liotte Friedman joins the FAN Hockey Show to discuss Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews’ status and why the team is not panicking or becoming concerned due to his lengthy absence.

There are a ton of questions about Auston Matthews, so a quick update:

According to several sources, Matthews went to Germany this week to visit a clinic “he knows and trusts. If space is available, you take it.”

Those same sources stressed not to get fixated on the destination, saying that just because it isn’t local, it shouldn’t cause panic.

It was also stressed that: surgery for Matthews’ undisclosed injury is not being considered and was never part of this process; the European trip was an opportunity to get some “overall body work” done in addition to treatment of whatever is ailing him; and shouldn’t be taken as any indictment of the Maple Leafs’ doctors care as “players get second opinions all the time.” In fact, one of Toronto’s team doctors travelled with Matthews.

As you can imagine, there’s a lot of sensitivity around this situation. Matthews, like most players, is extremely private about injury details and the organization wants to respect his wishes. But it’s one of the NHL’s best players in its brightest market, with fans/media clamouring for more information every day he is absent.

At this point, the Maple Leafs’ position remains as head coach Craig Berube has stated: that with a stretch of three games in 13 days, it is better in the long run that Matthews rests.