Gudas gets slapped with 10-game suspension, fine

PHILADELPHIA » The best news Radko Gudas heard Sunday was that the game he sat out Saturday counts toward the suspension he’ll receive for putting a stick to the neck of Winnipeg’s Mathieu Perreault.

Gudas, the Flyers defenseman with a reputation around the league for acts of such dirty play, was slapped with a major penalty when he hit Perreault last week. But it was his two previous suspensions for high hits which earned him a significant penalty Sunday.

Gudas found out by phone that he’d incurred a 10-game suspension from the NHL’s Department of Player Safety.

According to the league department’s announcement, Gudas used his stick in a “forceful chopping motion delivered to a player in a vulnerable position.” The act, which seemed in retaliation to Perreault’s own rough-housing with a stick, was deemed “reckless and was done with substantial force.”

Because of the force of the Gudas stick slash, and due to the fact that he’s a repeat offender, Gudas was slapped with the 10game violation. By sitting out Saturday’s 4-3 overtime loss to Calgary, Gudas has nine games remaining on the penalty. He’s eligible to return Dec. 12, a home game against Toronto.

Gudas incurred a sixgame suspension in Oct. 2016, and served three games in late 2015, both times due hits to the head area.

This looked worse. Gudas, who forfeits more than $400,000 of his $3.5 million salary this season along with the suspension, waived the right to an in-person hearing at the NHL’s offices in New York. He knew what was in store.

In last Thursday’s game in Winnipeg, Perreault used his stick in an upclose scrum which wound up dislodging Gudas’s helmet. He responded by chopping his stick downward on the Jets player’s neck, though Gudas said it happened as a result of him losing his balance.

Interviewed later, Perreault said Gudas had tried to apologize to him. But he noted that it had appeared Gudas “did it on purpose. It wasn’t an accident.

“He’s been known for doing stuff like that,” Perreault added.

The Department Player Safety seemed agree. of to

*** In other news, the NHL announced the Flyers will take part in another one of those outdoor games, this one to be held at Lincoln Financial Field.

It’s the anticipated second part of the Stadium Series with the Penguins, the first game of which was played in Pittsburgh’s Heinz Field last Feb. 25 at the home of the Steelers.

This game is set for the Eagles’ digs on Feb. 23, 2019.