Gudas helped the Florida Panthers reach the 2023 Stanley Cup Final, where they lost to the Vegas Golden Knights in five games. Since being selected by Tampa Bay in the third round (No. 66) of the 2010 NHL Draft, he has recorded 182 points (39 goals, 143 assists) and 971 penalty minutes in 748 regular-season games for the Ducks, Panthers, Washington Capitals, Philadelphia Flyers and Tampa Bay Lightning. He has recorded 10 points (one goal, nine assists) in 57 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
“After taking time to evaluate our group over the past few seasons, Radko has proven to be a natural leader who has all the qualities of a captain and the respect of his teammates, our staff and his peers,” said Verbeek. “As we establish a group of young players in the NHL, we felt it was necessary for our team to be led by a veteran. Radko is an example of what it means to be a professional, how to conduct yourself on and off the ice and in the community. He is a mentor to our young group of future leaders.”
Gudas is the sixth NHL captain from the Czech Republic, joining Peter Stastny (Quebec Nordiques, 1985-90), Jaromir Jagr (Pittsburgh Penguins, 1998-01; New York Rangers, 2006-08), Patrik Elias (New Jersey Devils, 2006-07), Bobby Holik (Atlanta Thrashers, 2007-08) and Milan Hejduk (Colorado Avalanche, 2011-12).
There are three teams in the NHL without a captain: the Buffalo Sabres, Seattle Kraken and the Utah Hockey Club. On Wednesday, the Chicago Blackhawks named Nick Foligno and the Tampa Bay Lightning named Victor Hedman as captain.
