George Parros, head of the NHL's Department of Player Safety, didn't back down from the five-game suspension given to Anaheim Ducks captain Radko Gudas for kneeing Toronto Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews.
"I feel confident in this decision," Parros said Tuesday at the NHL's general manager meetings in Florida, courtesy of Sportsnet. "We came to it for a good reason. When we evaluate these plays, we look at the play, not the players. And then we look at - if we determine that play was worthy of supplemental discipline - we then look at the history of the players involved and if there's an injury or not. This is how we come to make all of our decisions. We did this and made this decision under those circumstances, felt that this was the appropriate response, and so I stand by it."
Matthews sustained a Grade 3 MCL tear during the knee-on-knee collision and won't play again this season. Maple Leafs head coach Craig Berube said Saturday that the five-game ban "doesn't seem like enough." The department gave Gudas a phone hearing, which has a maximum suspension length of five games.
"The assumption was that there was an injury on this play," Parros explained. "Having that information and feeling that way about this, knowing that there's likely an injury, I still decided to have just a phone hearing for that. It wasn't like I decided to have a phone hearing, found out there was an injury, and then wished I had an in-person instead, if that's what you're asking."
Matthews' agent, Judd Moldaver, called the suspension "laughable and preposterous." He also said, "The player safety department should be suspended."
"Is anybody surprised that an agent is gonna stand up for his player? I'm not," Parros said. "There's nasty stuff that gets said out there in the social media world, but that's not my concern."
Edmonton Oilers star Connor McDavid said Monday that "there is reason to take a look at how the whole process works," according to Sportsnet.
"We have a process in place that we feel confident in," Parros responded when asked about McDavid's comments. "We've been doing it for a long time. We sweat over these decisions and pore over these decisions every night, all season long. We have a process in place that's consistent, and we have a team that works for me - and together with me - that evaluates all these plays."
He added, "We've got great guys who make these decisions, and I think the players should be confident in this team to do so."
Parros has held his role since 2017. He played 474 NHL games over nine seasons, racking up 1,092 penalty minutes.
