Auston Matthews has been steadily working his way back toward full fitness this offseason after his 2025-26 campaign was cut short by a serious knee injury.

The Toronto Maple Leafs captain tore the MCL in his left knee and suffered a quad contusion. On March 12, he had a knee-on-knee collision with Anaheim Ducks defenseman Radko Gudas.

Recently, Matthews shared a new video this week. It gave us a peek into his offseason recovery routine using red light therapy, as he works his way back from major knee surgery.

This was a serious injury that ended his season. He underwent surgery just a week later in New York and was told that his recovery time is roughly 12 weeks. This put off his entire return to his activities around June. 

This marks the second straight season that Matthews dealt with a significant injury before too. He missed 15 games the year before because of separate upper-body issues. Gudas then received a five-game suspension for the hit. This punishment was heavily criticised by both the Maple Leafs and Matthews' agent, publicly, for being too light. 

"I first heard about red light therapy around COVID," he said as per PR Newswire back in January. "You could see the science behind it, and a lot of positive things you could bring into your routine. I'm definitely more of a feel person. After using red light, I could feel less soreness and better energy."

The video posted was an extension of his existing partnership with Mito Red Light. It’s a red light therapy device company that he began working with in January. At the time the partnership was announced, Matthews explained why he first turned to the treatment years earlier. 

Matthews' health has been talked about well while entering the 2026-27 season. Toronto missed the playoffs last year, and the team has undergone a coaching change too as it works on rebuilding around its captain.

Matthews had already been seen golfing publicly during his recovery; this could be a sign that he’s well enough for training camp this September.

Matthews as a player

Even after going through his recent injuries, Matthews is still one of the most productive players on his team. 

He was the No. 1 pick in the 2016 draft and even scored four goals in his NHL debut and ended up winning the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year. He has also won multiple Hart Trophies as MVP and Rocket Richard Trophies as the league's top goal-scorer, including two 60-goal seasons.

Matthews is now Toronto's all-time leading goal-scorer, with 428 goals and 780 points in 689 career games. 

He has scored 60 or more goals twice in a season. He also holds a career-high 69 goals and 107 points during the 2023-24 campaign. He signed a four-year, $53 million extension with the Maple Leafs in 2023 and was named team captain before the 2024-25 season. 

Internationally, Matthews captained the United States and led them to a gold medal at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan. But his last season was limited by injuries; he finished with 27 goals and 53 points in 60 games.

This was well below his usual pace, but making a healthy comeback this coming season would be his priority.

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Written by

Aadhya Nalla

Edited by

Suyashdeep Sason