Last playoffs, Radko Gudas was essential to the Florida Panthers' success. While he is not known for his goalscoring, his ability to lay a big hit and prevent other teams' best players from scoring makes him awfully valuable in today's NHL.
It was recently revealed that a couple of Canadian teams offered Gudas a contract, including the Maple Leafs.
Citing media pressure as his reason for not signing, the Czech defender was one of the most hated figures in hockey for two weeks when playing Toronto in the 2nd round.
On top of not signing with the Leafs, he also passed on the Flames and Oilers.
While it is known that pressure from the media comes from playing with the Leafs, it may hinder them from success.
With it being known that Gudas is leaving Toronto's offer on the table on top of other top talents leaving the Leafs due to pressure like Ryan O'Reilly, the Maple Leafs may have to over pay their top players to keep them.
POLL | ||
Would you have liked to see Gudas on the Maple Leafs? | ||
Yes | 491 | 37.9 % |
No | 806 | 62.1 % |
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