The fallout from the Toronto Maple Leafs lack of response to captain Auston Matthews getting his MCL torn by Radko Gudas continues as it’s still a hot topic debated across Leafs Nation.
While the talk surrounds player safety and the lack of consistency from George Parros and the department of player safety, the lack of any fight or anger from the Maple Leafs remains a major concern. So much so, that it even resonated with general manager Brad Treliving as there were rumblings that even he made his voice heard in regards to his disappointment with the team.
Players Feeling the Heat From Treliving
On the segment “Saturday Headlines” during Hockey Night in Canada’s Maple Leafs and Buffalo Sabres game, insider Elliotte Friedman went into great length on Matthews’ injury and the fallout that stemmed from it in regards to the response. He mentioned that this will have ramifications on how the team is built in the future and the incident left many “embarrassed and apoplectic”.
There were further details given on the latest segment of 32 Thoughts: The Podcast. Per Friedman hearing this second hand, Treliving got involved as “he was furious” with how things were handled, just like head coach Craig Berube.
“I heard he called– from the road– some of the players involved,” Friedman said. “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 players involved from the road.” (22:20 mark)
If the report is true, then Treliving had every right to call out his own players and lambaste them about their integrity and lack of emotion shown not just to their star player, but their captain. The players on the ice were Morgan Rielly, William Nylander, Easton Cowan and Brandon Carlo. You’re not expecting a rookie to go in there, although Cowan did go toe-to-toe with Jackson LaCombe later in the third period. However, the lack of any emotion from Rielly, Nylander and Carlo is disappointing.
If that happened on any other team, there would be a full-on melee and retribution would be had immediately. It took an intermission for them to realize that they should’ve done something. While they did do something after the fact, that lack of response in that moment was downright shameful and embarrassing as it was too little too late.
Rielly would attempt to get Gudas after the fact but nothing happened. Nylander threw his hand up in the air asking for a call but did nothing himself. Carlo, the more physical of the two, was silent. Rielly and Nylander said they should’ve responded better, but In that moment, they didn’t show that they cared about their captain and essentially abandoned him in that moment and let him down.
Maple Leafs Changing Attitude or a Gimmick?
If there was anything that needed to happen it was a change in attitude and mindset for the Maple Leafs. Too many times in the past this team has shown a lack of back bone and fight when faced with a dirty play. Ever since Matthews got injured there has been more of a response to even the slightest of a questionable play or something they don’t like and it’s finally met with a scrum or fight.
Related: Treliving Addressed Auston Matthews’ Future, and It’s Hughes-Like
That has been going on for three games, especially with Rielly against the Minnesota Wild, but where was that rage when their captain got injured? The fact that they continue to show some emotion after the fact kind of feels like a gimmick and obligation that they need to do it now knowing that the backlash they have been getting has been significant.
This whole thing is a major problem with the Maple Leafs culture where if they don’t have each other’s back and stand-up for each other, then what do they stand for as a team? Yes, they’re playing with passion and are sending a message, but that wasn’t there for Matthews. It certainly wasn’t there when Anthony Stolarz got forearmed by Sam Bennett in the semi-finals in the playoffs last season.
Veteran players like Rielly, Nylander and everyone have to do a lot more to prove that they’re willing to fight even though they’re not the type to do so. Showing some sort of emotion will get everyone riled up in a positive way.
Related: Maple Leafs Expected to Get Clarity on Treliving’s Future This Offseason
It’s one thing to get called out by the coach, which Berube made clear. It’s another to get a phone call from the general manager. They need to own this and that this is a player problem because if you can’t stand up for one another, you’re not going to last together.
That’s not the culture or mindset any team wants to display and if you look at past winners, they’ll do anything and everything to be a tight knit group and prove that.
