"We learned the hard lesson last year. We've talked about it as a group. When anything occurs now, it is all in. Really, since our incident last year and all the way through this year, regardless of how it looked, maybe we over-emphasize it. We're in there for each other. Every team is like that. I know what you are referencing (with Auston Matthews), and of course, we dealt with something similar. You learn from it, you move on, you grow as a team, and you talk about how it starts with me."
"You lose a guy for the rest of the year - your leader - and the guy gets five games. I don't know. It's not the first time he's done it. Frustrating. I can sit here and say whatever, but it is not going to change it. I am not George, sitting in the chair, making the phone call, and making the decisions."
"That was a dirty play, going after the captain like that. It's not a good feeling as a player. I try not to play the game like that."
The Toronto Maple Leafs face the Buffalo Sabres while dealing with the loss of captain Auston Matthews due to an injury from a hit by Radko Gudas. Gudas received a five-game suspension, effectively ending his season while Matthews is sidelined for the year. Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff acknowledged the incident and emphasized the importance of team unity and standing up for one another, drawing parallels to Buffalo's own experiences with player safety issues. Ruff expects the Leafs to play with heightened desperation following the injury. Players like Michael Pezzetta and Jake McCabe expressed frustration with both the hit and the perceived inadequacy of the suspension length, questioning whether the league's disciplinary measures sufficiently protect star players.
Read at Maple Leafs Hotstove
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