Radko Gudas Generating Interest In Market

The Prague native was named captain of the Ducks on Sept. 19, 2024, one season into his three-year, $12MM ($4MM AAV) contract signed with Anaheim back in July of 2023. Since that signing, among Ducks defensemen, his 203 games tallied the third most, his +16 rating ranks first, his 657 hits at 10.36 hits per 60 are far and away the most by a Duck, and his 420 blocks also lead his fellow blueliners. His first two seasons in Orange County saw him logging nearly 20 minutes of average time on ice before a dip in ice time this season saw him at around 16 minutes averaged.

Gudas not only brings leadership, which his fellow Duck teammates raved about getting back for this past postseason, but also his presence in physicality. Weekes listed two teams that are potential fits in the running for the seasoned veteran with 14 NHL seasons under his belt. Hypothetically, he added that a similar two-to-three-year contract at around the same AAV of $3.5MM to $4+MM AAV could apply to the next deal he signs.

Firstly, Weekes listed a return to his former club before going out west in the Florida Panthers. Florida originally acquired Gudas by signing him to a three-year deal on October 9, 2020, giving him $7.5MM ($2.5MM AAV) for his services. He helped the Panthers en route to the club’s Stanley Cup contention window, notably taking them on that miraculous run to the finals in 2022-23, after entering the postseason as a wild card team.

If the Panthers were to sign Gudas again, familiarity is a positive in both parties’ favor. The Panthers currently have around $15.2MM in cap space and are spending nearly a quarter of their total roster’s cap hit on the blue line. The team has two right-shots in Seth Jones and Aaron Ekblad, and four left-shots in Gustav Forsling, Niko Mikkola, Dmitry Kulikov, and Uvis Balinskis. While the last two of those names also have ‘RD’ in their profiles, adding a third right-handed veteran who has been in your organization before would add some much-needed experience for a Panthers squad looking to reboot itself out of last season’s 7th place finish in the Atlantic Division.

The second team Weekes listed would also grant Gudas a return to the Atlantic; this team ended up below the Panthers in the division and holds the No. 1 overall pick, eight spots ahead of Florida’s ninth overall selection at this year’s NHL Draft. The Maple Leafs have been mixing up their D-corps, pending a contract for recently acquired Emil Andrae, and now $68MM gifted to Darren Raddysh. Gudas would provide some solid veteran depth as the Leafs look to build back towards a playoff window. Toronto is paying over 30% of its cap hit to its defenseman and holds over $18.7MM in cap space after its moves, but could be in store for more, pending the rumored movement of Morgan Rielly elsewhere. Gudas would join a right side that boasts Raddysh alongside Brandon Carlo and Chris Tanev for a hefty veteran group.

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