Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews underwent successful MCL surgery in New York on Thursday, the team announced.

Matthews, who had already been ruled out for the season , now has an expected recovery time of 12 weeks and is likely to be fully healthy for training camp.

He was injured one week earlier from a knee-to-knee hit delivered by Anaheim Ducks captain Radko Gudas . The play earned Gudas a five-game suspension . The Maple Leafs said the play deserved more punishment.

"We lose our captain for the year," Leafs coach Craig Berube said. "It doesn't seem like enough for me."

Gudas also ended Canada captain Sidney Crosby's Olympics with a hit in the quarterfinals, though Crosby has said he didn't believe the play was dirty.

Matthews' agent, Judd Moldaver, blasted the NHL's department of player safety in a statement.

"While the process is set in our CBA, that this was the discipline is reckless and ridiculous," Moldaver wrote.…