Matthews suffered a Grade 3 MCL tear and a quad contusion from the knee by Gudas.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are upset that their captain, Auston Matthews, won't be there to battle alongside them for the remainder of the season.
It was looking up for the 28-year-old to begin Thursday night against the Anaheim Ducks.
After going 12 games without a goal, Matthews finally got on the board during a power play in the second period. It was his first time finding the back of the net since Jan. 27 against the Buffalo Sabres.
But minutes later, Matthews' season was ripped to shreds as he took a knee from Ducks defenseman Radko Gudas in Anaheim's end. Matthews struggled to get back to his feet and ultimately needed assistance exiting the ice.
It didn't look good. It wasn't good.
"As soon as I saw it, I figured it was that severe," said Jake McCabe on Saturday morning, ahead of their game against the Sabres.
Not even 24 hours later, after undergoing a series of tests, the Maple Leafs announced that Matthews' season was over. He had suffered a Grade 3 MCL tear and a quad contusion to his left leg on the knee from Gudas.
The Ducks defenseman earned himself a five-game suspension from NHL Player Safety for the hit.
Toronto is, no doubt, upset about the lack of a suspension given to Gudas. While five games are a lot to miss, several Maple Leafs on Saturday, ahead of their game against the Sabres, questioned why it's not longer given that Matthews' season is over.
"You lose a guy for the rest of the year, your leader, their guy gets five games," McCabe added. "I don't know. It's not the first time he's done it, either, so, frustrating."
What's equally as frustrating is that they won't Matthews for the remainder of the season. It hasn't been the best year for Toronto, but it would've been nice for each player to finish the season on a strong note.
"You don't like to see that happen to anybody," said head coach Craig Berube of Matthews' injury. "We'll miss him."
Fellow linemate and Arizona native Matthew Knies said he hasn't spoken with Matthews yet, but will reach out either later on Saturday or on Sunday. John Tavares spoke to Matthews "briefly" after Thursday's game, when he suffered the injury.
"I haven't talked to him over the phone or in person since he got the diagnosis," Tavares continued.
"I chatted with him briefly after the game. I think you just tell he's probably still processing where he's at and the significance of the injury and what it is and timeline and all those sorts of things. Just briefly connected, texting yesterday, just hoping he was feeling not too bad and seeing where things were at.
"It'll be good to see him after the next couple games and pick up his spirits. Obviously, I think it's difficult, obviously, anytime you have an injury. But I know he'll turn the page and do whatever he's got to do to take care of himself and respond and get himself healthy and put himself in a really good spot moving forward."
Not only has it been an up-and-down year for the Maple Leafs team as a whole, but it's also been the same for Matthews, who, at times this year, looked strong. And then, in other moments, not so strong.
He's not on his usual goalscoring pace — and he hasn't been for two years straight now — though there were signs during the season that he could return to the Matthews of old.
As the season progressed, the forward's game appeared to be building. In January, Matthews broke the Maple Leafs' goal record. But the culmination of Matthews' year was winning a gold medal at the Olympics with the United States.
His NHL season finishes with 27 goals and 53 points in 60 games.
"A rollercoaster" is how Berube would describe Matthews' 2025-26 campaign.
"I think a lot up and down throughout the season, obviously, and the different things that went on. You can look at going to the Olympics and going to the White House, just a lot of noise. A lot of noise when I assess it, when I look at it all," Berube continued.
"I'm sure as a player, and the captain of the team, a lot going on with him too, you know? Disappointment with where the team's at, and just a number of things, but at the same time, winning Olympic gold, which is obviously a great feat. So, like I said, rollercoaster."