None of the four Maple Leafs on the ice stood up for their captain after the knee from Gudas.
Much like Toronto Maple Leafs fans, general manager Brad Treliving reportedly wasn't thrilled with how his players responded in the aftermath of Auston Matthews getting kneed by Anaheim Ducks defenseman Radko Gudas.
According to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman on 32 Thoughts: The Podcast, Treliving, who wasn't at the game against the Ducks on Thursday, called the Maple Leafs who were directly involved following the game and spoke with them about the incident.
"After I spoke about it on [Saturday Night Headlines], somebody else called me with another fact I wanted to throw in: I heard Brad Treliving was absolute wild about what happened on Thursday night," Friedman said.
"I didn't realize this, but [Treliving] wasn't there — and I should say right from the beginning, he wouldn't comment on this, I heard this second hand — he was out scouting. And I don't know if he was watching the game or he was watching another game and someone told him, I don't know the details, but I heard he was furious," Friedman continued.
"And I heard he called, from the road, some of the players involved. I asked what was said, people wouldn't tell me. They said they weren't going that far, they weren't revealing the conversations. But apparently, he called some of the Leafs players involved from the road."
The phone call appears to be about the lack of response after Gudas's knee to Matthews. Four Maple Leafs were on the ice during the hit: Morgan Rielly, William Nylander, Brandon Carlo, and Easton Cowan.
Not one of those players attempted to stand up to Gudas immediately after the incident.
"It's a dirty hit. I didn't understand how bad he got him in the moment," said Rielly following Toronto's 6-4 win over the Ducks, "but I take full responsibility for not being the first one in there or being there quicker to respond."
"I know I passed the puck to him, but I didn't really see what happened," added Nylander. "I should have probably gotten in there. But I mean, in the situation at the time, I didn't really understand until like 15 seconds later, there was more than what I thought it was. And yeah, I should have jumped in there."
Matthews ended up suffering a Grade 3 MCL tear and a quad contusion to his left leg, ultimately ending his season. And Gudas, who has a history of dirty play, received a five-game suspension for the knee.
"I think looking at it, we lose our guy, our captain for the year," said head coach Craig Berube on Saturday after Gudas' suspension was handed down. "I don't know, it doesn't seem like enough for me, but, you know, I'm not in them positions to make those calls."
Matthews finished his season with 27 goals and 53 points in 60 games, while also winning a gold medal with Team USA at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, in February.
The 28-year-old will be reevaluated soon and is expected to make a full recovery to be ready for Maple Leafs training camp in September.