VANCOUVER — New Avalanche forward Shawn Matthias returned to Toronto Maple Leafs’ lineup Saturday and scored a goal against the Flyers, his sixth of the season. He had missed two weeks with a neck injury after colliding with a teammate during a Feb. 6 game against the Senators.
Colorado to the Maple Leafs. Smith, 22, was the of the American Hockey League.
Via phone, Matthias — who celebrated his 28th birthday Friday — told me his neck is 100 percent and he’s thrilled to go from a probable draft lottery team to one that is in the playoff hunt. The Maple Leafs have 50 points, tied with Edmonton for the lowest in the league.
“I’m excited. Lot of skill, beautiful place to play,” Matthias, from Mississauga, Ontario, said of the Avs and Colorado. “I know some guys on the team and I know some guys who have played there and they all say great things. I was surprised this morning. I wasn’t expecting that phone call today but I’m excited to join the team and can’t wait to get started.”
Thanks to Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston, @reporterchris, for emailing me this quote:
“An exceptional pro. He comes to work every day, he leaves everything on the ice. He’s committed. You don’t even know he’s around sometimes, but he’s ready to do anything and everything the coach asks of him. I gained tremendous respect for him. But I did see him do this in Florida when he was there when we played them quite often, so it wasn’t something I didn’t expect. I think he’s going to be a decided asset to the role that Colorado is asking him to play” — Maple Leafs GM Lou Lamoriello, on Sunday conference call
Matthias remains in Toronto, currently unable to travel to Denver because of visa issues. He might not be available to play Wednesday against the San Jose Sharks at the Pepsi Center. “I have to stay here a little while and work on my visa, until I can get back into the States,” he said. “I’m not too sure how it all works but they got some people working on it now, so hopefully I’ll be taking off shortly and joining the team.”
Matthias has the size of Erik Johnson, the Avs’ biggest player at 6-foot-4 and 232 pounds. Matthias is listed at 6-4, 231.
“I think I’m a third-line type of player. I play hard down low in the corners, play the grinding style,” Matthias said. “Last year in Vancouver I played mostly third line and it suited me while and I thought I embraced that role and did a good job with it.”
Matthias had a career-high 18 goals in 78 games with the Canucks. As a free agent last summer, he signed a one-year deal for $2.3 million. He can again be a UFA this summer.
He was frustrated in Toronto, scoring just six times in 51 games. “We struggled offensively this year. Not a lot of guys were scoring. We just had a tough time finding the back of the net,” he said.
Matthias becomes the 14th forward on the Avs’ active roster. Given that the team is carrying just seven defensemen, one fewer than normal, it’s safe to assume coach Patrick Roy will carry 14 forwards/seven D instead of 13/eight. I’ll speak to Roy before tonight’s game at Rogers Arena and clear that up.
