Auston Matthews future in Toronto no longer certain.

The Toronto Maple Leafs were humiliated this week when their response to a knee on knee hit from Anaheim Ducks captain Radko Gudas made headlines around the league. The hit was delivered to Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews and fans and pundits alike were left stunned when all 4 Maple Leafs on the ice, veteran defensemen Morgan Rielly and Brandon Carlo as well as veteran forward William Nylander and rookie forward Easton Cowan, did absolutely nothing in response.

The lack of a response has even evoked harsh criticism from former National Hockey League players like Kevin Bieksa, but it sounds like there may be a lot more than just criticism to worry about in Toronto.

NHL insider Elliotte Friedman has just shared the latest on the fallout from this situation, and according to the insider there is a real chance that Matthews may want to reevaluate where he is in his tenure with the Maple Leafs.

"What this also allows Matthews to do is start the clock on how he feels about things," said Friedman on Hockey Night in Canada. "A lot has happened in a very short time in Toronto from the time they last touched base with him about how he felt about things at the beginning of February."

Friedman's comments really raised some eyebrows when he suggested that Matthews may take several months to make a decision on his future.

"I think sometime over the next couple of months we are gonna get a better idea of how everybody feels about the overall future of Matthews and the Maple Leafs," said Friedman.

While fans might have been outraged at the lack of a response from Matthews' teammates, the man himself likely wasn't too thrilled about it either. When asked point blank if he felt that Matthews response to the lack of a response from his team could be a factor here, Friedman answered in the affirmative.

"I think it is but he hasn't said anything so I don't want to assume," said Friedman. "He hasn't said anything at this point in time but I think it would be."

It sounds like there will be severe ramifications as a result of this event, with the insider hinting at some big changes on the horizon.

"There's no question in my mind that internally it will have ramifications on the future and the construction of the team," said Friedman. "I tried to speak to as many people as I could and there were words like 'embarrassed' and 'apoplectic' thrown around."

It would be wild for an on-ice incident to lead to the Maple Leafs losing their captain, but it seems like that may very well be in the realm of possibility after a truly embarrassing display this past week.