Veteran defenseman Radko Gudas agreed to a six-year deal with the Florida Panthers in unrestricted free agency, the team announced Wednesday afternoon.

The contract carries a $1.5 million cap hit, league sources, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to address details that aren’t public, told The Athletic’s Chris Johnston. Gudas’ daughter, Tynka, announced that Gudas would be returning to Florida in a video released on social media Wednesday morning.

The 36-year-old Gudas spent the past three seasons with the Anaheim Ducks, who traded his rights to Florida this week for forward A.J. Greer. Greer signed a four-year extension with a $4.25 million cap hit with the Ducks on Tuesday. Gudas served as Anaheim’s captain in 2024-25 and 2025-26.

Tynka Gudas reporting live with breaking news 📰 pic.twitter.com/mkcx1NKR0H

— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) July 1, 2026

Gudas previously skated with the Panthers for three seasons, including on the 2022-23 squad that lost in the Stanley Cup Final against the Vegas Golden Knights.

Gudas has scored 42 goals and 211 points in 885 career games, spread out across five teams: the Tampa Bay Lightning, Philadelphia Flyers, Washington Capitals, Panthers and Ducks.

What Gudas brings to the Panthers

While the Panthers originally let Gudas head to Anaheim, where he would eventually become the Ducks’ first captain since Ryan Getzlaf, the defenseman is a known quantity to general manager Bill Zito after three seasons in Florida, where he played a key role in the Panthers’ rise to becoming an NHL power and two-time Stanley Cup champion.

Gudas was on that Panthers club that lost to Vegas in the 2023 Cup Final before he left for a free-agent payday. Now he’ll return as a respected veteran who fits right in with their bruising style on the ice. Last season proved challenging for many reasons: He battled injuries — including one that sidelined him after Game 1 of this year’s playoffs — and suffered the ramifications of hits that injured opposing stars Sidney Crosby and Auston Matthews. Additionally, while representing Czechia at the 2026 Winter Olympics, Gudas was heard using a word that is considered a homophobic slur during a game against Canada, for which he later apologized.

There is a good chance Gudas will miss a handful of games at minimum because of his take-no-prisoners game, but he will battle for every inch on the ice and could settle in on Florida’s third defensive pairing behind Seth Jones and Aaron Ekblad on the right side. The six-year term is the eye-catcher, but it must be viewed as a creative way for the Panthers to keep his cap number low and maintain some financial flexibility.