Philadelphia Flyers defenceman Radko Gudas has once again landed himself in hot water after slashing Winnipeg Jets forward Mathieu Perreault in the head/neck area during Thursday’s game.
Perreault, who was not injured on the play, believes the slash was intentional and not a fluke accident as a result of losing his balance.
“He apologized in the penalty box, but when you look at the replay it looks like he did it on purpose,” Perreault told reporters after the game. “It wasn’t an accident. I think he’s been known for doing stuff like that. I certainly don’t appreciate it but I’m sure the league will take care of it.”
The NHL will likely issue a ruling soon, as Gudas was offered an in-person hearing with the Department of Player Safety on Friday. There is no date or time set yet, but the nature of the infraction as well as Gudas’ history suggests a suspension longer than five games could be coming. The league’s new mandate to crack down on stick infractions will likely factor into the the length of the suspension, too.
Gudas’ list of infractions includes several other cases of targeting an opponent’s head. The league sat him for three games following a high hit on Mika Zibanejad in 2015, and issued him a six-game suspension for a reckless hit on Austin Czarnik during the 2016-17 pre-season just days after avoiding suspension for a similar infraction on Jimmy Vesey.
Less than a month ago, he was ejected (but not suspended) for this bad hit on Chris Wideman:
Gudas received a five-minute major and a game misconduct for Thursday’s slash. Perreault said it could have been worse.
“He got me in the meaty part of the neck so … it could’ve been worse if he got me in the side of the face or on the skull or bone or something,” Perreault said “Yeah, it was kind of stupid.”
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