Easton Cowan has been recalled from the AHL’s Toronto Marlies to fill in for Matthews.
Meanwhile, Toronto also activated goaltender Joseph Woll to the roster and assigned Artur Akhtyamov to the Marlies in a corresponding move. Woll started the season on a leave of absence.
Toronto head coach Craig Berube announced ahead of Thursday’s home game against the Los Angeles Kings that Matthews will be out of the lineup “maybe a week, maybe sooner” with a lower-body injury.
Matthews left Tuesday’s road loss to the Boston Bruins in the second period. The Leafs captain took a hit from behind from Nikita Zadorov and then went back at the hulking defenceman moments later in what would be his final shift of the night, but Berube said the injury occurred earlier in the game.
The 28-year-old Matthews, who has 14 points in 2025-26, scored a career-high 69 times in 2023-24, but was limited to 33 goals in 67 games last season as he dealt with a persistent upper-body injury.
Woll, 27, has yet to appear in a game this season. He had a 27-14-1 record with a 2.73 GAA and .909 save percentage for the Maple Leafs in 2024-25.
Cowan started the season with the Maple Leafs and had a goal and three assists in four games before being assigned to the Marlies.
The 20-year-old, selected 28th overall by Toronto at the 2023 NHL draft, has one assist in two AHL games.
The Maple Leafs, currently in second-last place in the Atlantic Division, face the Blackhawks on Saturday night in Chicago.
–With files from The Canadian Press
