Ottawa Senators captain Brady Tkachuk said he expected a stronger reaction from Toronto Maple Leafs players to the brutal hit that ended Auston Matthews' season.
"If your captain gets taken out like that, you gotta have a way better response," Tkachuk recently said on "Wingmen," a podcast hosted by the Tkachuk brothers. "I know how I'd feel if I got hit like that and nobody really jumped in there. I'd be pretty pissed."
Matthews suffered a Grade 3 MCL tear last week after Anaheim Ducks defenseman Radko Gudas kneed him on a play in the second period. Gudas received a five-game suspension for the hit.
None of Matthews' teammates immediately confronted Gudas after the play.
"Even if he takes a bump, it's like - if you go after our best players, we're going after your best players," Tkachuk added.
Tkachuk and Matthews play for Team USA and recently won the gold medal together at the Olympics.
"I feel for him. I know he'd stick up for guys if that was the other way around, and at least get in there," Tkachuk said.
Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube shares that same opinion. Berube criticized his players' behaviour after Gudas' hit on Matthews, saying he expected "everyone to get in there right away."
