Connor McDavid Weighs In On Gudas Suspension: 'Frustration'

Just like that iconic old E.F. Hutton slogan, but with a twist: When Connor McDavid talks, people listen.

Everyone around hockey is talking about the controversial five-game suspension handed out to Radko Gudas for ending Auston Matthews' season with a brutal knee-on-knee hit. So, of course, McDavid was asked to weigh in on it. He spoke to the media in Edmonton on Sunday, and said it's time for "a better way" to hand out punishment:

I think the (NHL’s Department of Player Safety) has done their best. It’s not an easy thing to do. You know, with that being said, I think that there is reason to take a look at how the whole process works. If every time there’s a suspension, everybody complains about it, well, why don’t we take a look at the process and figure out if there’s a better way to make sure both parties are happy? Because it seems like there’s a lot of frustration there. —Connor McDavid

That 'frustration' was evident when Matthews' agent Judd Moldaver spoke out immediately after the five-gamer was announced, calling it "laughable and preposterous," and "reckless and ridiculous." He added that decisions like the Gudas one make for "a further loss of confidence in the disciplinary process for all players."

Gudas already had four suspensions totaling 21 games' worth on his resume before last week's flagrant knee-on-knee high-speed hit left the Maple Leafs captain with a torn MCL, and his 2025-26 season was put on ice.

Finally, when it was pointed out to McDavid that team owners don't like their players to be suspended for 'too long', the Oilers' superstar concluded with:

“I’m not an owner, I’m not a GM. I’m a player, and I can say that from the player perspective, I think every time there is a suspension — most times there’s a suspension — there is a lot of frustration from the player side.

“So why don’t we take a look at the process and figure out a way that works for everybody?”