NHL Department of Player Safety failed to set an example of Ducks' Radko Gudas

In the wake of the season-ending injury to Toronto Maple Leafs star center Auston Matthews, the NHL had an opportunity to send a message to the player who caused it – Anaheim Ducks defenseman Radko Gudas. 

Instead, the league’s player safety department only gave Gudas a five-game suspension on Friday. And in this writer’s opinion, that wasn’t nearly enough for a flagrantly dirty hit by a player who has been suspended multiple times in his career.

Indeed, Gudas hasn’t faced supplemental discipline since he was suspended for two games in 2017 for a high-stick incident. But you don’t get a cookie for abiding by the NHL’s rulebook. That’s what’s expected of all players.

The problem with Gudas specifically is that he’s a repeat offender who often crosses the line of common decency. And the indefensible hit on Matthews caused Matthews’ agent, Judd Moldaver, to rightly speak out after Gudas’ latest suspension by criticizing the number of games Gudas was suspended for.

“In light of the obvious severity of the play, I am disappointed and shocked the league would allow such a ruling,” said Moldaver. “A phone hearing and five games is laughable and preposterous. While the process is set in our CBA, that this was the discipline is reckless and ridiculous. This decision results in a further loss of confidence in the disciplinary process for all players. Players and fans deserve better. The Player Safety Department should be suspended.”

This was a flagrantly egregious incident by a player who is only a month removed from injuring Team Canada captain Sidney Crosby at the 2026 Winter Olympics. This is who Gudas is, for better or worse. And most often, it’s for worse.

MORE: Radko Gudas’ latest dangerous hit puts NHL Department of Player Safety to the test

Now, we’re well aware that Olympic incidents don’t factor into NHL discipline. But there’s an undeniable pattern of recklessness with Gudas, and the NHL could’ve sent an unmistakable message not only to Gudas, but to other NHL players who walk a fine line between a robust physical game and a predatory approach. Instead, they gave Gudas a fairly minimal punishment.

Matthews will miss the Leafs’ remaining 16 games this season – approximately 20 percent of the season. Even if you accept that offending players shouldn’t sit out as long as the player they’ve injured, there was still a chance to give Gudas an eight-game suspension – or 10 percent of his season. That’s a total that would’ve greatly impacted Gudas’ salary. That would’ve made him sit up and take notice rather than the measly amount of games Gudas wound up suspended for.

If people wonder why NHL players take matters into their own hands instead of leaving it to the Department of Player Safety, all they need to do is look at the minimal suspensions the league hands out. 

MORE: Anaheim Ducks' Radko Gudas Suspended Five Games For Kneeing Maple Leafs' Auston Matthews

A five-game suspension isn’t going to make Gudas change his behavior. It’s a couple of weeks off, at most. So, the next time Gudas crosses the line, no one should feign surprise. This is in the player’s nature, and rather than sending a message to him that he needs to change his ways, the league more or less shrugged its shoulders. 

That’s a disservice to the grand majority of players who play the game the right way. That’s why we’re almost certainly going to see Gudas re-offending multiple times before his career is over.

If the NHL wanted to show players that reckless play would be punished accordingly, it failed to do so with Gudas. That jeopardizes the health of NHLers who deserve more protection than they’re getting. Whether it’s a star player like Matthews who gets injured, or a worker-bee player who doesn’t have any name-brand value who is hurt, the bottom line is the same – players deserve a basic standard of protection from over-the-top destructive play. And they didn’t get that in Gudas’ case.

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