Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews has said that he is ready to return.
Matthews confirmed the news on the morning skate before Toronto's home game against the Boston Bruins on Saturday night.
The star center has missed the last six games with an upper-body injury. He last played on Dec. 20 and was placed on injured reserve last Tuesday.
The Leafs posted a 3-3-0 record in his absence.
Matthews, who also missed nine games in November, was joined in the morning skate by Matthew Neese and Mitch Marner.
The Leafs star, who won the Rocket Richard Trophy last season with a franchise-record 69 goals, has 11 goals and 12 assists in 24 games this season.
The first overall pick in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft has 672 points (379-293) in 586 career regular-season games.
