Radko Gudas Receives Five-Game Suspension
After a knee-on-knee collision that ultimately ended Auston Matthews‘ season, supplemental discipline was widely expected for Ducks defenseman Radko Gudas. After a phone hearing today, the Department of Player Safety announced (video link) that the blueliner has received a five-game suspension. That is the maximum suspension for a phone hearing.
The incident occurred in the second period of Thursday’s game. The initial call was five-and-a-game for kneeing which was upheld after video review. In the Player Safety ruling, it was noted that Gudas, though trying to make a legal body check, was in full control on the play. That puts the onus on him to deliver a legal check, which he did not do by leading with his knee, resulting in a “forceful, dangerous, and direct knee-on-knee collision.”
This is the fifth suspension for Gudas in his career, but the first since 2019 when he received a five-game ban for high-sticking. As a result of the time between suspensions, he is not considered a repeat offender for the purpose of forfeited salary. He loses five days’ worth of salary (5/192) as opposed to five games’ worth (5/82) of salary. As a result, he will lose $104,166.65, which goes to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund. With these five games, Gudas will now have been suspended for a total of 26 games in his career. It’s the third-longest suspension he has received, following a 10-game ban in 2017 for slashing and a six-game suspension in 2016 for a late high hit.
It’s fair to say that Matthews’ agent, Judd Moldaver of The-Team (formerly Wasserman), is not a fan of the ruling. Asked for comment by reporters, including Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman (Twitter link), Moldaver released the following statement:
In light of the obvious severity of the play, I am disappointed and shocked the league would allow such a ruling. A phone hearing and 5 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.
Meanwhile, the loss of Gudas is noteworthy for Anaheim. The captain is a regular on their back end, taking a regular turn on the penalty kill. With John Carlson still working his way back from a lower-body injury, the Ducks will have to dip a little deeper into their defensive depth for the time being, heading into a back-to-back road set this weekend.
Maple Leafs’ Auston Matthews Leaves Game With Injury
Although the Toronto Maple Leafs won against the Anaheim Ducks, they suffered a significant loss this evening. Before the start of the third period, the Maple Leafs announced that captain Auston Matthews had exited the game due to a lower-body injury.
It wasn’t difficult to isolate the injury either. Late in the second period, after getting the puck in front of the net, Ducks’ captain Radko Gudas sprinted at Matthews and delivered a knee-on-knee hit. Gudas was assessed a five-minute major for kneeing on the play and was ejected from the contest.
It’s not always easy to speculate on whether the Department of Player Safety will impose supplemental discipline on a given event. Still, Gudas has a track record of suspensions throughout his career. He was suspended for three games in 2015-16 (check to the head), six games in 2016-17 (check to the head), 10 games in 2017-18 (slashing to the head), and two games in 2018-19 (high-sticking).
Regardless of any extra punishment for Gudas, that won’t do Toronto any justice. The Maple Leafs are already effectively eliminated from postseason contention and may have to finish the 2025-26 campaign on an even worse note. Hopefully, Matthews’ injury isn’t too significant, and he’ll be able to finish the season on a strong note. However, if it is a severe knee injury, there is a possibility that Matthews won’t be able to start his offseason training on time.
Leading up to tonight’s contest against Anaheim, Matthews was having one of the worst offensive seasons of his professional career. He has registered 26 goals and 52 points in 59 games with a -4 rating, averaging 20:56 of ice time per night. Additionally, his possession and defensive metrics have each taken a step back, as well.
Ducks’ Frank Vatrano, Radko Gudas Out On Monday
The Anaheim Ducks will be without players in Monday’s game against the San Jose Sharks. Forward Frank Vatrano will miss the game with an upper-body injury while defenseman and captain Radko Gudas will be forced out by an illness head coach Joel Quenneville told Derek Lee of The Hockey News. Quennville added that the team did not know quite how long Vatrano would need to miss.
Vatrano and Gudas both serve important, physical roles on the Ducks. Gudas leads the defense in hits (94) while Vatrano ranks second on the offense (67) behind Ross Johnston (111). Vatrno also ranks second to Johnston in penalty minutes on the Ducks. He has stepped into a pest role this season and was recently fined by the NHL Department of Player Safety for an unsportsmanlike conduct against Dallas Stars winger Jason Robertson. Vatrano has six points in 38 games to back his nasty style, while Gudas has eight points in 29 games.
Anaheim will now face injury challenges on the heels of a recent losing skid. The Ducks have lost five of their last eight games, including a 6-1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday. Jansen Harkins is set to take over fourth-line center duties in Vatrano’s absence. He has two goals, 11 shot blocks, and 51 hits in 16 games this season. Harkins is the only Duck with a higher hits-per-game average than Johnston or Vatrano, which should make his adjustment to Vatrano’s role a bit smoother. Ian Moore will step in for Gudas. Moore has five points and 47 shot blocks in 24 games this season. One more game will officially cement this season as his rookie year in the NHL.
