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NEW YORK — 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.
Gudas is having a hearing Friday with the NHL's Department of Player Safety. Because the hearing is a conference call and not "in-person" — now on Zoom — the league cannot suspend Gudas for more than five games.
With just over four minutes left in the second period of the teams' game Thursday night, Gudas' left knee made contact with Matthews' left knee and sent the 28-year-old American star to the ice in pain.
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.
Toronto coach Craig Berube called it a dirty play, and forward Matthew Knies said Gudas has "done a few of those before in his career." Anaheim coach Joel Quenneville defended Gudas, saying there was no premeditation and that it was the result of reflexes.
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 of the Olympics, while representing Czechia. He was not penalized, and opponents did not publicly take issue with Gudas' role in the situation.
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.
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.
Matthews last month captained the U.S. to its first men's hockey gold medal at the Olympics since 1980. The Arizona native is in his 10th season in the league and leads the Maple Leafs in goals with 27.
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