Leafs may be forced to play without Auston Matthews on Wednesday due to NHL scheduling mistake

Coming into the 2026 Olympic Games, Team USA captain Auston Matthews was under intense scrutiny, but when it mattered most, he stepped up, tallying 3 goals and 7 points in 6 games as he led his team to a gold medal.

This led to some of his teammates calling out the Toronto media that have labelled him as someone that can't lead a team to a victory, but now, they may have something else to take issue with.

Unsurprisingly, the United States team are looking to continue their celebrations following Sunday's win, with the team likely set to visit the White House as a result of their gold medal.

However, the Toronto Maple Leafs are set to return to action on Wednesday against the Tampa Bay Lightning, with reporter Darren Dreger now revealing the team fear that Matthews will not be in the lineup for that game, despite being their captain.

As of right now, it's unclear whether or not 34 will be returning for that game, and while no other teams and players are named, as some don't begin play until Thursday, it appears as though more than just Toronto are worried they will be missing players.

Ultimately, the team could cut their celebrations short to return to the NHL, but at the end of the day, this appears to be an issue with the NHL's scheduling, as they gave very little time for the team to both celebrate and return home to North America, and now, it's set to effect some teams moving forward.

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