Anaheim Ducks To Activate Radko Gudas
The Anaheim Ducks are expected to welcome back their captain this evening. According to Derek Lee of The Hockey News, the Ducks will activate defenseman Radko Gudas tonight, and he’ll be in the lineup against the Utah Mammoth.
Gudas has hardly played in the last year of this three-year, $12MM contract. Due to a lower-body injury suffered against the Boston Bruins on October 23rd, Gudas has missed Anaheim’s last 11 games.
In the seven games he has played in, it was more of the same for Gudas, tallying two assists with 12 blocked shots and 23 hits while averaging 15:35 of ice time per game. Although his CorsiFor% had shown some improvements from last season, Gudas’ on-ice save percentage at even strength had been significantly lower than his career average.
Regardless, even in the twilight years of his career, the Ducks know what to expect from Gudas. He’s one of the most physical defenseman in NHL history, sitting at 3,081 hits over the course of his 14-year career. That places him with the 10th-most hits in NHL history (since the stat had began to be recorded), and is likely to pass Brooks Orpik this season and potentially Milan Lucic.
The Ducks should also benefit from his leadership upon entering a trying time of the NHL calendar. After winning seven consecutive games at the end of October into early November, Anaheim has lost three straight in regulation. Fortunately, the Ducks’ next six games are at home where they’ve only lost once this season. Currently in second place in the NHL’s Pacific Division, Anaheim’s postseason odds will only climb if they remain in playoff positioning by American Thanksgiving.
Ducks Activate Ryan Strome, Place Radko Gudas On Injured Reserve
The Ducks have made a pair of roster moves heading into their game tonight against Winnipeg. Patrick Present of The Hockey News relays that Anaheim has activated center Ryan Strome off injured reserve. To make room for him on the active roster, defenseman Radko Gudas has been placed on IR.
Strome has yet to play this season due to an upper-body injury sustained in practice during the preseason. In 2024-25, the 32-year-old put up 41 points for the third season in a row after tallying 10 goals and 31 assists in 82 games while averaging over 16 minutes a night of playing time as a middle-six center.
It would be surprising to see Strome have a similar role this season. Leo Carlsson and Mason McTavish are their main two pivots while Mikael Granlund – when healthy – will be anchoring a line as well. That should push Strome to the wing, a role he might be better suited for given his struggles at the faceoff dot; he won just 41.7% of his draws last season. Still, his return will be a welcome one to an attack that’s already among the NHL’s best in the early going; they enter play tonight with the second-most goals in the NHL.
As for Gudas, he has been out for a little more than two weeks with a lower-body injury. Assuming that the placement is back-dated, he’ll be eligible to be activated as soon as he’s cleared to play. The 35-year-old has played in seven games this season, picking up two assists, 12 blocks, and 23 hits in 15:35 per night of playing time.
Pacific Injury Updates: Ducks, Flames, Oilers, Canucks
The early-season brilliance of the Anaheim Ducks has been one of the defining storylines of this young 2025-26 season so far, and it appears today that they will soon get some reinforcements in the form of veterans returning from injury. Per The Hockey News’ Derek Lee, Ducks head coach Joel Quenneville said today that veterans Ryan Strome, Mikael Granlund, and Radko Gudas are each getting very close to returning to the ice from their respective injuries.
Gudas hasn’t played since Oct. 23 due to a lower-body injury, while Granlund has been out since Oct. 25 with his own lower-body injury. Strome hasn’t played yet this season due to an upper-body injury, but Quenneville said he’s “very close to consideration” to play in tomorrow’s game against the Winnipeg Jets. All the Ducks have done despite the absence of those key veterans is win. Powered by a young core including breakout sensation Leo Carlsson, the Ducks have put together a five-game winning streak. Getting back Strome, who scored 41 points last season, alongside Granlund, who has eight points in eight games, should only further bolster what has been the league’s most lethal attack in 2025-26. The return of Gudas is unlikely to help in terms of scoring, but will provide the team with even more physicality on defense as well as useful veteran insulation for the club’s stable of still-developing young blueliners.
Other injury updates from the Pacific Division:
- Flames Nation’s Ryan Pike relayed two injury updates from Calgary Flames head coach Ryan Huska today: defenseman Kevin Bahl, who is dealing with an undisclosed injury, may return against the Minnesota Wild tomorrow, while forward Martin Pospisil‘s absence due to an upper-body injury is “still going to be a while.” Bahl, who this season signed a $5.5MM AAV extension to remain in Calgary, missed the team’s game Friday against the Chicago Blackhawks. Pospisil has been out for far longer; he has yet to make his season debut in 2025-26.
