Maple Leafs’ Response to Gudas Knee on Matthews Was Too Little, Too Late – The Hockey Writers – Toronto Maple Leafs

The Toronto Maple Leafs 2025-26 season has been disappointing and feels like a lost cause considering their playoff chances are very small. Things went from bad to worse for them after captain Auston Matthews left the game against the Anaheim Ducks after taking a knee from defenseman Radko Gudas. 

While it was a disgusting and deliberate act by Gudas to take out the Maple Leafs captain, what was even more discouraging and disappointing was the lack of response from the Maple Leafs as their captain was left writhing in pain on the ice. The Maple Leafs responded after the fact, but in that moment, the team was quiet and didn’t do a thing to come to Matthews’ defense which left a sour taste in everyone’s mouth. 

Weak Initial Response from Maple Leafs

Needless to say, the initial response from the Maple Leafs when Matthews went down was abysmal. Everyone was left starring at Gudas and no one did a thing which was pathetic to say the least. Your captain and top player goes down with an injury and you do nothing about it? 

Gudas did get ejected with a major for kneeing, but he was gone and there was no chance at him answering the call for his gutless act. For the Maple Leafs to initially do nothing, especially for your captain, really reflected the character as a team. They were weak and for them to do nothing was embarrassing as there was no unity, emotion and no one has anyone’s back.

While head coach Craig Berube applauded the response they had later in the game, the initial one after the hit, he would’ve liked to have seen “four guys in there doing something about it” immediately after it happened. He also added that he addressed that lack of response during the intermission. Even both Morgan Rielly and William Nylander said post-game that they should’ve jumped in and done something immediately after the hit. 

If anything like that happened on any other team, there is absolutely no way that would fly with anyone. If that happened to Connor McDavid, Nathan MacKinnon, Nikita Kucherov, you can rest assured, that there would be a brawl and the perpetrator wouldn’t get away with it. In this case, Gudas got away scot-free with not even a blink from the Maple Leafs, which is unacceptable. 

This isn’t the first time where dirty plays like this happen and their character and response came into question. It was once again at the forefront with the Matthews injury. You shouldn’t have to have your coach tell you what to do in that instance. If you don’t stand up for one another, mainly your captain, what kind of a team are you?  

Related: Maple Leafs Need a Winning Mindset Down the Stretch 

Even if you’re team that may not fight a lot, having each other’s back is imperative in the league. You go after them and show some sort of emotion that you’re not going to get away with it and that you need to answer the call. 

The Third Period Response Everyone Wanted

Just as everyone was wanting something to happen in the aftermath of Matthews’ injury, something was said during intermission because the Maple Leafs came out with the response needed. They were physically dominant in the third period and let their offense take over in the process with goals from Nylander, Benoit-Olivier Groulx and Matthew Knies.  

But the Maple Leafs didn’t just have one response, they went after everyone on the Ducks in a way that made everyone proud. It all started with a response after a Chris Kreider high-stick on Calle Jarnkrok. Nyalnder threw a big body-check. Then there was a tilt between Rielly and Jefferey Viel, followed by Easton Cowan going after Jackson LaCombe for a hit on Nicholas Robertson. Michael Pezzetta was throwing the body and any chance there was a time to send a message after a whistle, the Maple Leafs made sure to do so.

Clearly, the Maple Leafs didn’t forget what happened at the end of the second period and it was great that they showed some fight afterward. Though, where was all of this scrappiness, emotion and passion when Matthews went down? They finally stood up for one of their own albeit very late when they should’ve sent a message in the moment when it happened. 

Related: Friedman Reveals the Real Reason Maple Leafs Fans Are So Frustrated

What’s frustrating with this team is that it took their best player to go down and no initial message to finally get an emotional response, an edge and fight from this team where they finally realized that this is how a team plays in this league. No one is going to fault you for sticking up for your teammate as that is what every team in the league would do. That is the definition of a team mindset and toughness where they showed their competitive side finally showed up. They proved they won’t take anything lightly so why can’t they do that when needed is perplexing?

It’s extremely disappointing that the Maple Leafs didn’t have an initial response to Gudas’ despicable hit. However, they did flip a switch and had the response that would make anyone, including their captain, proud. While that’s commendable, the lack of response initially is problematic as they show no inclination to do anything in the moment and had to be told to do so.