Pierre LeBrun’s predictions after Radko Gudas-Auston Matthews controversy

Mix a combination of a Toronto Maple Leafs failed season, an Auston Matthews season-ending injury, a dirty Radko Gudas hit, and a low-ball suspension, and you get one of the biggest controversies of the NHL season. Unfortunately for commissioner Gary Bettman, it came just days before all the NHL’s general managers converge in Florida for the annual meetings.

If Bettman wanted to get some important work done this week, he’s going to have to address the elephant in the room first. After Gudas received the five-game suspension, social media was set ablaze with fans calling for George Parros’ job, the enforcer-turned-executive who hands out the justice. It even drew a response from Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid, who called for changes to the process.

While some around the league expect something to come of the drama at the meetings, others think it might be a moot point dramatized by social media, according to The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun.

“If anything, the Gudas knee-on-knee incident is actually a reminder of how far the game has come. It’s more of a one-off than a trend, which is perhaps an even better reason to hammer a play like that with a harsher suspension,” Lebrun stated in his recent article. “Either way, I doubt we’ll see another knee-on-knee hit like it this season.”

The hit on the captain of the most-talked-about organization in hockey brought more light to the situation. However, in a league that has weathered plenty of controversies about physical play, this seems like another that will eventually fizzle out.

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