The Toronto Maple Leafs, coach Craig Berube, are facing the remainder of the season without captain Auston Matthews after a knee-on-knee collision with Radko Gudas of the Anaheim Ducks resulted in a serious injury.
Shortly after the incident, the NHL Department of Player Safety announced a five-game suspension for Gudas. The ruling came the same day the Maple Leafs confirmed that Matthews suffered a Grade 3 tear of the medial collateral ligament along with a quad contusion, an injury that will sideline him for the rest of the season.
Matthews’ agent Judd Moldaver slammed the Gudas suspension and questioned NHL Player Safety. He argued that the decision damages confidence in the league’s disciplinary process.
Toronto head coach Berube expressed frustration with the decision. “Looking at it, we lose our guy, our captain for the year, I don’t know, it doesn’t seem like enough for me… guy doing it is a repeat offender, it just doesn’t seem like enough,” Berube said via TSN’s Mark Masters.
Head Coach Craig Berube of the Maple Leafs talks on the bench. Chris Gardner/Getty Images
Maple Leafs players question the ruling
Several players echoed Berube’s concerns about the suspension. John Tavares said the penalty “could’ve been longer,” noting that Matthews will miss far more time than the five games Gudas received.
Forward Matthew Knies shared a similar view, pointing to the significance of losing the team’s top player. “Our best player, our captain, is not going to be with us for the rest of the year. That’s a big loss… I would’ve loved to see a little bit more,” Knies said.
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