Anaheim Ducks captain Radko Gudas has been summoned for a hearing by the NHL’s Department of Player Safety after knocking Toronto Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews out of Thursday night’s game with a reckless knee-on-knee hit.
The hearing, scheduled to be conducted by phone on Friday afternoon, only allows for a suspension of up to five games under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement.
That likely won’t satisfy the Leafs after seeing their best player potentially knocked out for the remainder of the regular season. Matthews was scheduled to have an MRI on Friday to determine the extent of the damage to his left knee. He missed the final 25 minutes of Thursday’s 6-4 win over the Ducks.
Gudas has a track record of crossing the line and injuring opponents.
Between 2015 and 2019, the rugged defenseman was suspended four times by the NHL for incidents involving dangerous hits or illegal stick work, resulting in suspensions totaling 21 games and the forfeiture of more than $750,000 in salary.
The Czech also knocked Team Canada captain Sidney Crosby out of the recent Milan Cortina Olympics in the quarterfinals, albeit with a heavy hit that Crosby later told reporters he had no problem with.
The play with Matthews clearly crossed the line.
Gudas was caught out of position when the Leafs captain received a pass in the slot area in front of the Ducks’ net. He took several hard skating strides from the corner before extending his left leg and driving through Matthews’ knee.
Gudas received a five-minute major penalty and game misconduct.
“It’s a dirty play,” Leafs coach Craig Berube said. “The league’s gonna obviously look at it, and we’ll see what the suspension will be or whatever happens.”
The Leafs and Ducks play again on March 30 in Anaheim.
Gudas’ suspension history
• 10 games on Nov. 19, 2017, for slashing Mathieu Perreault of the Winnipeg Jets in the neck, forfeiting $408,536.60 in salary.
• 6 games on Oct. 10, 2016, for a late, high hit against Austin Czarnik of the Boston Bruins, forfeiting $245,121.96 in salary.
• 3 games on Dec. 2, 2015, for an illegal check to the head of Mika Zibanejad of the Ottawa Senators, forfeiting $15,994.62 in salary.
• 2 games on Feb. 20, 2019, for high-sticking Nikita Kucherov of the Tampa Bay Lighting, forfeiting $81,707.32 in salary.