Former Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Radko Gudas may have found a new home in the NHL, but those of us here in the Bolts Nation will always remember why we should “Fear The Beard.”
The Tampa Bay Lightning may have quite a number of players who have some pretty fierce beards (here’s looking at you, Jason Garrison,) but there is one beard that quickly stole the hearts of Tampa Bay Lightning fans all around the Bolts Nation; defenseman Radko Gudas.
After being drafted in the Third Round (66th Overall) by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, former Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Radko Gudas would finally make his debut on the Lightning’s main roster in the 2012-13 season. With each season that passed, Gudas would become more and more feared on the ice; not only for his ability to put make waves offensively, but for the incredibly hard hit we came to expect.
Unfortunately, last season the young Czech defenseman would finally come across a hurdle that he could not so easily smash his way through. The scary part is that is saying a lot considering the impact Gudas has when it comes to smashing his opponent into the boards.
It all started out rather early when Gudas would be forced to miss four games with a Lower Body Injury in the early part of the season. Just before Christmas in December, Gudas would miss another three games thanks to the ugly stomach virus that seemed to be making its way through the Tampa Bay Lightning locker room.
Unfortunately, just after the start of the New Year, Gudas received news that no professional athlete ever wants to hear. On January 5th it was announced that Gudas had sustained an injury that would leave him with an uncertain future; he was classified as “out indefinitely.” Less than 24 hours later, it was announced that Gudas would be forced to miss the remainder of the regular season.
At this point, the Tampa Bay Lightning were left in a heck of a bind. There was a very good possibility that they would be looking at a solid run in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and now they would be down one of their sturdier and hard-hitting defensemen. Something simply had to be done.
The Tampa Bay Lightning made the call to the Syracuse Crunch and defenseman Nikita Nesterov would emerge on the Lightning’s main roster. Nesterov did a top notch job filling in for Gudas and certainly made an impact on the Tampa Bay Lightning, and more so made people remember his name.
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Unfortunately, as much as the Tampa Bay Lightning fans wanted to see Gudas back on the ice in Lightning blue, it was simply not meant to be. At the NHL Trade Deadline, Tampa Bay Lightning Vice President and General Manager Steve Yzerman made the decision to trade Gudas, along with a 1st and 3rd Round Pick in the 2015 NHL Draft, to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for defenseman Braydon Coburn.
In the 31 games he did play with the Tampa Bay Lightning, he was able to score 2 goals and 3 assists for a total of 5 points.
Radko Gudas was a solid player, both on and off the ice. There is no denying that those of us here in the Bolts Nation miss Gudas and wish that things had turned out differently for him, but as the old adage goes, things happen for a reason. We may not know what that reason is just yet, but only time will tell the tale.
What did you think of Radko Gudas’ short-lived performance in the 2014-15 season? Do you agree with Yzerman’s decision to trade the young Czech defenseman? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
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