Tkachuk Brothers Blast Maple Leafs for Abandoning Matthews

The Tkachuk brothers blast Maple Leafs segment on their Wingmen podcast said what half the hockey world was already thinking. Matthew and Brady Tkachuk ripped Toronto for standing around while their captain lay crumpled on the ice after Radko Gudas drove a knee through Auston Matthews on March 12. Not one Leaf stepped up. Not one.

The brothers didn't hold back. Both are Olympic teammates of Matthews — they won gold together at the 2026 Winter Games in Milan — and the idea that a locker room could watch its franchise player get destroyed without consequences genuinely baffled them. Matthew Tkachuk has called Matthews “so incredible” as a leader and captain. Brady Tkachuk plays in the same division and knows exactly what defending your guys looks like. Their message was blunt: that kind of non-response wouldn't fly on their teams. Period.

The Play That Started It All

The play that launched the Tkachuk brothers blast Maple Leafs rant happened in the second period at Scotiabank Arena. Leafs leading the Anaheim Ducks. Matthews received a pass near the Ducks' net. Gudas closed on him with a deliberate knee-on-knee collision that sent Matthews crashing to the ice. He didn't get up right away. Officials assessed Gudas a five-minute major and a game misconduct.

The diagnosis came the next day. Grade 3 MCL tear. Quad contusion. Season over.

Matthews — 28 years old, $13.25 million cap hit, two years left on his deal — won't play another game in 2025-26. The NHL's Department of Player Safety handed Gudas a five-game suspension, the maximum allowed under a phone hearing. Matthews' agent Judd Moldaver called it “laughable and preposterous.” Coach Craig Berube said it plainly: “You lose your star player for the year, and the guy is a repeat offender. It just doesn't seem like enough.”

Key Takeaways

  • Tkachuk brothers blast Maple Leafs on their Wingmen podcast for not defending Matthews after the Gudas knee-on-knee hit
  • Matthews out for season: Grade 3 MCL tear + quad contusion, suffered March 12 vs. Anaheim
  • Gudas suspension: 5 games (maximum for phone hearing) — Leafs and Matthews' camp wanted more
  • Zero physical response: Nylander, Rielly, Carlo, and Cowan were on the ice — nobody confronted Gudas
  • Berube admitted failure: “Obviously we should've had four guys in there doing something about it”
  • Friedman: Incident will have “lasting ramifications” on Leafs roster composition

Nobody Moved. That's the Problem.

This is the part that made the Tkachuk brothers blast Maple Leafs reaction resonate so hard. Watch the replay. Matthews is down. Gudas is right there. And the Leafs players on the ice — William Nylander, Morgan Rielly, Brandon Carlo, rookie Easton Cowan — did absolutely nothing.

Nylander, the closest player to the hit, raised his arm. To signal a penalty. To the referees. That was his response to watching his captain get kneed.

“I probably should've jumped in there,” Nylander admitted afterward. Probably.

Rielly took responsibility postgame. “Myself and the other people on the ice have to take responsibility for not being in there earlier,” he said. He claimed he didn't fully see the contact and thought Matthews had tripped. Fine. But that excuse evaporates the moment you see your captain writhing on the ice and the guy who did it still standing five feet away.

Berube didn't sugarcoat it either. “Obviously we should've had four guys in there doing something about it. But it didn't happen.” The only Leaf who showed any fight the rest of the night was Cowan — a rookie. The Edmonton Oilers have their own injury concerns right now, but nobody questions whether that locker room would protect Connor McDavid.

Jeff Marek relayed a question that's been circulating through hockey circles since the incident, originally posed by Anthony Stewart's father: “Are you a club or are you a team?”

Toronto still doesn't have an answer. And that silence is exactly why the Tkachuk brothers blast Maple Leafs take landed so hard across the league.

What's Next After the Tkachuk Brothers Blast Maple Leafs

The fallout is just beginning. Elliotte Friedman reported that the Matthews-Gudas incident will have “lasting ramifications” within the Leafs organization, with GM Brad Treliving already pushing internally for roster changes that address the team's toughness problem. Berube was hired in 2024 specifically to inject grit into this group. Two years later, his players watched their franchise center get maimed and did nothing.

The next Leafs-Ducks game is March 30 in Anaheim. That one will be circled. But the bigger question is whether this incident accelerates a full cultural overhaul in Toronto. Matthews has two years left at $13.25 million. Trade speculation has already surfaced. Even the Ottawa Senators — Brady Tkachuk's team — are making offseason moves to improve, while the Leafs face existential questions about their identity.

The Tkachuk brothers blast Maple Leafs moment wasn't just podcast entertainment. It was two players who compete at the highest level stating the obvious: you protect your teammates. Always. Toronto failed that test in front of 19,000 people, and the hockey world noticed.

Frequently Asked Questions

What did the Tkachuk brothers say about the Maple Leafs?

Matthew and Brady Tkachuk criticized the Toronto Maple Leafs on their Wingmen podcast for failing to physically respond after Radko Gudas delivered a season-ending knee-on-knee hit on Auston Matthews. The Tkachuk brothers blast Maple Leafs segment highlighted that no Toronto player confronted Gudas while Matthews was down on the ice, something they said would never happen on their own teams.

How long is Auston Matthews out after the Gudas hit?

Matthews is out for the remainder of the 2025-26 season with a Grade 3 MCL tear and quad contusion. The injury occurred on March 12 during a game against the Anaheim Ducks. Recovery from a Grade 3 MCL tear typically takes around six weeks, and Matthews is not expected to miss time next season. The Tkachuk brothers blast Maple Leafs reaction underscored just how shocking the non-response was to players around the league.

How many games was Radko Gudas suspended?

Gudas received a five-game suspension from the NHL Department of Player Safety, which was the maximum allowed under a phone hearing format. The Maple Leafs, Matthews' agent Judd Moldaver, and coach Craig Berube all publicly stated the punishment was insufficient for a repeat offender whose hit ended a franchise player's season. The Tkachuk brothers blast Maple Leafs podcast also echoed that sentiment, arguing the league needs to do more to protect stars.