The NHL's Department of Player Safety suspended Anaheim Ducks defenseman Radko Gudas for five games for kneeing Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews.
Gudas was assessed a major penalty and a game misconduct for the knee-on-knee collision in Thursday's game.
Radko Gudas goes knee-on-knee with Auston Matthews. Gudas received a minute major pending review. Auston Matthews was down for a while but has gotten back to his feet. pic.twitter.com/Rxf6xIe1GH
— TSN (@TSN_Sports) March 13, 2026
Matthews sustained a Grade 3 MCL tear on the play and will miss the rest of the season.
The five-game ban is the longest suspension the NHL can impose on a player after a phone hearing. Suspensions exceeding five games require an in-person hearing.
Judd Moldaver, Matthews' agent, called the five-game suspension "laughable and preposterous," according to TSN's Chris Johnston.
"While the hearing process is pre-fixed in our CBA, that there was no further discipline is a reckless and ridiculous position for player safety," Moldaver added. "This decision results in a further loss of confidence in the disciplinary process for all players. Players and fans deserve better. The player safety department should be suspended."
This marks Gudas' fifth suspension in his 881-game career. His most recent ban before Friday came in 2019.
Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube called the hit a "dirty play" postgame, per TSN's Mark Masters. Berube was also irked by his team's lack of response to the hit.
"We should have had four guys in there doing something about it," Berube said, according to SDPN's Jesse Blake. "I thought they responded in the third. ... But we all would have liked everyone to get in there right away."
