If you were doing something fun on a Friday night when the news dropped:

Auston Matthews done for the season
Radko Gudas’s suspension is not yet known.
PPP LeafsCathy Squires
The NHL Failed to Protect Auston Matthews
Enough with critiquing the player response, let’s focus on the real guilty party.
PPP LeafsCathy Squires

Another jammed week in Toronto hockey starts today.

The Leafs are in Buffalo tonight and Minnesota tomorrow. Tuesday is a double-header at Scotiabank with the Marlies in the afternoon and the Leafs in the evening hosting the Islanders. That's the St. Patrick's day game for the Leafs, but for the Marlies, they're doing that today at Coca-Cola:

Meanwhile, the Sceptres are back in action on Sunday at Coca-Cola before heading off to Boston for St. Patrick's day on Tuesday night.

Yesterday was the AHL trade deadline, and there was a host of trades of AHL-contracted and NHL-contracted AHLers.

The Marlies made no moves.

The signing of NCAA free agents continues:

The CHL leagues are coming up hard on the end of their regular season, which means a host of graduating players not in the playoffs will be available as well. There are bound to be signings for AHL teams out of that group as well.

And to clarify the way eligibility works, no one can be added to the Leafs with the exception of players currently under NHL contract and loaned to junior teams or players on the reserve list signed to NHL contracts. So the Leafs can't sign some NCAA guy and put him on the roster. They can put new signings on the AHL roster.

The Marlies played 11-7 last night due to injuries so the forward shortage is now officially a thing:

The preview will be later today, and we may have word on a recall option, although they currently have 13 forwards, so it isn't crucial.

From The Branches