Radko Gudas Suspended Six Games
After avoiding suspension for a hit earlier this pre-season on Jimmy Vesey of the New York Rangers, Radko Gudas has been given a six-game ban for his hit on Bruins’ forward Austin Czarnik.
This is not the first time Gudas has received discipline from the league. Last season he received three ejections in the span of a month, and was given a three-game suspension for a hit on Mika Zibanejad in December. Though he’s only technically a two-time offender now, the six-game ban is a strong message that his on-the-edge style will no longer be tolerated by the league.
The Flyers now have a lot of trouble on their blueline for the start of the season and will be hoping that Brandon Manning can play as soon as possible. With Michael Del Zotto out and now Gudas unavailable, 19-year old Ivan Provorov will be staying with the team. These injuries and suspensions are heaping even more responsibility onto sophomore Shayne Gostisbehere, as he looks to become the leader on the back-end for the Flyers this season.
League Notes: Ovechkin, Olympics, Las Vegas, Gudas
Washington Capitals owner Ted Leonsis is standing by his star player, pledging his support for Alex Ovechkin and his commitment to playing in the 2018 Winter Olympics, regardless of whether the NHL plans to participate. Ovechkin has officially stated that he plans to suit up for Russia in the next Olympics, with or without his NHL peers playing alongside him. In an interview with Sports Illustrated’s Alex Prewitt, Leonsis said that he hopes the NHL and IOC can come to an agreement on the 2018 Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea, but if they can’t, he is okay with Ovechkin or any of his players choosing to participate:
“The Olympics are incredibly meaningful to Alex and his family. So my commitment to them was, I will always do what’s in Alex’s best interest, and I said it 10 years ago, I’ll say it today: If Alex Ovechkin says this is really important to me to go represent and play for my country, I’m going to support him. What’s the worst that could happen? We’ll get fined or something. I hope it doesn’t get to that. But I’ve got to have my captain’s back, and I will.”
The IOC has given the league until January to make a decision on their participation, and with the pressure or high profile players and now an owner in Washington fighting for inclusion, the NHL may have to bite the bullet and commit to the 2018 Games. With Beijing, China and potentially Calgary or Salt Lake City after that as the two Winter Olympics following Pyeongchang, continued NHL participation seems likely, but skipping South Korea continues to be an option for the NHL. However, if many players plan to go regardless in 2018, the league may as well stay the course as Olympic participants.
Other news around the league:
- The Las Vegas expansion franchise is set to finally reveal it’s name to the world on November 11th, according to NHL.com’s Nick Cotsonika. Owner Bill Foley shared that the name has indeed been chosen, as has the logo, and the team’s colors are in the final stages of becoming official as well. Everything will be made public in about a month, as Las Vegas will truly begin to transform from an idea to reality. It was previously reported that the team will likely take up either Golden Knights, Silver Knights, or Desert Knights, but with all the secretive strategy that has surrounded the process, don’t be surprised if another moniker is revealed on 11/11.
- The NHL is reviewing a high, late hit on Bruins roster-hopeful Austin Czarnik in last night’s preseason finale between Boston and Philadelphia by, who else, Radko Gudas. This is the second time already this preseason that Gudas has had a bad hit along the boards reviewed, the first being on Ranger’s rookie Jimmy Vesey. This time though, Gudas seems more likely to be punished by the league, as Czarnik took a shoulder to the face well after he had passed the puck, and was forced to leave the game because of the hit. Bruins coach Claude Julien was especially critical of the hit, saying that “this seems to be happening to (Gudas) every game”. With a strong stance by one the league’s most well-respected coaches adding fuel to the fire, expect Gudas to miss some time and miss quite a few dollars after a decision is handed down this time. The Department of Player Safety offered him an in-person hearing (which allows for a suspension of five or more games) but he declined and will have a telephone hearing on Monday (Twitter links).
Flyers Notes: Schultz, Gudas, Cuts
Training camp can be dangerous. According to Dave Isaac of the Courier-Post, Nick Schultz will be out 4-7 days with a ‘lower body injury’ after crashing into the boards last night. Schultz is coming off back to back seasons in which he played at least 80 games, and isn’t in danger of missing any time at the beginning of the season.
Penciled into the bottom pairing for the Flyers, Schultz provides a dependable presence on the back end, but won’t provide much in terms of offense. In his entire 14-year career, his highest point total came in at 20.
- Another defenseman on the mend, Radko Gudas is set to return to game action very soon according to Jordan Hall of CSNPhilly. Gudas say’s he’s pretty close to 100 percent and has already begun shooting pucks with his ailing hand. Gudas, like Schultz, isn’t one of the marquee defenders on this team but does see almost 20 minutes a night in a shutdown role. He’ll continue to get a lot of defensive zone starts, while Michael Del Zotto and Shayne Gostisbehere provide all the offense from the back end.
