The Toronto Maple Leafs will face the Anaheim Ducks on March 30 for the first time since Radko Gudas injured Auston Matthews and ended the captain's season.
Gudas was suspended five games for his knee-on-knee hit on Matthews, which required the Leafs captain to have surgery, ending his campaign. The hit was a disgusting act by a player with suspension history, so the fact that it was only five games perplexed a ton of hockey fans.
Auston Matthews leaves the game after a knee-on-knee hit from Radko Gudas.
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) March 13, 2026
Gudas was given a five-minute major and a game misconduct. pic.twitter.com/nSRik0j8kw
Gudas was quiet for a few weeks after his suspension but recently spoke about it, as highlighted by our own Nestor Quixtan.
“I really hate the way it ended up, the point of contact,I’m not a fan of that. I never want to injure anybody out there. It’s a hard-fought game. It’s just, yeah, I never want to go out there and hurt anybody. I feel terrible about the outcome. I just committed to the play, and unfortunately that was the point of contact," said Gudas.
“I didn’t like the point of contact, either,. That’s what I’m looking at; I’ve got to respect… I’ve got to learn. I’ve got to be better as a hockey player. I never want to go out there and hurt anybody. It’s very unfortunate. I reached out to him, too. We spoke. I never want to see anybody get hurt, so I feel terrible about that." (via: Sportsnet)
Leafs have no choice but to fight Gudas despite his comments
When Matthews got hit, no player went to his defense, which caused a huge storm. For a team that was supposed to be bigger and tougher, the fact that nobody fought Gudas or did anything to protect their captain was terrible.
Although it won't make up for Gudas' actions, the Leafs need someone to step up the plate and fight Gudas the first time he steps on the ice. I know that may sound crazy as Gudas served his suspension for his actions, but if nobody goes after Gudas, it will continue to show Matthews and the entire Leafs fanbase once again that they don't care about the former Hart Trophy winner.
Gudas is not an easy person to fight, but that doesn't mean that the only person who should fight him is Michael Pezzetta. If Pezzetta, who's only played three games with the Leafs at this point, is the one who steps up and fights Gudas, what does that really do for team culture?
If you want to show the fanbase that this team learned from the Matthews hit and is different moving forward, it needs to be a veteran who runs Gudas. I want to see Nylander drop his gloves at center ice and show his teammate of the past 10 years that his hit was dirty and he wants to do something about it.
If Nylander fought Gudas, he could change the entire fanbase's view of this team in 10 seconds. Even he got punched in the face or broke his hand, who cares at this point? There are less than 10 games left in the season and this team isn't going to the playoffs. Protecting your teammate and fighting a bully is way more important than risking injury so let's see what happens on Monday night, as the Leafs have the chance to do something very special.