Anaheim Geese captain Radko Gudas was issued a five-game suspension for a knee-on-knee hit on Auston Matthews. Outrage got here from Toronto Maple Leafs fans and NHL players like Connor McDavid, saying the suspension was not enough. Head of the NHL’s Department of Player Safety, George Parros, defended the choice on Tuesday.
“We got here to it for good reason,” Parros told NHL.com’s Dan Rosen. “After we evaluate these plays, we take a look at the play and never the players. If we determine that play was worthy of supplemental discipline, we then take a look at history of the players involved and if there’s an injury or not. That is how we come to make all of our decisions. We did this and made this decision under those circumstances, felt that this was the suitable response, and so I stand by it.”
Gudas was given a virtual hearing, which caps the suspension at five games. It also eliminates the flexibility for the player to appeal the ban through a neutral arbitrator. Parros said those facts had nothing to do with the choice.
“Whether or not there’s an appeal, I can not really worry about that. I even have to make what I feel is the fitting decision, the choice that I can defend and the choice I can sleep with at night.”
Despite the outrage over the suspension, nothing has modified regarding Gudas’ ban. The Geese finished their East Coast road trip with a loss to the Ottawa Senators and a win over the Montreal Canadiens. Gudas missed each of those games and can miss the following three. The captain might be eligible to return on March twenty fourth on the road against the Vancouver Canucks.
The Geese and Maple Leafs do face off again on March 30 in Anaheim. Your complete Leafs team was lambasted for not defending their captain, so it could get rowdy in two weeks.