Anaheim Ducks defenseman Radko Gudas faces a suspension of up to five games for his knee-on-knee hit that injured Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews.<\/p>\n
NEW YORK(AP) \u2014 Anaheim Ducks defenseman Radko Gudas faces a suspension of up to five games for his knee-on-knee hit that injured<\/a> Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews.<\/p>\n Gudas is having a hearing Friday with the NHL\u2019s Department of Player Safety. Because the hearing is a conference call and not \u201cin-person\u201d \u2014 now on Zoom \u2014 the league cannot suspend Gudas for more than five games. <\/p>\n With just over four minutes left in the second period of the teams’ game<\/a> Thursday night, Gudas’ left knee made contact with Matthews’ left knee and sent the 28-year-old American star to the ice in pain. <\/p>\n Gudas was given a 5-minute major penalty and ejected. Matthews needed assistance from an athletic trainer and a teammate to leave the rink, and he did not return.<\/p>\n Toronto coach Craig Berube called it a dirty play, and forward Matthew Knies said Gudas has \u201cdone a few of those before in his career.\u201d Anaheim coach Joel Quenneville defended Gudas, saying there was no premeditation and that it was the result of reflexes.<\/p>\n Gudas, a 35-year-old bruising defender who is 6-foot and 208 pounds, was also involved in the play that knocked Canada’s Sidney Crosby out<\/a> of the Olympics, while representing Czechia. He was not penalized, and opponents did not publicly take issue with Gudas’ role in the situation.<\/p>\n Although not a repeat offender under the terms of the collective bargaining agreement, which counts supplemental discipline over the past two years, Gudas has a long rap sheet from his decade-plus NHL career. He was suspended four times between 2015-19: three games for an illegal check to the head, six for interference, 10 for slashing and two for high-sticking.<\/p>\n With those added up, Gudas has been suspended for 21 games and docked $751,360 in salary. He’ll forfeit roughly $20,800 for each game he is suspended this time, up to a maximum of $104,167 if he gets five.<\/p>\n