The NHL Department of Player Safety once again handed out a ridiculous punishment for the egregious hit on Toronto Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews.
The NHL “threw the book” at Gudas, suspending the Anaheim Ducks’ captain for five games.
That’s it.
It’s a risible penalty for an evidently egregious hit on Matthews. It doesn’t matter that it was Matthews. It could have been a lifelong AHLer finally playing his first NHL game. The point is that this is a player who has a LONG history of suspension. In total, Gudas has missed 21 games due to on-ice violations.
So, why only five games this time?
If this were a criminal case, Gudas’ history would have prompted any judge worth their salt to apply the maximum sentence allowed under the law.
Matthews’ agent, Judd Moldaver, summed up this point of view in his comments blasting the NHL for the puny reaction to the situation.
“In light of the obvious severity of the play, I am very disappointed and shocked that the league would allow for such a ruling.”
Anyone who disagrees with Moldaver likely doesn’t understand the severity of the situation at hand. Moldaver’s outrage is one shared in Leafs Nation, but also across the league.
“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.”
No, the Department of Player Safety should not be suspended. It should be disbanded and overhauled to reflect its true nature. The NHL can pontificate all it wants about player safety and so on. But when it actually comes down to protecting players, it fails to step up when it needs to.
NHL should crack down on on-ice malice
One of the pillars in any criminal case is intent. Intent can be the difference between a long sentence and the electric chair.
In this case, Gudas deserves the chair.
The intent on Gudas’ part is clear. He’s a goon and has no business being on the ice. The fact that the Ducks slapped the “C” on his chest says a lot about the way the team conducts business. Having a player with such a long and checkered disciplinary history is hardly conducive to building a young team. What are players like Beckett Sennecke, Leo Carlsson, Jackson LaCombe, and Mason McTavish going to think when their captain does something like this?
What’s stopping any player on the Ducks’ roster from taking such a dirty run at someone like Connor McDavid or Nathan MacKinnon during a playoff series?
What’s going to end up happening is that the Ducks are going to have targets on their backs. Friday’s decision sends a signal to coaches around the league that Anaheim is a dirty team. Opponents will have to bring out the heavy artillery against them.
That’s why the NHL needs to crack down on on-ice malice. Giving Gudas five games was naught more than a slap on the wrist.
This five-game suspension is bad karma on the Ducks and eternal damnation on the league.