Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews underwent successful MCL surgery in New York on Thursday, the team announced.
Matthews, who had already been ruled out for the season, now has an expected recovery time of 12 weeks and is likely to be fully healthy for training camp.
He was injured one week earlier from a knee-to-knee hit delivered by Anaheim Ducks captain Radko Gudas. The play earned Gudas a five-game suspension. The Maple Leafs said the play deserved more punishment.
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“We lose our captain for the year,” Leafs coach Craig Berube said. “It doesn’t seem like enough for me.”
Gudas also ended Canada captain Sidney Crosby’s Olympics with a hit in the quarterfinals, though Crosby has said he didn’t believe the play was dirty.
Matthews’ agent, Judd Moldaver, blasted the NHL’s department of player safety in a statement.
“While the process is set in our CBA, that this was the discipline is reckless and ridiculous,” Moldaver wrote. “This decision results in a further loss of confidence in the disciplinary process for all players. Players and fans deserve better. The Player Safety Department should be suspended.”
At this week’s GM meetings, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said the criticism for the department was unfair, and the head of player safety, George Parros, defended the process he and his team have used over the past nine years.
It had already been a challenging season for the Maple Leafs, who are on track to miss the playoffs for the first time since Matthews debuted in 2016-17. Toronto traded away players at this year’s deadline as the team looks to reset.
Matthews, who captained USA to a gold medal in the Olympics, finished his season with 27 goals and 53 points in 60 games while averaging 20:48 ice time a night. While recovering from surgery, Matthews is unlikely to play for Team USA at this spring’s world championships, which pull talent from non-playoff teams.
