place in the Atlantic Division and was going through a season plagued with injuries and inconsistency, but the Leafs top center believed that battling through their difficulties would be to their benefit in the end.

“(The season had) a lot of ups and downs. There (was) lots of growth and room for growth. It's not just going to be all an uphill slope, you're gonna go through tough times and I think we had our fair share of adversity throughout the season, so I think that in the long run that kind of stuff goes to build character and leadership."

Matthews is currently at home in Arizona, awaiting word from the league about if and when the season can resume. The Leafs leading scorer is trying to stay in shape using free weights and rollerblading, without having the benefit of a facility to workout, as would be the case under normal circumstances during the offseason

"We don't really have all the resources that you would have when we're all training in the summer. Obviously the circumstances that we're all under right now, we've just been watching some video, watching clips, trying to stay as active as possible while obviously respecting the social distancing and the rules that are applied." Matthews said. "I've just been shooting pucks and stickhandling and just having fun and treating it as if it was summer time and I was getting ready to come back and play."

Head coach Sheldon Keefe has been concentrating on being ready for the restart of the season whenever that comes and maintaining the lines of communication with the players. Matthews indicates that the Leafs new bench boss has been more attentive to the players.

"Since he's taken over, (Sheldon's) work ethic and his commitment to the players and the team, and not just on a hockey level but on a personal level, it's been amazing." Matthews said. "I think he's been great, everybody's really receptive to him and I think he's been extremely receptive to us as well. I think that's all you can really ask for."



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