Toronto Maple Leafs star centre Auston Matthews will not play against the Nashville Predators on Wednesday because of an undisclosed injury, the team told reporters.
“I’d say he’s just day-to-day, obviously he’s out there putting in lots of work and all that so he’s clearly not too far away. He’s improving daily so we’ll see where he’s at for tomorrow,” Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe said, adding the injury is something that’s been “lingering for a while.”
Forward Bobby McMann, recalled Tuesday from the AHL’s Toronto Marlies, will take Matthews’ spot in the lineup and make his NHL debut.
Matthews missed practice on Tuesday for what the club called a maintenance day.
Matthews, who won the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP last season, has 20 goals and 27 assists for 47 points in 41 games this season.
McMann, the reigning AHL player of the week, has eight goals and seven assists in 17 games with the Marlies this season.
“Any time you’ve got a guy playing in his first game, you try not to overwhelm too much. There’s enough going on as it is. He’s at his best when he’s moving his feet and skating. Big, strong guy. He’s found a way to really make his mark very quickly at the AHL level,” Keefe said of the 26-year-old McMann.
“He’s an older guy coming out of college and all those kinds of things. Doesn’t have a great deal of experience at the pro level yet that didn’t faze him in adjusting to the AHL. He’s now had a camp and some exhibition games with us. The hope is he can make an impact right away, but we’ll of course be patient with him. It’s a great opportunity for a player like him that has really stayed with it, worked incredibly hard, been a valuable member of the organization and gets rewarded for it tonight.”
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