Leafs’ Auston Matthews to miss remainder of 2025-26 season with Grade 3 MCL tear
The Toronto Maple Leafs will be without their captain for the rest of the season.
The Leafs announced on Friday night that Auston Matthews will be out for the remainder of the 2025-26 season due to a Grade 3 MCL tear.
Matthews sustained the injury late in the second period of the Leafs’ 6-4 win over the Anaheim Ducks. Matthews was set up in front of the net with a scoring chance off a Ducks turnover, and Radko Gudas, who was out of position, made a desperate attempt to make a play on Matthews, with their knees being the primary point of contact. Matthews was down on the ice for quite some time and needed assistance to the room.
Berube told the media after the game that the team was evaluating Matthews’ injury, and after a magnetic resonance imaging, they would have a further update on the center. While Matthews will be re-evaluated in two weeks to get an update on the injury, he will miss the remaining five weeks of the Leafs’ regular season.
Gudas is scheduled to have a phone hearing with the Department of Player Safety regarding the hit, which means the suspension won’t exceed five games. The lack of an in-person hearing came as a surprise to many in the hockey world, considering the blatancy of the hit and Gudas’ previous suspension history.
The injury ends what’s been a tough season for Matthews, as he finishes the season with just 27 goals and 26 assists for 53 points in 60 games. It’s the first time he’s finished at under a point-per-game pace in a season since his rookie year, and also the first time he failed to reach the 30-goal and 60-point mark. Even considering he’s only played 60 games, it’s the second-worst point-per-game pace and the worst goal-per-game pace in a season in his career. It’s also the second-straight season he’s averaged less than a 0.5 goals per game in a season, coming in both seasons head coach Craig Berube’s tenure.
Matthews’ injury also puts the nail in the coffin for a disappointing 2025-26 season for the Leafs. While expectations were low on the Leafs making the playoffs at this point, they sit 11 points out of a playoff spot with only 16 games remaining, so making up that gap without their star player will be a tall task.