Auston Matthews is out for the season.
The Maple Leafs star suffered a Grade 3 MCL tear in his left knee and a bruised quadriceps muscle after a knee-on-knee hit by Radko Gudas during Toronto’s win over the Ducks on Thursday, taking him out for the rest of the year.
After that game, Toronto coach Craig Berube ripped Gudas for the play on Matthews.
“That’s a dirty play,” Berube said of the hit. “League’s going to obviously look at it and see what the suspension will be or whatever happens.”
Gudas, who played for Team Czechia during the Winter Olympics, also hurt Team Canada’s Sidney Crosby in a collision, which sidelined Crosby for at least one month with a lower-body injury.
He was set to have a telephone hearing with the NHL’s Player Safety department on Friday to determine a possible suspension for the hit on Matthews.
Before that game, Gudas spoke specifically about slowing down Matthews.
“We go to be on top of him,” Gudas said. “We got to make sure that he doesn’t get space in the middle of the ice … make his night’s not enjoyable.”
The injury is a massive blow for Toronto, which has disappointed this season, sitting at 28-27-11 and in last place in the Atlantic Division heading into Friday’s play.
Barring a red-hot finish to the season, the Maple Leafs are set to miss the postseason for the first time since 2015-16.
Matthews, the Maple Leafs’ all-time and single-season goals leader, had 27 goals and 26 assists in 60 games this season before going down with the MCL injury.
He is in the midst of a four-year, $53 million extension that runs through the 2027–28 season.
The 2016 first overall pick has spent his entire career in Toronto, winning the 2021-22 Hart Memorial Trophy and three scoring titles.
He served as a captain for Team USA en route to their first gold medal since 1980.