Every spring, it seems like Leafs Nation goes into full meltdown when the Maple Leafs are eliminated. This year is different though — they’ve gone nuclear before Toronto was even eliminated. William Nylander missed the first three games of the series before coming back in Game 4. As is always the case with injuries in the NHL, the Maple Leafs remained tight-lipped about the nature of his injury, even Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman found it hard to pinpoint his injury.
To make matters even worse, the Maple Leafs’ and perhaps the league’s best sharpshooter Auston Matthews missed Game 5 and it’s been confirmed that he would miss Game 6 as well. Predictably, Leafs’ fans were not very pleased with the news. On social media, there are plenty of posts arguing it’s the playoffs and there are players who have played with broken legs, broken ribs, broken fingers, busted ankles or knees, and while being sick so Matthews should be suiting up.
The example that’s most often brought up is Maple Leafs’ legend Bobby Baun who played on a broken fibula and went on to score the game-winning goal in overtime of Game 6 of the 1964 Stanley Cup Final. He also went on to play in Game 7 and it’s only after Toronto won the Cup that the extent of his injury was known.
The Player and Doctors Are Best Placed to Decide if He’s Able to Play
Game 5 marked the second elimination game in a row Matthews missed, and I imagine it’s not something he’s happy about. Hockey players want to play, that’s what they are “programmed” to do, especially in the playoffs. Just like with the Nylander injury, the Leafs are not volunteering much information about what’s wrong with Matthews, they’ve only said that an illness is preventing him from playing.
Meanwhile, ESPN’s Emily Kaplan is reporting that it was initially an illness that kept Matthews from playing, but something happened in conjunction with that illness to make matters worse. Some have speculated that he’s now battling an infection which could bring on sepsis if not dealt with properly. If that’s the case, you can understand why he’s not playing. Even if it’s less serious, there is no reason for fans to question his fitness to play. Fans are not health professionals, well for the most part anyways.
Playing When Not Fit to Do So Can Have Serious Repercussions
Hockey players have always been known as tough, unlike in soccer, they don’t fall at the slightest touch and they can lose a tooth on one shift and return for the next. Lots of players have admitted they’ve played injured in the past with serious repercussions.
Who doesn’t remember Scott Stevens’ infamous hit on Paul Kariya in Game Six of the 2003 Stanley Cup Final? The Anaheim Mighty Ducks’ ace stayed on the ice for a while, went back to the room briefly, and came back to play. Today he has no memory of the game itself or scoring a goal after the incident. He doesn’t remember Game 7 either. When Kariya retired officially in 2011, he had had six concussions.
What better examples than Shea Weber and Carey Price in the 2021 Stanley Cup Final? Weber was injured multiple times in his tenure with the Canadiens and he was so beaten up in that Final that his teammates believed he would call it a day. They all went to see their Captain and shook his hand before retreating to the locker room after losing Game 5 and the Stanley Cup to the Tampa Bay Lightning. It wasn’t the first time Weber had played injured either, back in 2017, he suffered an injury in the season opener and played for two months with a torn tendon in his left foot.
As for Carey Price, knee injuries became part of his life in 2014 when Chris Kreider crashed into him in the Eastern Conference Final of 2014. Price pushed himself as far as he could to try and win the Cup in 2021, and as a result, he went on to play only five more games with the Canadiens before retiring in all but in name.
We can also think of all the enforcers who have played injured, with concussions. They were glorified for doing it back in the day, but now we all know that can lead to permanent damage. One of the long-term effects of concussions can be depression and after the suicides of Rick Rypien, Wade Belak and Derek Boogaard in 2011, the hockey world is aware they can also lead to chronic traumatic encephalopathy.
In his excellent book aptly titled “Game Change” Ken Dryden argues it is time to change the game and protect athletes from themselves using the life of Steve Montador as a case study.
Sure, Matthews doesn’t have a concussion (that we know of), but whatever he has, if the doctors say he cannot go, he’s better off listening. Would you go to your job if you were told by a doctor you were not fit to do so? I know I wouldn’t so why should hockey players do?