The Maple Leafs have moved Auston Matthews to injured reserve with his upper-body injury retroactive to Nov. 3, the team announced. They’re using the open spot to reinstate forward Connor Dewar from his LTIR conditioning loan and add him to the active roster.
The IR placement only minimally affects Matthews’ timeline for a return. Head coach Craig Berube
told reporters that the superstar would miss his second straight game Friday against the Red Wings and that he was doubtful for Saturday’s game against the Canadiens. He’s been ruled out against Montreal thanks to the move to IR but could return for Tuesday’s matchup against the Senators. He’ll miss at least three games with the ailment, which he’s been playing through for a good chunk of the season.
Meanwhile, Dewar was one of two players for the Leafs in the AHL on LTIR conditioning stints. At the beginning of the month, they assigned both he and defenseman Jani Hakanpää to the minors as they each got their feet back under them after offseason surgeries — in Dewar’s case, a shoulder procedure. LTIR conditioning stints can only last up to three games or six days, and the time constraint ends Friday. The lack of news regarding Hakanpää indicates he’s not entirely cleared to return to full-time action and will remain on LTIR for a tad longer.
Matthews’ IR placement buys the Leafs a little bit of time, but they’ll still need to make a roster move when the captain is ready to return next week and another one when Hakanpää is eventually ready to play. They have $1.83M left in their LTIR pool after Friday’s transactions, with Hakanpää, Calle Järnkrok and Dakota Mermis still on the list.
In his lone appearance on his conditioning stint, Dewar had a goal and an assist in what amounted to his first AHL action since the 2021-22 campaign. Acquired from the Wild at last season’s trade deadline, Dewar had a goal and four assists in 17 games for Toronto down the stretch and avoided arbitration over the summer with a one-year, $1.18M settlement.
The high-energy 5-foot-10 forward can play both center and wing and was a fixture on the Leafs’ penalty kill to close out 2023-24, averaging nearly two-and-a-half minutes per game shorthanded. He’s projected to serve as a healthy scratch against Detroit tonight while Steven Lorentz, David Kämpf and Ryan Reaves remain in fourth-line roles, but he could get a chance to play against the Habs on Saturday.
