“Five games is nothing”: Craig Berube unhappy with NHL’s five-game suspension for Radko Gudas

Anaheim Ducks captain Radko Gudas received a five-game suspension from the NHL Player Safety Department after delivering a knee-on-knee hit on Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday. Following this, Leafs head coach Craig Berube seems very unhappy with the NHL’s decision on Gudas’ suspension. As Berube noted, given the severity of the situation, a five-game suspension was not enough for Radko Gudas.

Earlier, the NHL’s Department of Player Safety announced on Friday that Anaheim Ducks defenseman Radko Gudas will have a hearing for kneeing the Toronto Maple Leafs center. This brutal attack on Matthews has led to a lower-body injury, prompting the player to miss a few crucial upcoming matches. Meanwhile, several NHL analysts and the Leafs have expressed their angst over the brutal hit on Matthews. They have condemned the misconduct and demanded strict action against the player.

Craig Berube expresses dissatisfaction with NHL’s five-game suspension for Radko Gudas

Toronto Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube has expressed his strong dissatisfaction with the NHL's five-game suspension handed to Anaheim Ducks defenseman Radko Gudas for kneeing captain Auston Matthews during Thursday night’s match.

In fact, several Toronto Maple Leafs feel that Radko Gudas’ five-game suspension for his knee-on-knee hit that ended Auston Matthews’ season wasn’t severe enough and should have been stricter. His brutal attack led Matthews to suffer a Grade 3 MCL tear and quad contusion, prompting him to miss the remaining season.


Speaking to the media, Craig Berube stated, “Looking at it, we lose our guy, our captain for the year, I don’t know, it doesn’t seem like enough for me … guy doing it is a repeat offender, it just doesn’t seem like enough.”

The head coach also stated, “I believe Auston’s been ruled out for quite a while, right, so it’s going to be more than five games what he’s missing, so it easily could’ve been longer. Can’t say five games is nothing but, yeah, easily could have seen it been longer.”

Berube initially called the hit a “dirty play,” but the Ducks head coach, Joel Quenneville, said there was no intent on Gudas’ part. Apart from Berube, Matthews Knies also voiced his opinion on losing their best player, Matthews. The player stated, “I think the league could’ve done a little bit more seeing as our best player, our captain [is] not going to be with us for the rest of the year. That’s a big loss ... I would’ve loved to see a little bit more.” (source: TSN)

Meanwhile, NHL Player Safety announced the ban on Friday night, shortly after the Maple Leafs said their captain would miss the remainder of the season due to a major lower-body injury.

According to reports, the Anaheim Ducks captain was ejected from the game after a collision with Matthews late in the second period. Matthews had the puck in the Ducks’ zone when Gudas approached, and when the Maple Leafs captain attempted to get out of the way, Gudas made a brutal knee-on-knee hit with him.

Following the incident, officials assessed the matter, and Gudas immediately received a five-minute major penalty for kneeing and a game misconduct, resulting in his ejection. According to reports, he will forfeit $104,166.65 in salary during the suspension.


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