The Toronto Maple Leafs have been the subject of a lot of talk across the NHL over the last week. Last Thursday, their captain Auston Matthews was injured from a knee-on-knee hit from Anaheim Ducks captain Radko Gudas. He was given a five-minute major and a game misconduct on the play. Unfortunately, Matthews needed help to get off the ice and couldn’t put weight on his left leg and has been ruled out for the remainder of the 2025-26 season.
Related: Auston Matthews’ Injury Gives Him Time to Weigh Future
Aside from the terrible hit that Gudas threw on Matthews, the worst thing about the play was the lack of response from the Maple Leafs’ players on the ice. And now it looks like there is going to be some aftermath felt throughout the organization due to the lack of response.
Maple Leafs to Face Ramifications
When Matthews went down and was lying on the ice, there were three Maple Leafs looking right at the play. But yet, no one jumped in and defended their captain. After the game they spoke, and all had very generic answers. William Nylander, who said after the game that he didn’t see the hit, had his arms up in the air after Matthews was kneed. Morgan Rielly, who took full accountability, also said he didn’t see it. However, he was looking down the ice in that direction and should have seen him lying there. Lastly, Easton Cowan, mind you a rookie, skated right by the injured Matthews but did nothing to Gudas.
It was an overall embarrassment and has since caught fire across the NHL. Just about every fan base is commenting on how there was no response and there should have been when their captain and best player was down on the ice. Former Maple Leafs enforcer Jay Rosehill had this to say on his podcast about how the club handled the hit last Thursday night.
“You go flying in there, and you f***ing ask questions later.”
This way of thinking has been a very popular one. So much so that NHL insider Elliotte Friedman spoke about it on his Saturday Headlines segment on Hockey Night in Canada. He mentioned that there is a belief that the lack of response could have major ramifications on the team and how it is constructed going forward.
“There is no question in my mind that internally, it will have ramifications on the future and the construction of the team. I tried to speak to as many people as I could, and there were words like ‘embarrassed’ and ‘apoplectic’ thrown around about how everybody felt about what happened. It was a pretty emotional scene in the second intermission. Craig Berube said he talked to the players about it. You saw the way they came out for the third against Anaheim, and Saturday.”
“Right now, the Maple Leafs and Auston Matthews are hopeful he won’t need surgery. They won’t know for probably a week or two, but they are hopeful he won’t need it. The key thing here is that even if he does need surgery, there isn’t any concern at this time that it would take him into next season. They believe he’ll be able to recover over the summer and would start next season on time if surgery was not necessary.”
First and foremost, the Maple Leafs need to figure out if Matthews wants to stay with the organization or if he wants to be dealt. And then after that, they need to try and find a way to change the culture on and off the ice. One thing is clear, the Maple Leafs need to make changes and at this point, it doesn’t seem like anyone is untouchable.
