Matthew Tkachuk gives his two cents on the Maple Leafs’ lack of response after hitting Auston Matthews

Florida Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk shared his honest opinion on the Maple Leafs’ lack of response after a critical hit on Auston Matthews.

Matthews has been ruled out for the rest of the season with a Grade 3 MCL tear, which occurred after a knee-to-knee collision with Anaheim Ducks defenseman Radko Gudas during last week’s game.

No one on the Leafs side stood up or retaliated against Gudas after the hit. appearing on Wingmen podcast, Matthew Tkachuk stated that if he and his brother Brady had been on the Toronto Maple Leafs during the game, they probably wouldn’t have lasted the game without being a mess after every whistle.

“Anytime something happens to your best player or captain, there has to be some kind of response. You don’t have to fight for every clean hit, but if something dirty happens or someone gets hurt, you deal with it immediately,” Tkachos said.

He added:

I don’t know, I think Brady and I are pretty old school in the way we think, but if we were on the Leafs, we probably wouldn’t have lasted that game without being a mess after every whistle

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Radko Gudas was banned for five matches, although the length of the ban sparked controversy.