Toronto Maple Leafs fans got the news they didn’t want to hear on Friday afternoon. Captain Auston Matthews sustained a “Grade 3 MCL tear and quad contusion,” The Athletic reported. Consequently, Matthews will miss the rest of the season.
It’s a terribly disappointing end to what could have been Matthews’ last game in Toronto. Matthews, who’s been the Leafs’ best player during this last era, could be staring at a summer of soul-searching.
Since the Leafs’ season began circling the drain, speculation has ramped up about the possibility of Toronto’s first-overall pick from the 2016 NHL Draft skipping town.
Matthews might just end up following Mitch Marner’s lead, opting for a different market in which he can escape the fishbowl that is Toronto.
If that’s the case, this ending is not quite how it was supposed to go. Ideally, Matthews would have ridden off into the sunset after winning a Stanley Cup. But not like this. One of the best players of his generation, wincing in pain on the ice following an egregious hit from one of the dirtiest players in the league, is not the way to go.
At the time of this writing, the NHL has yet to determine if it will suspend Gudas. Unless Gudas gets a lifetime ban and a free trip to Belmarsh, no suspension will make up for the damage the Anaheim Ducks’ captain caused.
That aside, if this was indeed Matthews’ last game as a Toronto Maple Leaf, the fact is that the ending is one that could haunt the 28-year-old and Leafs fans, seemingly forever.
Matthews Maple Leafs could be even more bitter than Marner’s
Mitch Marner’s last game as a Maple Leaf was a bitter Game 7 loss to the Florida Panthers. Yet another Game 7 loss. Marner was unable to slay the dragon, opting to retreat in the bright lights of Sin City. At least Marner can say he died on his feet. He fell to a worthy opponent on the battlefield during his generation’s last stand. That Game 7 was like watching the soldiers at The Alamo trying to fight back against impossible odds.
But not Matthews. Matthews’ end in Toronto would be more akin to a Shakespearean tragedy. Matthews did not get the chance to fall on the battlefield. He was wounded before he could make his team’s final stand.
Now, the Maple Leafs will face the inevitable tailspin that could lead to an unsightly end to their season. The Leafs will be playing for a high draft pick now. There is no point in sugarcoating the situation. Sometimes, a tactical surrender is the best way out of an impossible situation.
But I will say this: Matthews might not want this to be the end of his tenure in Toronto. So, he may stick around for at least one more season. He might want a chance to end his time with the Maple Leafs on his feet, either hoisting the Stanley Cup or falling to a worthy opponent on the ice.