- Kevin Weekes says the Leafs and Panthers are eyeing Ducks captain Radko Gudas
- Gudas reaches free agency July 1 and could fetch $3.5 to $4 million per year
- Read below for the awkward Gudas history with Auston Matthews and Toronto
The Maple Leafs might go after the guy who ended Auston Matthews’ season.
ESPN’s Kevin Weekes reported Thursday that Toronto is one of the teams eyeing Anaheim captain Radko Gudas once free agency opens. Gudas’ old club, the Florida Panthers, is in the mix too.
Weekes laid it out on X:
Gudas hits the open market July 1, when his three-year, $12 million contract with the Ducks expires. Weekes expects the 36-year-old to land a two-or-three-year deal worth between $3.5 and $4 million per season.
He is one of the most physical right-shot defensemen available. Weekes called him experienced and playoff tested, and Anaheim could still bring him back. The interest around the league looks real either way.
Here is where it gets awkward for Toronto.
Gudas is the same defenseman who caught Matthews with a knee-on-knee hit in March.
Watch the hit that earned Gudas a five-minute major and a game misconduct:
Matthews left that game and never came back. The Leafs shut their captain down for the rest of the season with a knee injury.
Toronto fell apart after that. The Leafs finished 32-36-14 and missed the playoffs for the first time since 2015-16, and the blue line was a problem all year.
Now new general manager John Chayka could hand the player who hurt Matthews a multi-year contract to help fix it.
Gudas going from the guy Leafs fans wanted suspended to one they cheer on the penalty kill would be one of the stranger turns of the offseason.
