Radko Gudas may have been on the Pittsburgh Penguins radar prior to the trade deadline.

PITTSBURGH - General manager Ron Hextall did what he could to improve the Pittsburgh Penguins lineup prior to the NHL trade deadline.

While the Penguins got marginally better under Hextall’s decision making, was there another player on his radar?

As the deadline neared, Florida Panther general manager Bill Zito made it clear to teams that Radko Gudas was available.

According to Elliotte Friedman on the 32 Thoughts Podcast, he was told that multiple teams were in touch about Gudas and he wouldn’t be surprised if the Penguins were one of them.

At first it might not make sense for the Penguins to go after Gudas, but you have to look into the details.

We know Hextall wasn’t afraid to add a defenseman at the deadline; he acquired Dmitry Kulikov from the Anaheim Ducks, adding to the log jam at blue line.

Quite a few fans and pundits believe the Penguins needed to add an element of toughness and grit, Gudas offers that in spades as one of the NHL’s most physical players.

Gudas has been suspended by the league on four separate occasions, all with the Philadelphia Flyers.

That very last point makes things way clearer; Gudas was a member the Flyers while Hextall was the GM.

It was Hextall who signed Gudas to a four-year contract with the Flyers in 2016, and could be labeled as one of Hextall’s ‘guys.’

Penguins fans already know what Hextall thinks of his ‘guys,’ just look at how pampered Jeff Carter has been since his arrival.

While Gudas doesn’t make sense in the Mike Sullivan system, he is certainly a player that would fit under Hextall and Brian Burke.

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