- Issac also tells us that another round of cuts is coming tomorrow, after the ones earlier today. Philadelphia trimmed the roster to 49 today, and is expected to take about 15 off that number tomorrow. Eventually, the team will have some tough decisions to make about their last defense spot. Will it go to the big contract of Andrew MacDonald, or does Brandon Manning deserve a real chance? The Flyers open the season October 14th in Los Angeles.
Snapshots: Gudas, Maatta, Monahan, Byfuglien
The wrist problem that caused Flyers defenseman Radko Gudas to withdraw from the Czech Republic’s entry into the World Cup of Hockey is one that lingered during last season, reports Sam Carchidi of the Philadelphia Inquirer. Gudas didn’t get into specifics about the injury but noted that there was ligament damage and that a small issue could have turned into a bigger one.
Gudas believes that he is still 1-3 weeks away from the wrist being back to 100% (he is currently unable to shoot the puck) but expects to be ready to start the season.
Earlier this summer, Gudas inked a four year contract with a cap hit of $3.35MM. He played in 76 regular season games with the Flyers, collecting 14 points while adding 116 PIMS, 304 hits, and 157 blocked shots.
[Related: Flyers Depth Chart]
Other news and notes from around the NHL:
- Penguins defenseman Olli Maatta still has to fulfill his mandatory military obligations to Finland but has an agreement to delay that for at least another three years, tweets Sports Illustrated’s Alex Prewitt. Maatta had a challenging postseason, one where he suffered a concussion and was also a healthy scratch at times, but still picked up seven assists in 18 games. He’s expected to be a key cog on Pittsburgh’s blueline this season.
- Flames center Sean Monahan is expected to be ready for the start of Calgary’s training camp, writes Postmedia’s Kristen Odland. Monahan withdrew from the World Cup of Hockey earlier this month after straining his back in training. Fresh off a seven year deal he signed in August, Monahan decided to take a pass on the tournament to make sure he’s 100% ready to start the season with the Flames.
- Winnipeg defenseman Dustin Byfuglien is expected to play on the wing for Team USA in their final World Cup tune-up game against Finland tonight, reports Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press. Whyno adds that Brandon Dubinsky and Kyle Palmieri will be healthy scratches for the Americans. Byfuglien is no stranger to playing the wing, seeing time there with the Jets off and on in recent years.
Radko Gudas, Tomas Hertl To Miss World Cup
The injuries keep piling up for the Czech Republic in advance of the World Cup of Hockey as both Philadelphia defenseman Radko Gudas and San Jose forward Tomas Hertl will not play as first reported by hokej.cz’s Vaclav Jachin (link in Czech). Gudas is dealing with a wrist injury while Hertl still hasn’t recovered from the knee injury that forced him out of the lineup in the Stanley Cup Final back in June.
Gudas is coming off a strong first season with the Flyers where he provided the team with some grit on the back end. He played in 76 games, collecting 14 points while adding 116 PIMS, 304 hits, and 157 blocked shots. He also played in six postseason contests, being held pointless but he managed to average five hits per game. The 26 year old was rewarded with a four year extension this offseason with a cap hit of $3.35MM.
Philadelphia GM Ron Hextall released the following statement on the Flyers website about the injury:
“Radko Gudas sustained an upper body injury during his offseason training and will be evaluated on a week to week basis. We are hopeful and optimistic that he will not miss any regular season games.”
As for Hertl, he’s coming off the best season of his three year career, recording 21 goals and 25 assists in 81 regular season games for the Sharks. He continued his strong play in the postseason, picking up another 11 points in 20 games to give San Jose some secondary scoring. He inked a two year, $6MM bridge deal back in June.
No replacements have been named at this time. For now, it’s likely that Roman Cervenka, who has added to replace David Krejci yesterday, will move into a regular role with the Czech squad.
[Related: Updated Czech World Cup Roster]
Flyers Extend Radko Gudas
The Philadelphia Flyers have signed D Radko Gudas to a multi-year contract extension, the team announced. TSN’s Bob McKenzie reports that it’s a four year deal while Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston adds the cap hit is $3.35M. He was one year away from being eligible for unrestricted free agency.
Gudas played in 76 games with the Flyers last year, collecting five goals and nine assists while adding 116 PIMS and 304 hits (second most in the NHL). He also logged an average of 19:50 per game. In his career, the 26 year old has suited up in 202 games split between Tampa Bay and Philadelphia, scoring 12 goals and 34 assists while adding 340 PIMS.
Gudas was originally a third round pick of the Lightning back in 2010 and was dealt to the Flyers as part of the Braydon Coburn trade back in 2015. He will likely be a top four blueliner for Philadelphia heading into 2016-17.