When Auston Matthews started his career, he was sporting equipment from esteemed hockey equipment manufacturer Bauer, and found great success to the start of his NHL journey.
But he transitioned over to CCM after a few years, and while while he has been one of the faces of the brand, with his recent injury and scoring issues, a potential switch back is in the works.
Missing a month with a lower body injury, Matthews has returned to put up some decent numbers but isn't the dominant force he was last season.
But keen eyed fans have noticed that Matthews, who was skating using CCM-branded skates to start this season, noticed a switch back to a Bauer skate, perhaps trying to find comfort in an old friend.
Fans also pointed out that Matthews' gloves were not his typical gloves that have his name and number embroidered on them, but a standard pair of CCM gloves, signaling perhaps a shift back to Bauer as he just used a basic pair last game.
When Matthews was a representative of Bauer, it was from 2015-16 until the COVID shortened 2020 season. Since then he's been using CCM and went on a tear, including his 69-goal season last year.
But equipment has a lot to do with how a player performs, and Matthews' injury could have been caused indirectly by some ill-fitting equipment, and the captain couldn't get comfortable and it led to him exerting himself to the point of being hurt.
If Matthews' struggled are due to the equipment he wears, it's a great sign to see him being proactive and taking the initiative to change things for the betterment of the team as opposed to keeping a brand happy.
Toronto needs their captain to start doing wild on the ice, and being as dominant as he was last season, and perhaps that starts with a simple change to what he wears on the ice.