‘Could Have Been More’: Maple Leafs React To Radko Gudas’ 5-Game Suspension For Auston Matthews Hit
While the Maple Leafs grapple with losing their captain for the remainder of the season, the club weighs in on the suspension handed down to Gudas by the NHL Department of Player Safety.
Video Transcript
Your thoughts overall on what went down?
Yeah, and, you know, the Leafs were very good after the game, in terms of, addressing things.
Mm-hmm.
But there wa- it was a non-response, right?
Yeah.
I mean, Gudas, knee on knee against Matthews.
Matthews was down on the ice for a while.
He was helped off, didn't return.
Mm-hmm.
you know, it looks like probably a suspendable hit, and nobody went after Gudas.
And the disturbing thing for me is that that was sort of near the end of the second period, and, you know, apparently, you know, Craig Berube said he spoke to the players during the intermission, and the players talked to each other during the intermission.
But then the next thing that happened in the third was that Chris Kreider cross-checked Calle Jrnkrok in the head, and nobody on the Leafs responded to that either.
It was only like midway through the period that they started going after the Ducks with like bigger hits, and then it kinda culminated with Easton Cowan fighting Jackson LaCombe, which is a sentence that I never thought I'd say.
especially 'cause Cowan was the instigator.
but after the game, you know, the Leafs, you know, Morgan Rielly, William Nylander, who were both on the ice, with Matthews, you know, Rielly was very contrite.
You know, he said, "I take full responsibility.
I should've jumped in there right away."
Mm-hmm.
Nylander said the same thing.
He was like, "Yeah, I, I didn't realize how bad it was, but I should've just jumped in anyways."
And, you know, my sort of thinking of it is, yeah, like you're a hockey team.
Like, you're supposed to have a culture.
Mm-hmm.
It doesn't, it doesn't even matter if a guy is right or wrong on a hit.
If it's a bad hit on one of your players, you go after that player, right?
Your captain, right?
Your captain too, right?
Like, I always go back to, like, you know, the Hunter S. Thompson Hells Angels book.
It's like if one of the Hells Angels picked a fight, no matter how wrong that person was, the rest of the Hells Angels jumped in as well.
Yes.
It's like that's what the Tampa Bay Lightning do.
You kinda take your- That's what the Florida Panthers do back your guy.
Yes.
You know?
Even if you think about, like, the Edmonton Oilers, they have a bunch of guys that will start stuff or end stuff, and that helped them, you know, culture-wise, get to the Stanley Cup Final the past two years.
And I think this was, like, the Leafs finally looking themselves in the mirror and being like, "Wow.
Like, we have a lot to work on here."
Yeah.
And, you know, Berube said he liked the response in the third period, eventually.
Yeah.
Right.
But he said like, yeah, like four guys should've gone after Gudas right away.
