Auston Matthews spoke with the media on Monday after another disappointing season for the team and for him personally, as he missed games in the first-round series with the Bruins. Matthews was asked immediately about his illness and injury status.

Matthews noted that he got really sick after Game 2 and then tried to battle through it in Game 3. He also took a weird hit in Game 4 that kept him out of action for the games he missed. He didn’t want to go through the details of that injury. He was able to make it back for Game 7 and was grateful for the chance to play because it sucked watching. He gave credit to his guys for trying to battle through and taking the series to seven games.

Matthews was asked about the narratives in Toronto now, specifically in respect to Mitch Marner. He noted that one things he’s learned during his time in Toronto is that there’s always something. Every year there’s a scapegoat and he hoped Marner isn’t it this season. He said he’s there to support Marner and just try to be there for him. He didn’t comment on anything related to the future of other players.

William Nylander was also asked about Marner and said that everybody loves him. “Someone is always getting heat here regardless of what it is,” he noted.

Mitch Marner said his desire is to stay in Toronto on a long-term extension. Jonas Siegel of The Athletic cited Marner who said, “That’d be a goal. I’ve expressed my love for this place, this city. Obviously, I’ve grown up here. We’ll start thinking about that now and trying to figure something out.”

Offseason Changes Are Coming to the Maple Leafs

Morgan Reilly also spoke to the media and added that change is always going to happen over the summer and that the team will never come back the next year exactly the same. He knows that’s a part of the business and you just need to accept that when you’re a professional hockey player.

We’ll update this post with more as other players and Maple Leafs staff talk to the media today.