- The Edmonton Oilers have a few injury updates of their own, courtesy of Oilers TV host Tony Brar. Mattias Janmark is reportedly “very close” to returning from his injury, one that has kept him from making his season debut in 2025-26. In addition, Zach Hyman is nearing a return to the ice, it’s likely to be within the next week and could come as early as Monday. Like Janmark, Hyman also has not yet played in the 2025-26 season. Both players play regular roles in Edmonton. Hyman is a key goal scorer and offensive contributor (he scored 54 goals in 2023-24 and had 27 last season) while Janmark is a steady, reliable bottom-six winger who plays a regular role on the team’s penalty kill. The Oilers’ penalty kill currently ranks No. 15 in the NHL, so the return of Janmark could help the unit achieve a notable boost in efficiency.
- The Vancouver Canucks are likely to benefit from the return from injury of two forwards, Jonathan Lekkerimaki and Teddy Blueger, Patrick Johnston of The Province reported today. Lekkerimaki, 21, hasn’t played since Oct. 19, and has one goal in four games this season. Blueger has also not played since Oct. 19, and also has one goal to his name. The return of Blueger in particular should help the Canucks. The 31-year-old veteran center ranked second among forwards on the team in short-handed ice time per game last season, and the forward who ranked No. 1, Pius Suter, now plays for the St. Louis Blues. Seeing as the Canucks penalty kill currently ranks second to last in the NHL, getting a key contributor back from injury is surely a positive development for their hopes of improving in that area.
Injury Notes: Rempe, Gudas, Leddy
New York Rangers forward Matt Rempe left tonight’s game against the San Jose Sharks with an upper-body injury, according to a team announcement. Rempe left the game just after fighting veteran enforcer Ryan Reaves. This was not Rempe’s first bout with Reaves – the two fought during Rempe’s 2023-24 rookie season as well. The fight was Rempe’s tenth in the NHL, per Hockeyfights.com’s tracking, a total he’s reached in just 68 career games.
Interestingly, in Rempe’s media availability today, he noted that becoming an enforcer in the NHL isn’t something that came naturally for him – it’s not something that he viewed as a core part of his game at previous stops in his hockey career. He told the media “In junior, I was never a fighter or anything like that,” but added that he “did what he had to do” to carve out a path to the NHL in the pro ranks. The hope for Rempe will be that the upper-body injury that knocked him out of tonight’s game won’t be a significant one that costs him any additional time. Rempe has scored one goal in eight games for the Rangers this season, and is currently playing out the first year of a two-year, one-way $975K AAV contract.
Other injury updates from around the NHL:
- The Anaheim Ducks announced that defenseman Radko Gudas will not return to tonight’s game against the Boston Bruins. Based on the footage of the game, it appears Gudas suffered the injury crashing into the boards while attempting to protect and make a turn with the puck while being pressured by Bruins forward Jeffrey Viel. Gudas is a key veteran leader for the Ducks, serving as their captain and leading penalty-killer. For as long as his injury keeps him off the ice, expect veteran right-handed blueliner Jacob Trouba to take on an increased role and fill in for some of Gudas’ vacated minutes.
- Rempe wasn’t the only player to leave tonight’s Rangers vs. Sharks contest – the Sharks announced that veteran defenseman Nick Leddy will not return to the game after suffering an upper-body injury. Leddy looked visibly in pain after taking a hit from a forechecking Will Cuylle, and left the ice shortly afterward. Leddy, 34, has been the Sharks No. 4 defenseman so far this season in terms of ice time, playing a role on the penalty kill and registering two points in six games. The Sharks have seven healthy defensemen on their NHL roster beyond Leddy, so they should be well-positioned to absorb any absence this injury might cause. Leddy is playing out the final year of a four-year, $4MM contract he signed with the St. Louis Blues in 2022.
Pacific Notes: Gudas, Sharks, Montour
While it looked as if Ducks defenseman Radko Gudas would need surgery to address a lingering knee issue, he noted to NHL.com’s Michael Langr that he ultimately didn’t need it and that he was able to recover simply through rehab. The 35-year-old still managed to play in 81 games last season despite the injury, recording a dozen points, 178 blocked shots, and 261 hits in just under 20 minutes a night of playing time. Now entering the final season of his three-year, $12MM contract signed two years ago, Gudas added that there have yet to be any extension talks but that he understands there are other priorities for GM Pat Verbeek to be dealing with at this time.
Elsewhere in the Pacific:
- The City of San Jose and the Sharks have released a Memorandum of Understanding that could keep the Sharks in town for many more years. Pending ratification from City Council later this month, the deal would see the arena undergo a $425MM renovation over a seven-year span with the city funding $325MM of that and the team $100MM. In return, the Sharks would agree to extend their stay in San Jose through at least the 2050-51 season. Their current arena is now more than 30 years old and has yet to undergo a significant renovation. Notably, it’s mentioned in the document that it is not feasible for the Sharks to stay at the renovated facility for the entire term of that agreement and that both sides will work to find a prospective location for a new arena district.
