Is Gudas a Liability?

[Howie58]

Nashville just drew to within on goal on a power play resulting from what seemed like an unnecessary penalty after a brilliant Mason save.  I have to wonder if this guy's ferocious hits are being offset by dumb penalties and borderline hits that inspire the opposition?  Granted, he doesn't cost much. But this guy will never be more than a 5-6 defender. 

 

Thoughts?

 

Howie

[RJ8812]

Gudas is a bottom pairing defenseman, but he's being used more than that right now and it's showing 

[Howie58]

He is beginning to remind me of Denis Gauthier.  I remember his ferocious hits. But he didn't last long...and again, the dumb penalties and relative slowness hurt.  I know the guy tries. That may not be good enough.

[flyerrod]

Gudas would definitely look better playing 3rd pairing minutes. His puck handling skills continue to be atrocious but I still would not insult him by comparing him to Gauthier. He does make big hits but most of the time they are within the scope of the play not let me skate into the next time zone to make a hit and screw my partner.......

[Howie58]

Well, OK, I will not benchmark him to Gauthier anymore! Promise.

 

Howie

[icehole]

I like Gudas, but he's attempting the KO punch too much and putting himself way out of position.  I love that having that element on the team but he needs to pick his spots better.  Back half of the third period, up one goal is not the time to attempt a flying hip check.

I'm not worried about last night's penalties.  Those happen sometimes and I don't feel like he's taken a lot of those.  Actually, I don't remember him being in the box much at all.

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

@Howie58

 

Agree with those who are saying that Gudas is a bottom pair guy being asked to do more than his "pay grade" at the moment.

 

Slotted correctly as a 5th or 6th D (maybe a 4th D on occasion), he will be the most productive and his vicious hitting style would be better suited to matching up against the other teams 3rd and 4th lines.

 

As things stand now, and as stated in other threads, the Flyers simply DON'T HAVE bonafide top two defense types on their roster to match up consistently against most teams' top six players.

So Del Zotto and Gudas have been getting the nod there, and while they have done a decent enough job, it isn't ideal for Philadelphia.

 

IMO, MDZ should be at best a 2nd pair guy (at least he would be on a team with legit top pair D-men) while Rad-KO mans a 3rd pair role. Gostisbehere may be a number one someday, but he isn't there just yet.

 

Two ways to alleviate this problem: Either the Flyers acquire said top pair D-men, or one or two of their own guys develop into that.  That should move Gudas back down the defense ladder to his more proper role.......then I think his style can be better appreciated and his deficiencies in puck handling and skating aren't NEARLY as exposed as they are if he is facing the opponents' top guys on a nightly basis.

[murraycraven]

Gudas sure can hit but he sure does not use his brain a lot.  There are way too many times he immediately takes himself out of the play.  With that said I think he is a a decent bottom pairing guy.  Like pretty much everyone on the defensive roster he is being asked to play more than he should but that is b/c our defense is pretty bad.   

 

I have no problem keeping him around but I assume he is going to be a 6/7 dman when the kids come up.

[flyercanuck]

@TropicalFruitGirl26

 

Well said TFG. 

 

Gudas doesn't look so bad when he's playing where he should be. Just like MDZ. Or Coburn when he was here. But because the Flyers have a lottery defence someone has to play against the oppositions best. I don't see Ghost as being a #1 with that frame. I do think he's going to be a great 2nd pairing guy. 

 

There's no way Philly is going to go out and get a true #1 defenceman. First of all, nobody trades them away. And second, even if someone was willing, it would cost you two arms and three legs.

 

Provorov looks like he's going to be that guy anyway. Having Sanheim with him, and throwing out Ghost with Morin, eventually, should make two pretty damn good pairings.

 

Now if only the Flyers would lose more so we could grab Dubois.

[radoran]

8 hours ago, Howie58 said:

Well, OK, I will not benchmark him to Gauthier anymore! Promise.

 

Howie

 

I don't think that the comparison is outlandish at all. I think the difference is that Gauthier was an eight-year pro and pretty much a finished product when he got to Philadelphia.

 

Gudas is in his fourth season at the NHL level and has a coach that can help develop his game. The question is "will he?"

 

Play him in the bottom half of the D and I think he brings what you're looking for from a 4/5/6 guy.

[Adamflyers]

I'm in agreement that I like Gudas when he is being used correctly.  As a 3rd pairing, he does what you might expect and occasionally a little more.  I'm fine with him in the line up, so long as he continues to get 3rd pairing money and if they can start giving him 3rd pairing minutes,  The problem is, the Flyers D is so thin right now, so I'm not shocked that he is playing more than he should.  Hopefully as the D improves, he will see less time out there and his weaknesses will be felt less.

[RJ8812]

The problem is we don't have any top pairing defenseman, so all of them will be playing out of their depth.