The Toronto Maple Leafs were able to get past a damning eight-game losing streak with a square victory over the Anaheim Ducks. However, disappointment hung heavy as the news of Auston Matthews’ season-ending knee injury emerged. The Leafs have already lost one game with their captain out of the lineup and have several more to play. Amid rising tensions, Max Domi has sent a warning flying in Radko Gudas’ direction.
Max Domi Seeks to Avenge Toronto Maple Leafs Captain Auston Matthews
The Maple Leafs are a shell of what they were last season. While the team finished at the top of the standings in 2024-25, they have been pushed to the other end of the table in about a year. Matthews led Team USA to a legendary gold medal finish at Milano-Cortina, but when he returned to the NHL ice, the Maple Leafs captain could not sustain his winning ways.
The Olympic break did no good for the Leafs, and the team faced eight successive defeats before snatching a 6-4 win over the Ducks at Scotiabank Arena. However, the conquest against Anaheim left the team’s captain with a devastating knee injury, ending his season prematurely.
Matthews sustained a Grade 3 MCL tear and a quad contusion in his left leg after a knee-on-knee collision with veteran defenseman Radko Gudas, who was also responsible for ending Sidney Crosby’s Olympic quest with Team Canada. After the Matthews debacle, Gudas was suspended for five games by the NHL Department of Player Safety.
The Maple Leafs are left without a captain for the rest of this already devastating season. To that end, Domi made it adequately clear that he is no fan of how things unfolded in the showdown against the Ducks. “I am not going to get into it, but you never wanna see anyone going down like that, especially the Captain, one of the best players in the world. You don’t like to see that.”
Toronto answered for the injustice meted out to Matthews by emerging victorious over the Ducks, and it is only a matter of time before the teams lock horns again. Certainly, the Leafs are expected to fight harder to avenge their captain. “I think we have kind of put to bed now, certainly not happy about it, and we play them in a couple of weeks,” Domi reminded the world.
Questions have arisen about the fairness of the penalty imposed on Gudas. Matthews’ agent, Judd Moldaver, could not hide his disdain when speaking about the verdict. “In light of the obvious severity of the play, I am disappointed and shocked the league would allow such a ruling. A phone hearing and 5 games is laughable and preposterous.”
ALSO READ: Where To Watch Maple Leafs Vs. Wild Tonight: TV Schedule, Live Stream, And Injury Reports
The Leafs are heading to Saint Paul to face the formidable Minnesota Wild for their second consecutive game without Matthews. The puck drops at 7:30 p.m. ET at Grand Casino Arena.
