Radko Gudas may have delivered the most vicious hit of the young NHL season Thursday night in Tampa. However, that hit will not cost him a paycheck or any games, the NHL Department of Player Safety announced on Friday.
The Lightning defender lit up Panthers forward Scottie Upshall with an elbow to the head in the second period of Tampa’s 3-2 overtime win over its in-state rivals. It looked bad, as you can see from the video below.
But looking bad and actually being illegal are two separate things. No penalty was called on the play and in the end, Gudas received only a warning from the league office, which tweeted out the justification:
(1) Gudas hit on Upshall merited warning but not SD for the following reasons:...
— NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) October 10, 2014
(2) Per Rule 48: "When determining whether contact with an opponent's head was avoidable, the circumstances of the hit shall be considered.”
— NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) October 10, 2014
(3) Here, Upshall assumed a posture that made head contact on an otherwise full-body check unavoidable. pic.twitter.com/IGmlYp5WzD
— NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) October 10, 2014
(4) Also, contact was in immediate aftermath of Gudas playing puck.
— NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) October 10, 2014
The prior history between the two, when Upshall squirted Gudas with a water bottle last season, does not appear to have played a role in the league's decision making. Though if the hit were legal, as the league says, then perhaps that's where the warning came into play, since why would a player need to be warned about a legal hit?
You can judge for yourself via the video above. But agree or disagree, Gudas will be available for the Lightning when they host the Senators on Saturday.