If you haven’t seen the criticisms of the Toronto Maple Leafs following a brutal knee-on-knee that took Auston Matthews out of the game against the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday night, then you must have left your phone on the bedside table this morning.
Late in the second period in Toronto with the Maple Leafs down a goal, notorious NHL goon – and somehow the captain of the Ducks – Radko Gudas took a run at the Maple Leafs’ captain who had just received a pass alone in front of the Ducks’ net.
Leading with his knee, Gudas went straight into Matthews and didn’t seem to change his path, looking at the clip of the play. Matthews stayed down on the ice before being helped off and didn’t return for the remainder of the game. This is the second star that Gudas has injured in the last month – having taken out Sidney Crosby at the Olympics, which cost Crosby the rest of the tournament and he’s still sitting out for the Penguins.
Now, the hit itself isn’t the part that is surprising. After all, Gudas has a rap sheet of 21 games worth of suspensions that has cost him upwards of $750,000 in his career. What was surprising, however, was the response – or the lack thereof – from the rest of the Maple Leafs with their captain laying on the ice.
Maple Leafs Stand Pat With Matthews Down
The team has since been criticized for their overall response to the Gudas hit, and rightfully so. After all, checked out or not, the Maple Leafs should have more fight than anyone given the way their season has gone and the questions around their culture in the room from former players like Ryan O’Reilly and, more recently, Bobby McMann.
Instead, it was a matter of picking up the pieces after the game with Morgan Rielly taking blame for not having stepped in and William Nylander noting that he wasn’t sure he even saw the end result. All of that while Craig Berube noted that all four guys should’ve been in there grabbing a dance partner following the knee-on-knee.
Related: Maple Leafs’ Response to Gudas Knee on Matthews Too Little, Too Late
Instead, there was nothing. No response. No defence of their captain. Simply put – it was a sad state of affairs.
The Maple Leafs did go on to win the game – a win that some outside the room would argue worsens their season given fans want a top-five pick at this point in the 2026 NHL Draft. But a response on the scoreboard – I guess.
But there was one player on the team who did show some spunk, albeit following another big hit on one of his teammates.
The Robertson Hit and the Cowan Response
With just over six minutes left in the game, Jackson LaCombe hammered Nicholas Robertson along the boards. The hit was clean, but hard, with the Maple Leafs up 5-3. This time, however, there was a response and it came from an unexpected place in the lineup – Easton Cowan.
As the play drove back up the ice, cheers started from the lower level as Cowan grappled with LaCombe. Gloves off. Punches thrown. But his defence of his teammate spoke volumes in comparison to the lack of response on the Gudas hit.
A guy that has battled all season long, Cowan’s heart and frustration in that moment may just have solidified his spot in the lineup – at least for the remainder of the season. The six-foot, 190-pound rookie was throwing body shots on the six-foot-two, 208-pound defenceman and while there may not have been a clear winner in the tilt, it was the response that stood out for most people after the game.
Cowan’s Response Hints At A Needed Culture Shift for Maple Leafs
Maybe the biggest takeaway from Cowan’s response was the need for an overhaul of culture with the Maple Leafs. Having moved on from Ryan Reaves, guys like Jake McCabe and Max Domi can’t be the only ones who are willing to respond in big moments of a hockey game – or when their captain is taken out of the game.
Cowan, a 20-year-old rookie, certainly isn’t the first name that comes to mind when the Maple Leafs need someone to step up physically or to throw a couple punches, but his willingness to get involved with a big hit taking down one of his teammates is just another asset that comes with being a blue-collar player. He can produce offensively, but he’s also not afraid to muck it up from time to time.
It is a response we haven’t seen from the Maple Leafs on a regular basis for quite some time. From the days of Darcy Tucker and Shayne Corson, from Tie Domi and Wade Belak, there’s been a missing component to the Maple Leafs room and game and it was severely evident last night when Matthews was hit.
While it might only last for a short while, the Cowan tilt should act as a reminder of what that team camaraderie looks like – a shift the team needs to make if they want to find a way out of the 2025-26 hole they’ve been stuck in. At the end of the day, however, it shouldn’t fall on the 20-year-old rookie to send that message.
