Toronto Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving believes Auston Matthews will be more than ready for the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off after returning to the lineup in January.

As captain, Matthews hopes to emulate Thornton's leadership qualities, led by his focus on inclusivity and bringing everyone together.

Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews feels that his team is overcomplicating things on the power play and they need to get back to basics. In Saturday’s shutout loss to the Vancouver Canucks, the Leafs got three power-play chances on the night and combined to record two shots (both of which were on the first attempt).

Matthews has missed each of the Maple Leafs' last five games with an upper-body injury and will sit out of tonight's affair after being added to the injured reserve on Tuesday. Toronto has found some success without its captain, but that doesn't change that Craig Berube's team is significantly better when the 27-year-old is healthy.

Returning from his second absence this season due to an upper-body injury, Matthews logged a season-low 17:32. The back-and-forth nature of the game saw Matthews play more in the third period, particularly as Toronto was defending the 5-on-6 situation as Boston looked for a tying goal.

Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews told reporters that he will return from an upper-body injury in Saturday night's game against the visiting Boston Bruins.

The captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs is nearing playing for the United States at upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off.