As a hometown Toronto kid, Shawn Matthias began living the purest vision of his NHL dream the moment he signed with the Maple Leafs as an unrestricted free agent this summer. And, as evidenced in his subtle-yet-important contributions during the Buds’ 4-2 loss to Winnipeg Wednesday, Matthias is settling in nicely and proving his value to the team.
“It’s getting better,” Matthias, who grew up in suburban Mississauga, just west of the downtown Toronto core, said of his game and performance on the penalty kill. “Still some errors – they had some good chances late in the second period there – but every day we’re working on it.