- After not making Canada’s 4 Nations Face-Off roster, Kraken blueliner Brandon Montour opted to accept an invitation to the Worlds back in May in the hopes of improving his chances of being selected to play in the Olympics. He fared quite well in the tournament, tying for the lead in points by a defenseman with nine. Accordingly, NHL.com’s Mike Zeisberger suggests that the 31-year-old may now have a viable shot at making the roster, especially with GM Doug Armstrong suggesting that in-season performance and not just their track record will go a long way toward determining the final roster. Montour had a career-best 18 goals in his first season with Seattle in 2024-25 and will look to build off that this season.
Pacific Notes: Draisaitl, Frederic, Gudas, Mølgaard
The Edmonton Oilers will again be without star forward Leon Draisaitl in their lineup. According to team TV host Tony Brar, Draisaitl has sustained a minor lower-body injury, although it’s unrelated to his previous ailment.
Draisaitl had recently missed four consecutive games for Edmonton with an undisclosed injury. Upon his return on April 1st, the 11-year veteran tallied one goal and one assist against the Vegas Golden Knights and San Jose Sharks. Thankfully for the Oilers, there’s no concern that Draisaitl’s recent string of injuries will impact his availability for the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs.
On a more positive injury note for Edmonton, Brar also reported there is a “slight” chance that Trent Frederic could debut with the team tomorrow against the Los Angeles Kings. Frederic is still recovering from a lower-body injury suffered in February when he was rostered with the Boston Bruins.
Other notes from the Pacfic Division:
- Contrary to a report from yesterday evening, Anaheim Ducks’ captain, Radko Gudas, isn’t headed for the operating room this off-season (Tweet Link). The initial was generated to contextualize Gudas’s “struggles” this season, but it doesn’t appear to be based on much accuracy. Gudas has essentially only struggled with his possession quality this year, as his physicality and defensive metrics (both of which he’s excelled at his entire career) have improved.
- Moving to a prospect note, the Coachella Valley Firebirds, AHL affiliate of the NHL’s Seattle Kraken, announced that prospect Oscar Fisker Mølgaard is joining the team for the remainder of the season. Mølgaard, the 52nd overall pick of the 2023 NHL Draft, recently finished a strong campaign with the SHL’s HV71, scoring five goals and 19 points in 38 contests.
Ducks Name Radko Gudas Captain
The Anaheim Ducks have named veteran defender Radko Gudas as the ninth captain in franchise history. He’ll succeed Ducks legend Ryan Getzlaf in the role, becoming the first to wear Anaheim’s ‘C’ since Getzlaf’s retirement in 2022. Gudas also becomes the sixth NHL captain from Czechia, alongside Peter Stastny, Jaromir Jagr, Patrik Elias, Bobby Holik, and Milan Hejduk.
Gudas has put together a proud career in the NHL, appearing in 748 games as part of 12 seasons. He’s become a bit of a journeyman over that time, playing with five different clubs after starting his career in Tampa Bay. The Lightning drafted Gudas 66th overall in 2010 and promoted him to the NHL two years later. From there, it wasn’t long before the hard-hitting, stay-at-home defender worked his way into top-line minutes.
That was thanks to an overwhelming physical presence, emphasized in the 2013-14 season when Gudas recorded 273 hits – a franchise record in Tampa Bay but not a career-high for Gudas. He’d go on to top that mark twice with the Philadelphia Flyers, with 304 and 280 hits in the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons respectively – again franchise records among Flyers defenders. Bruising became a core piece of Gudas’ game, and it wasn’t until the 2021-22 season that his physicality would finally hit a peak as he recorded 355 hits with the Florida Panthers, the third-most of any defender since the NHL began tracking hits – interestingly behind Jeremy Lauzon (383; 2023-24) and Mark Borowiecki (364; 2016-17).
Gudas made a move to Anaheim last summer – signing a three-year, $12MM UFA contract and bringing an end to his three-year stint with the Panthers. He once again assumed a confident, second-pairing role with the Ducks, recording 18 points in 66 games – his highest scoring since 2018-19. More than that, Gudas emerged as a clear leader amidst Anaheim’s young lineup. The Ducks have now recognized that leadership by making him the first player to wear the ‘C’ on their newly-designed jerseys.
It’s a proud moment for the 36-year-old defender, who shared his thoughts on the news by saying, “I am honored to be named captain of the Anaheim Ducks and lead our team into an exciting era. The trust put in me by Pat, our management, coaches and my teammates is something I take with pride. Leadership is a shared quality amongst our team, and I look forward to representing the Ducks on the ice and also outside of the rink in the community.”