Auston Matthews has given Jim Hiller and the Maple Leafs a fresh summer concern after surfacing at a chiropractor in Arizona.
Matthews linked up with sports chiropractor Shawn Robek in Scottsdale, a practitioner known for working with athletes dealing with back pain.
There is no confirmation Matthews is nursing a back injury. But for Toronto, the timing and the body part will get attention after another season marked by health questions.
Matthews played 60 regular-season games last season, finishing with 27 goals and 53 points. Availability became part of the conversation around Toronto's captain again.
That history is why an otherwise routine summer treatment session carries more weight. Leafs fans have already watched Matthews play through enough physical issues.
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The Arizona post showed Matthews smiling alongside Robek, with the chiropractor describing their summer work together during the extreme Scottsdale heat.
Matthews appears relaxed in the photo rather than showing any obvious signs of discomfort, but the connection to back-focused treatment is impossible to ignore.
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Another body part enters the Matthews conversation
The back angle stands apart from the lower-body problem Matthews dealt with after his collision with Radko Gudas. That issue eventually required surgery, adding another chapter to Matthews' growing medical history.
And that's where the uneasiness comes from. Toronto isn't simply waiting for its captain to recover from one isolated problem anymore. Different areas of his body have now demanded attention across multiple seasons.
Matthews is listed as healthy entering the summer, and nothing from the Arizona appearance establishes that he's facing another procedure, absence or setback.
Still, the Maple Leafs need their top centre arriving at training camp without another physical limitation. His deployment drives Toronto's top six, first power-play unit and much of its offensive identity.
For Hiller, Matthews' health will be one of the biggest checkpoints before puck drop. A routine maintenance visit can remain exactly that, but Toronto has earned little room for comfort when its captain's body becomes the story again.
Should Leafs fans be worried about Auston Matthews' back?
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