Radko Gudas and his family are at home in South Florida, but will the pending UFA remain with the Panthers?
Radko Gudas and his family are at home in South Florida, but will the pending UFA remain with the Panthers?
One of the best free agent signings made by Florida Panthers General Manager Bill Zito during his tenure with the team is also one of the least discussed.
When Zito was hired back in September of 2020, the ink was barely dry on his own contact when he offered one to veteran defenseman Radko Gudas.
Known as a physical, stay-at-home rearguard with a mean streak, Gudas’ reputation may have been a bit blown up in terms of his perceived overly aggressive side, but the player and person he was couldn’t have been better suited for what Zito already knew the Panthers needed.
And on the flip side, Gudas and his family found South Florida to be a perfect fit for their on-the-go lifestyle that comes with having not one, not two, not three, but four young children.
When he’s not at the hockey rink, Papa Gudas is almost surely spending time with his wife Barbara and their little ones, 8-year-old Leontynka, 6-year-old Kvido, 3-year-old Elvira and 1-year-old Frida.
It’s typical during the season for him to transform from Radko to Dadko and back again, and he couldn’t be happier about it.
“Sometimes I get out of the arena, I go home, have lunch, pick them up from school and drive them around from their activities, and then I ended up being back here at the Ice Den for another two hours because they both are skating,” Gudas said.
It’s clear that, to steal a phrase from Forrest Gump, South Florida and the Gudas family go together like peas and carrots.
That’s a big part of why when the Trade Deadline rolled around, Gudas wasn’t too keen on the idea of other teams showing interest in the veteran blueliner.
As the big day drew closer, whispers of GMs calling Florida about Gudas grew louder.
That came as no surprise, as Gudas has consistently provided Florida with sound, well-positioned defensive hockey while adding a physical element and earning a strong reputation as a great leader and teammate in the locker room.
He’s also a pending unrestricted free agent, so there was the rental aspect playing a factor as well.
Needless to say, Gudas felt a sense of relief when the deadline passed and he remained with the Panthers.
“It's never a fun position to be in,” said Gudas. “I mean, it is nice to know that you’re wanted, but for me, I didn't want to be moved. I believe in this group, and I believe we can make the playoffs.”
Florida being close to a playoff spot and the front office believing that the team has what it takes to get there are part of the reasons why Gudas remains with the Panthers.
Between finally having a healthy roster and facing a favorable part of the schedule, there is confidence growing that Florida’s playoff push will indeed get them to the postseason for a franchise record fourth straight year.
“It took us a long time to get everybody healthy and everybody playing, but I would say since Christmas we kind of picked up on the level I think we're comfortable playing at, and we're really hard on the plays that we need to be, and I think we're doing a lot of great things,” Gudas said. “I think it's in our path to make the playoffs.”
Of course, there is also the question regarding what happens after this season ends.
Whether that day comes after game number 82 or it comes following a center ice handshake line, eventually Florida’s players will have to clean out their lockers.
To that end, Gudas has made no secret about his desire to stay with the Panthers.
As was earlier mentioned, he’ll be a free agent at the end of the season, when the three-year, $7.5M deal he signed with Florida during the 2020 offseason expires.
He’ll also turn 33 on June 5.
It appears there is interest on the Panthers side to keep Gudas around, based off the comments of General Manager Bill Zito after the Trade Deadline passed.
Zito said preliminary discussions had been breached with Gudas’ representatives regarding a new contract, which sure indicates a desire to keep the player around past this year.
“We started talking to Radko a little bit, and we’ll continue,” Zito said on deadline day. “We’d like to keep him if we can.”
If there is mutual interest, it would seem that any difference between the two sides would come down to either money or contract term, or a combination of the two.
Gudas is at the stage of his career where he isn’t going to be offered much term on any contact. He also is coming off a contract he signed at age 30 that paid an AAV of $2.5 million, so it’s not likely his ask on a new deal will be unreasonable for a player of his age and caliber.
Unless Zito and Panthers foresee a major drop-off in Gudas’ abilities over the next couple years, which would be unlikely based off his unrelenting work ethic on and off the ice, it would seem to be a reasonable expectation the two sides can come to an agreement.
“We're gonna see what happens next,” Gudas said. “My heart is down here. I enjoy playing for this team and I really like the organization. I really wish I could stay here, and I wish I could finish my career here.”