@DarenMillard appears courtesy of his damn self and whenever he feels breezy cuz that’s what semi-retired broadcast legends do.  Unless someone offers him a job, then he’s in.

Auston Matthews is out a month.   In the most basic terms, we anticipate this to be four weeks.  Before you start rolling your eyes and calling me Captain Obvious, I mentioned the four weeks timeline because I am not entirely sure that “double fortnight” period is from the night of the injury (Saturday night) or the day the damage was revealed which was Monday.

This floating window impacts the number of games the hockey club and those poor, sick, sobbing souls who have Matthews on their fantasy teams will be without the scorer of 10 goals.

Here is the breakdown.  Four weeks from Saturday would mean missing 13 games.   If the clock starts ticking on Monday, the number will jump to 14.   Should rehabilitation take longer by say three days, Mike Babcock would be minus his star pivot for a fifteenth game.

Best case scenario based on the stats Matthews has produced this season the Maple Leafs are going to be without  .91 goal per game.   How significant is that? Consider the top five offensive clubs are averaging  3.7 celebrations a game.   On his own Auston is 24% of that number.    However, most of Matthews offense has been front loaded.
While not the same as missing him from the lineup entirely,  number 34 has not scored in the last five games.

To the Injury.   As a middle-aged weekend warrior, I keep an experienced professional on retainer.   This person has a significant background in dealing with injuries. Through the course of being treated for tendinitis of the elbow, I inquired about the Matthews injury.

I showed “said person” video of Jacob Trouba hitting Matthews on Saturday and asked for the best-educated opinion.

“I suspect he has a second degree AC separation.  Or he may have subluxated or dislocated.”  Adding, “Mechanism for either was there.”

Authors Note: this is not a binding medical diagnosis but an opinion based on observing the manner in which the injury occurred.

As a professional broadcast journalist, I naturally had a couple of follow up questions.

Me:
What does subluxed mean? (subluxation)
Source:
“Subluxed means it came out of socket for a bit but went back in”

Me:
Would usual practice to wear a brace upon returning?
Source:
“Not likely.  Expect Matthews to remain out and receiving treatment until the shoulder is  100% healthy.”

Full disclosure,  my concern over a potential Matthews shoulder injury has existed since the second week of the season.    The thought process being anybody lifting their arms as often as was the case to celebrate a goal was going to suffer wear and tear.

Matthews will finish October with ten goals, failing to challenge the month’s single-season record.

Remember this bit of brilliance from the second week of Working the Corners.  The attempt was to put the blazing start by Matthews into some context.   The star had just scored his tenth goal in six games.

Published October 15th, 2018

” If Matthews is to produce the best October of all-time the goals per game for the final half-dozen games of the month can be no lower than 1 per night.   That is still .66 lower than current production.
The insanity of Matthews start is distorting my sense of rational thoughts.   I stated earlier the 21-year-old is destined to break Octobers record for goals and yet I look at the challenge ahead, and Auston must still average a goal per night for six games.   In any other circumstance that is a hot stretch and I treated it like a 1 foot gimmie putt. ”

The putt wasn’t just missed; The ball was knocked 20 feet past the hole into the creek behind the green.   Matthews didn’t score another goal after that.   Woops.

Regarding the future, Matthews setback will not impact the payday scheduled to kick next July.     A long-time NHL presence reached out to me to offer a note of caution for the 2017 NHL Rookie of the Year.

“Matthews didn’t play major junior or NCAA college hockey.  His only experience playing against men was in Europe where the level of physical play doesn’t match even today’s lighter NHL.    He’s been hurt twice now by going into places and leaving himself vulnerable.  He reminds me a bit of Brett Lindros. ”

Interesting point.   Matthews was injured last year when caught in an Islander sandwich.

The Saturday blow occurred after Matthews put a priority on getting a shot away.

He is a big body used to bouncing off checks.  Going forward, Matthews may have to tweak his game to protect himself.

Matthews played in all 82 games as a rookie.   The shoulder injury and a concussion kept him out of 20 games last year.   This season Matthews will be limited to at 69 games.

The Maple Leafs spent $77 million on July 1st to win the Stanley Cup.   The club hopes the $15.9 million dished out to John Tavares this season will now ensure success during Matthews absence.