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Auston Matthews secretive about injuries, while other Maple Leafs open up

Auston Matthews secretive about injuries, while other Maple Leafs open up

National Post20-05-2025

With their season done, the Maple Leafs pulled back to the hospital room curtain on several injuries.
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While captain Auston Matthews steadfastly refused to discuss his lingering upper-body issue — which would've stop ongoing speculation — he did share some details of what derailed his shot at a third Rocket Richard Trophy.
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He dropped from 69 goals in 81 games to 33 in 67 this past campaign, with just three in 13 post-season appearances.
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'It was a very tough season, physically,' the Matthews said Tuesday at the Ford Performance Centre. 'I got injured in training camp, wasn't feeling great for the first month or so and went to (a clinic in) Germany to do all those things to feel better, get to a place where I felt I could manage it better.
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'There were good stretches and stretches where I didn't feel very good. It impacted a lot of things,' he said when asked about his shooting. 'I'm confident with some time off, going through my own process and treatment that I'll be back 100% next season.'
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In other words, no surgery is required.
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Matthews indicated he doesn't want to give opponents information they could potentially use against him, although the next Leafs game of consequence is five months away.
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Defenceman Chris Tanev, hit more than any Leaf in playoffs and their lead shot-blocker all season, volunteered he had come through a sterno-clavicular (collarbone) injury in March, but was none the worse for wear when the Senators and Panthers hunted him.
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Also on Tuesday, goaltender Anthony Stolarz finally was available to discuss what happened in Game 1 against the Panthers that concussed him.
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The 6-foot-6 Stolarz said it was not caused by Sam Reinhart's hard shot that dislodged his mask, but was indeed former teammate Sam Bennett's elbow to the head that wasn't detected by the officials.
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'It was unfortunate, he just caught me in a bad spot,' Stolarz said. 'No malicious intent on Benny's part. Not just him but that entire team plays hard. He obviously felt pretty bad. It's a pretty fast game and s*** is going to happen. About 45 minutes later, I felt the symptoms.'
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After trying to continue playing, he was ill at the Leafs bench and stretchered to hospital.

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Canadian bantamweight boxer Amanda Galle signs with MVP, looks to add titles
Canadian bantamweight boxer Amanda Galle signs with MVP, looks to add titles

National Post

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  • National Post

Canadian bantamweight boxer Amanda Galle signs with MVP, looks to add titles

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'An honour': Inside the PWHL's expansion draft with the 1st overall pick
'An honour': Inside the PWHL's expansion draft with the 1st overall pick

CBC

timean hour ago

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'An honour': Inside the PWHL's expansion draft with the 1st overall pick

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Canadian bantamweight boxer Amanda Galle signs with MVP, looks to add titles
Canadian bantamweight boxer Amanda Galle signs with MVP, looks to add titles

CTV News

timean hour ago

  • CTV News

Canadian bantamweight boxer Amanda Galle signs with MVP, looks to add titles

Amanda Galle of Canada, left, lands a blow to Lorena Cruz Aispuro of Mexico during their bantamweight bout in Laval, Que., Thursday, March 16, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes TORONTO — Canadian boxer Amanda (Bambola) Galle already holds the IBO bantamweight title. Now the 36-year-old from Mississauga, Ont., wants to add to her collection. Galle (11-0-1) will get a bigger platform to do so, having signed with Most Valuable Promotions (MVP) co-founded by Jake Paul and Nakisa Bidarian. 'I know it's going to put me on big cards with tremendous viewership … Just a bigger stage, a bigger audience,' Galle said of what she expects from the new partnership. 'Family members having the ability to tune in from their couch and watch me on TV.' After signing with MVP, Canadian lightweight (Prince) Lucas Bahdi found himself on the undercard of Paul's November 2024 bout with Mike Tyson before a crowd of 72,300 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, where Bahdi won a majority decision over Italian Armando (La Furia del Quadraro) Casamonica. Shown on Netflix, the main event maxed out at 65 million concurrent streams. In addition to fighting before a bigger audience, Galle is looking to 'take my career to the next level and go collect all the goods that I'm working so hard for.' That would be the big four WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO titles. 'I want all the (championship) belts,' said Galle. The undisputed bantamweight (118-pound) title is on the line July 11 on MVP's all-women boxing card at Madison Square Garden, headlined by the trilogy fight between Ireland's Katie Taylor and Puerto Rico's Amanda Serrano for the undisputed super-lightweight title. The card sees American Shurretta Metcalf take on New Zealand-born Australian Cherneka Johnson with the bantamweight titles on the line. Galle won the vacant IBO title by in December 2023 defeating Venezuela's Niorkis Carreno and won a rematch last time out in December. She has won five straight since a draw with Mexico's Jaqueline Mucio Munoz in July 2022 and says she is ready to go again. 'I've been in the gym the last six months … feeling very strong, healthy and in shape,' she said. So ready that she told MVP that she is ready to step in, if needed, on the July 11 card. Denmark's Dina Thorslund was originally slated to face Metcalf in New York but has stepped away from fighting to have a baby. The MSG show also features Canadian Tamm Thibeault, a former Olympian and world amateur middleweight champion from Shawinigan, Que., who takes on American Mary Casamassa. Montreal's Jessica Camara takes on England's Chantelle Cameron on the card for the WBC interim super-lightweight title. Galle was handled previously by DiBella Entertainment and Toronto-based Lee Baxter Promotions. 'I have to give them gratitude that they did keep me busy' Galle said. 'And Lee Baxter brought the IBO world championship belt to my backyard in Toronto, so I was able to fight for it in front of all my fans … I displayed an Italian buffet of punches.' She said that win made her realize 'I could be the best. I can beat the best.' That's because Carreno fought Thorslund in April 2022, losing a unanimous decision for the WBO bantamweight title. 'And she gave (Thorslund) a hell of a more difficult time than she gave me,' added Galle. Galle started in combat sports at age six, earning her black belt in karate after being inspired by TV's 'Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.' Switching to boxing, she had her first fight at 16 and went on to win three national titles (on 2009, 2013 and 2018). Galle turned pro in 2019. Her nickname Bambola is Italian for doll. 'Fourteen years as an amateur (boxer), six years as a pro, I'm doing 20 years of boxing and I still classify my face as being a beautiful doll. So I'm fulfilling that name all right,' she said with a chuckle. A graduate of Toronto Metropolitan University (formerly Ryerson University) in early childhood education, Galle has always trained at All Canadian Martial Arts Academy in Mississauga. Today she teaches boxing at the gym's academy. She is also an ambassador for Fight To End Cancer in honour of her mother, who died in 2022 — nine years after being diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer. Galle won the Canadian super-bantamweight title two weeks before her mother died. Article by Neil Davidson.

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