Auston Matthews is back shooting on the ice as Maple Leafs head coach Jim Hiller waits for his captain to clear the next stage of recovery.
Fresh footage from Switzerland captured Matthews working at the HC Davos training facility alongside former teammate Joe Thornton. The session stayed deliberately controlled. Matthews fired pucks at 17-year-old goaltender Silvano Andri, deliberately placing shots toward the blocker and glove rather than attacking the corners.
Still, the jump from basic skating to shooting work marks an encouraging development after surgery to repair a serious knee injury. Matthews suffered a Grade 3 MCL tear and a quad contusion—injuries that can directly compromise stride power, balance, and explosiveness. He has now moved beyond the reported 12-week healing window without a publicly reported setback. Earlier July footage had already shown him skating and working on his edges.
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The latest clip does not show contact, high-tempo drills, or the sudden changes of direction Matthews will face once training camp opens. Those stages will reveal far more than a light shooting session. Matthews must still prove his knee can handle pressure, traffic, and repeated explosive movements before Toronto can fully relax.
His release looked comfortable in the footage, a meaningful detail after the injury interrupted his season and removed the Maple Leafs’ most dangerous scoring threat. Hiller will need to manage the return carefully. Toronto cannot allow opening-night urgency to push Matthews into full-speed work before his leg strength and confidence are completely restored.
The club’s offseason additions should provide additional support. A deeper lineup can absorb defensive assignments and reduce the immediate need for Matthews to carry every difficult shift. Opponents will test him once games begin—closing space, finishing contact, and forcing him to stop and start under pressure—making preseason work a major checkpoint.
For now, the sight of Matthews shooting again is the strongest update Toronto has received this summer. The road back is not finished, but the captain has taken another meaningful step toward rejoining Hiller’s lineup.