Auston Matthews may be done for the season, but the bigger question looming over the Maple Leafs is whether Brad Treliving has a plan, if he'll be able to execute it, and Matthews will stick around beyond his contract to see it.
With the Toronto Maple Leafs falling short of expectations this season, the last thing they wanted to deal with was a long-term injury to their captain. But that’s what occurred when the Auston Matthews was kneed by Anaheim Ducks captain Radko Gudas last week.
Speaking to TSN’s Gino Reda at the GM meetings in Florida on Monday, Maple Leafs general manager Brad Treliving provided a health update Matthews, whose had been ruled out for the remainder of the 2025-26 NHL season as a result of a Grade 3 MCL tear and quad contusion sustained from the hit.
"He's doing okay," Treliving said. "As we said, we're probably going to know a little bit more in terms of the next steps over the course of the next few days. That'll determine the timeline, whether there's a surgical procedure or not."
On Friday, the Leafs revealed the extend of Matthews’ injuries stemming from the hit. While Treliving noted that Matthews is "doing as well as he can at this particular time," the mention of a possible surgery suggests that the injury could significantly impact his offseason and perhaps the start of next year, if his body doesn’t respond well in the coming week.
The hit from Gudas resulted in a five-game suspension from the NHL Department of Player Safety. It’s a ruling that clearly didn’t sit well with the Maple Leafs’ front office.
"I’ve made my feelings clear to George [Parros]," Treliving said, referencing the head of Player Safety. "I get it, it’s a difficult job. I just felt strongly that the event itself, the hit, the play, the injury, and the player history, to me, all leaned towards something that would be larger than that."
Beyond the immediate injury concerns and disciplinary disputes, the conversation inevitably turned toward the future. Matthews is entering a critical juncture of his tenure in Toronto, and his long-term commitment to the club could be in question given how things have imploded this season. However, Treliving was quick to pump the brakes on any speculation regarding contract talks or a definitive "direction" for the franchise just yet.
"Auston’s under contract," Treliving noted. "We’ll continue like we do with all our players, talk about things as we get into the offseason. Our focus right now is just we've got 15 games or so ahead of us and finishing out the year. We’ll dive into all those issues later"
For a fan base eager to see the team return to contender status, "later" can’t come soon enough. Treliving acknowledged the frustration surrounding a season that hasn’t met expectations. When asked about the timeline for the Leafs to become playoff and Stanley Cup threats again, the GM pointed back to the work that started at the trade deadline.
"We’ve underperformed this year," Treliving admitted. "As I said at the trade deadline, there’s certainly some changes that we need to make. That’s the plan that we’re going to formulate moving forward to get this team back to where we think it’s capable of being"
It’s clear the Leafs don’t have a plan right now about how they want to go about this season as they try to get through the final 14 contests. Both Treliving, and head coach Craig Berube’s future is up in the air.
Matthews’ contract runs through the end of the 2027-28 season and sure the captain will want to know what the direction the club is going in.