Flyers defenseman Radko Gudas celebrates his 26th birthday on June 5. Coming off an eventful 2015-16 season that saw him at the center of several controversies for his aggressive playing style but also gain the trust of head coach Dave Hakstol to play tough minutes, Gudas is a restricted free agent this summer.
Flyers general manager Ron Hextall has said that the team would like to get a multi-year deal with Gudas. The question will be how many years and how much of a raise he will get on his expiring contract that paid $991,667 against the salary cap.
Gudas bounced back nicely from a knee injury that cost him the second half of the 2014-15 and prevented him from playing after he was traded from Tampa Bay to the Flyers. This past season, Gudas was second in the NHL -- and tops among defensemen -- with 304 hits and an average 4.0 hits per game. He ranked second on the Flyers and was tied for 19th in the NHL with 157 blocked shots.
The Czech defenseman even finished on the positive side of the Corsi/Fenwick ledger; leading all Flyers defensemen in that statistic despite starting roughly half his shifts outside the offensive zone at five-on-five.
After going goalless from October to February, Gudas unexpectedly contributed five goals to the Flyers down the stretch drive including a two-goal game. He displayed an underrated first pass, at least as short to medium range. However, he sometimes got himself in trouble when he tried to do too much with the puck.
Speaking of getting himself in trouble, Gudas' reputation for pushing the envelope with his physical play was a mixed blessing. On the one hand, it led to an NHL suspension and several game misconducts as well as not receiving the benefit of the doubt on any marginal penalties. On the flip side, he was one of the few players in today's NHL who had a legitimate intimidation factor among some opponents. There were players who kept their distance and gave him room.
There is no longer a question, as there was last summer, whether Gudas will have a top-six role on Hakstol's team. He definitively answered that question in 2014-15. Going forward, it will be interesting to see how much of a commitment the Flyers make to Gudas. Will they protect him in an expansion draft? what will his role be as some of the prospects graduate to the NHL?. Those issues will start to gain clarity over the next year.
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Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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