The NHL Department of Player Safety announced that Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Radko Gudas has been suspended for two games. Gudas will forfeit $81,707.32 to the Players’ Emergency Assistance Fund as a result of the suspension. This is his fourth career suspension.
Philadelphia’s Radko Gudas has been suspended for two games for High-sticking Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov. https://t.co/4Y7iLoWauk
— NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) February 20, 2019
Radko Gudas Out For Two Games
The incident took place in the team’s matchup with the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday night. Gudas and Nikita Kucherov engaged in a stick battle near the boards. After becoming untangled, Gudas slashed Kucherov in the head with his stick. He received a minor penalty for high-sticking on the play.
So far this season, he scored two goals and 11 assists for 13 points. He also added 49 minutes in penalties. His possession numbers were 51.3 percent Corsi and a relative Corsi of 2.7 percent.
Over his 7-year NHL career, Gudas has played for the Lightning and Flyers. He has put up 22 goals and 76 assists for 97 career points in 396 career games. He was drafted in the third round, 66th overall of the 2010 NHL draft by the Lightning.
What This Means For The Future
This is Gudas’ first suspension since December 2017. He had been suspended 10 games for a similar incident involving Winnipeg Jets Mathieu Perreault. Gudas slashed the forward in the back of the head.
Gudas had since cleaned up his play, though, and has been one of the team’s most consistent defensemen this season. His name has swirled around in trade talks, as well. The two-game suspension will allow him to come back before the trade deadline on Monday.
With Gudas suspended the next two games, expect Philippe Myers to draw into the lineup. Myers made his NHL debut on Sunday where he recorded one shot in a little under 10 minutes of ice-time.
Main Photo by Kate Frese (@KateFresePhoto), licensed to Last Word on Hockey. The Photographer retains all rights to the photograph.
