The Toronto Maple Leafs will be without their captain, Auston Matthews, for the rest of the season after he was injured in a hit by Anaheim Ducks captain Radko Gudas. There was uncertainty on what the next steps would be for Matthews, but it looks like he will be getting surgery, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet.
“We’ll see when it happens, but it sounds like surgery will be part of Auston Matthews’ recovery. There is still plenty of confidence he will start next season on time,” Friedman wrote.
The Maple Leafs are near the bottom of the Atlantic Division, so they weren't going to be in the playoff race at this point, but losing your key player is always a big deal.
As for Gudas, he was suspended for five games due to the hit, and the Department of Player Safety released a statement on the decision.
“Gudas is in control of this play. We acknowledge Gudas's assertion that he is attempting to make a full-body check and prevent a goal. But this contact cannot be excused as a play in which evasive or sudden movements by either player are the primary cause of a knee-on-knee contact,” the Department of Player Safety said in a video.
There were not many people excited about the length of suspension, and it came from many in the Maple Leafs' brass.
“I think the league could've done a little bit more, seeing as our best player [and] our captain [is] not going to be with us for the rest of the year. That's a big loss,: Matthews' linemate Matthew Knies said. “To see a player go down like that and be in as much pain as he was, and a guy like that who is a repeat offender, I don't think it was enough. You just hope that you can trust them that they're doing the right thing.”
