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CZECH POINTS: NHL’s punishment process needs overhaul

By Paul Martin Mar 19, 2026 | 10:11 AM
You don’t have to be a Toronto Maple Leafs fan to know that the NHL got this one wrong. Dead wrong.
After Anaheim Ducks defenceman Radko Gudas took out Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews with a malicious knee-on-knee hit in a game on March 12, the league’s ludicrously named Department of Player Safety slapped one of the NHL’s dirtiest players — a repeat offender — with a whopping five-game suspension.
A measly five games for a hit that put Matthews on the shelf for the remainder of the season with a torn MCL. Meanwhile, Gudas gets a brief break to recharge his batteries, then returns to the fray well-rested and refreshed.
It’s the latest example of how the NHL Department of Player Safety — headed up by a former goon, George Parros (an inmate running the asylum) — has become an abject failure. A failure to those it is sworn to protect and a failure to the fans.
Gudas was suspended on four previous occasions for various illegal and dangerous hits beginning in 2019. In contrast, in that same year, the NFL suspended Vontaze Burfict for 12 games — just five shy of an entire season — for repeated violations of player safety policies.
And don’t forget. Gudas is the same guy who put Sidney Crosby out of the recent Winter Olympic Games with a questionable hit in Italy.
And his latest reckless act draws five games? Ridiculous.
Matthews’ agent called the suspension “laughable” and Leafs coach Craig Berube probably had to bite his tongue — hard — when he called it “not enough.” Even Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid weighed in on the controversy.
“It seems like there’s a lot of frustration (with the process),” said McDavid.
No kidding.
A simple solution, especially for a menace like Gudas, would be to match the suspension with the number of games the victim misses as a result of an illegal hit. In this case, Gudas would be forced to sit out the remainder of the regular season. Same as Matthews.
And, there is precedent for lengthier suspensions. In 2007 alone, four NHL players were banned for at least 20 games for various violent infractions committed against opponents:
  • Steve Downie, intent to injure, 20 games
  • Jesse Boulerice, crosscheck to face, 25 games
  • Raffi Torres, hit to head, 25 games
  • Chris Simon, high-sticking, 25 games
There are other examples too, including local product Matt Cooke. In 2011, the Stirling native was banned for the remainder of the NHL regular season (10 games) plus the first round of Stanley Cup playoffs for a major elbowing infraction.
At that time, Colin Campbell, then in charge of NHL discipline, said the league “wanted to send a message” to repeat offenders. Campbell added that Cooke’s infraction was conduct that required “a harsh response.”
However, since the appointment of Parros nearly eight years ago, the threat of lengthy suspensions as potential deterrents for on-ice mishaviour has become a thing of the past. Five games seems to be his threshold and there appears to be a glaring lack of scale when it comes to repeat offenders.
Defending his department’s decision on the Gudas suspension earlier this week, Parros said: “We look at the play, not the players.”
Really?
Heck, NHL players who like to gamble are more at risk for suspension than players who specialize in dangerous hits. In 2023, Ottawa’s Shane Pinto was suspended for 41 games for ‘violating league gambling rules.’
How is that even possible when the NHL has a franchise in Las Vegas and has had an ‘official sports betting partnership’ with Fan Duel since 2018? Go ahead and injure an opposition player with a deliberately dirty hit but you better not bet on the outcome. Or else.
Just before the NHL handed down its decision on Gudas, a headline in The Sporting News suggested, correctly, that “Radko Gudas’ latest dangerous hit puts NHL’s Department of Player Safety to the test.”
It did. And it flunked. Miserably.
SENTINEL CUP FINALS
The Western Conference champion Tweed Oil Kings and the Eastern Conference champion Manotick Mariners open the best-of-five NPHL Sentinel Cup final series this weekend. Game 1 is Saturday at Manotick while the Oil Kings host Game 2 in Tweed on Sunday at 6 p.m.
Oil Kings are riding a six-game playoff win streak after sweeping local rival Deseronto Bulldogs in the Western Conference finals. Earlier, Tweed overcame a two-game deficit with three straight victories to eliminate the regular-season champion Smiths Falls Rideaus 3-2 in the semi-final round.
Over in the Metropolitan segment of the NPHL, finalists have yet to be decided for the Apex Cup finals. Four teams are still vying for spots in the championship series: Orangeville Blitz, Six Nations Ironmen, Alvinston Killer Bees and Strathroy Jets.