Auston Matthews wants to be part of Maple Leafs’ solution, talks about injury

For the first time in his career, Auston Matthews won’t be playing in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

As the Toronto Maple Leafs face a summer of uncertainty, the captain understands the tough position the team is in.

“This was a tough year. It was a frustrating year,” Matthews told reporters Thursday during the team’s end-of-season locker cleanout. “We didn’t meet the goals or the expectations that we set out at the start … that’s on me. That’s on us as players.”

With the Leafs set to make changes to front office and potentially behind the bench, the captain’s long-term future has been put into question.

When asked about the uncertainty the team faces, Matthews made it clear where his focus lies.

“There’s always noise and chatter,” he said. “Personally, I really don’t pay attention to all that. I just focus on myself, focus on this team and trying to be a part of the solution.”

While Matthews stopped short of providing a guarantee that he would stick around for a rebuild, he reiterated that certain decisions are in his control as the organization prepares to hire new leadership.

“I can’t predict the future,” he added. “There are steps that have to take place.”

What Matthews did make clear is that belief inside the room hasn’t wavered, even after a season defined by inconsistency and a late collapse.

“I do believe in this group,” he said. “You hope this is kind of a one-off … and that you can bounce back and be in a better situation than we were this year.”

Matthews’ season was cut short following a controversial hit from Radko Gudas, a play that left the Leafs captain on the ice with no one on the team responding in the moment.

Speaking publicly about it for the first time in detail, Matthews didn’t hide his feelings about the hit itself.

“I think you probably know how I feel about the hit,” he said. “Up until a couple days ago, I just got off crutches. I didn’t think I was going to be standing here today.”

Gudas reached out afterward, but Matthews characterized that exchange as private.

Matthews also offered an encouraging update on his recovery, saying he’s confident he’ll be ready when next season begins.

“Yeah, it’s going good, really good,” Matthews said. “I’ll be ready by next season and have a pretty normal summer for the most part.”

As for the Leafs’ on-ice response — or perceived lack thereof — Matthews acknowledged the moment without dwelling on it.

“It was an unfortunate play,” he said. “I thought they responded in the third period.”

When asked about where things went wrong this season, Matthews said there were a lot of areas that he didn’t want to elaborate on but he pointed repeatedly to inconsistency as the root issue.

“We had really good stretches of hockey throughout the year … but just the consistency night after night wasn’t there,” he said.

That lack of consistency ultimately led to consequences beyond the dressing room — changes that Matthews didn’t shy away from addressing.

“When we don’t meet those goals and expectations … people are let go, lose their jobs and there’s change,” he said. “That’s on us.”

For Matthews, the path forward isn’t defined yet. A retool? A rebuild? Something bigger?

“I don’t know what that means,” he said of a potential retool. “That’s going to be up to the new management.”