Shawn Matthias

Playing career

Matthias played major junior hockey with the Belleville Bulls of the Ontario Hockey League before being drafted by the Detroit Red Wings. In his first OHL season, he was 6'2 and 170 pounds. During the 2006–07 season, his rights were traded to the Florida Panthers along with conditional draft picks for Todd Bertuzzi. The Panthers called him up from Belleville on January 18, 2008, and in his second NHL game the next day, he scored his first two goals against Washington Capitals goaltender Brent Johnson.

On March 4, 2014, Matthias and goaltender Jacob Markström were traded to the Vancouver Canucks for Roberto Luongo and Steven Anthony. He recorded his first NHL hat-trick on February 13, 2015, in a 5–2 Canucks win over the Boston Bruins. After a career-high 18 goals and 27 points in 2014–15, the Canucks did not re-sign him, and on July 6, 2015, he signed a one-year, $2.3 million deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs as an unrestricted free agent. Matthias stated he was a Maple Leafs fan growing up and was happy to play for his hometown team.

He made his Maple Leafs debut on October 7, 2015, in a 3–1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens. His scoring pace dropped from the prior season, but he contributed 17 points in 51 games before being traded on February 21, 2016, to the Colorado Avalanche for a fourth-round pick and prospect Colin Smith. The Avalanche did not qualify for the postseason. On July 1, 2016, Matthias left Colorado as a free agent and signed a two-year deal with the Winnipeg Jets.