The Florida Panthers had an amazing run during the 2023 Stanley Cup playoffs. After earning their spot in the postseason during the final week of the regular season, little was expected from the team. Instead, they started playing with reckless abandon and a physical style and they started winning. Defenseman Radko Gudas played a huge role in their success.

It started with their first-round series against the record-setting Boston Bruins. After dropping 3 of the first 4 games in the matchup, the Panthers turned into a relentless and opportunistic team. Gudas played a huge role by delivering big hits to Boston's previously free-roaming forwards, and his teammates took advantage of the Bruins' suddenly faulty defense.

Gudas is a 6-0, 208-pound blueliner who should have several fine seasons left at the age of 33. He is not an accomplished offensive defenseman, as he had just 2 goals and 15 assists during the regular season. He played dynamic hockey in the postseason, but it did not show in his scoring total as he had just 3 assists during the playoff run that saw the Panthers defeat the Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs and Carolina Hurricanes before they dropped the Stanley Cup Finals to the Vegas Golden Knights.

Gudas delivered 312 hits last year and blocked 124 shots. He was also brilliant in both of those categories in 2021-22 when he registered 355 hits and 118 blocked shots.

The solid defensive defenseman is a dependable performer who understands what it takes to be successful in the most important games. As free agency is set to begin, at least three teams should be interested in him

Toronto Maple Leafs

This is a team that has been struggling to get over the hump for years. While the Maple Leafs were finally able to get a playoff series win this year when they defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round, they were not able to build on that six-game triumph.

The Maple Leafs are loaded with explosive offensive players in Auston Matthews, Mitchell Marner, John Taveras and William Nylander, but the team lacks a dependable defensive presence. This has regularly come to the forefront in the playoffs when they have been unable to unleash their offense on a regular basis.

The presence of Gudas could pay huge dividends for Toronto. If Gudas were to deliver a couple of bone-crushing hits early in the game, opponents might not take as many liberties with Matthews & Co. Gudas is capable of playing policeman for a team that desperately needs one.

Colorado Avalanche

The Avalanche had high hopes of defending their Stanley Cup title when the 2022-23 season began, but the team was hit hard with a series of injuries. The most impactful injury kept star forward Gabriel Landeskog out of the lineup for the full season, and the Avs were damaged by other injuries throughout the season.

General manager Joe Sakic did not use injuries as an excuse when he saw his team lose to the Seattle Kraken in the first round of the playoffs. However, Sakic did not like what he saw, as his team did not have the requisite toughness to compete deep into the playoffs.

He has already said that he wants his team to be grittier next year, and the crunching hits of Gudas would help the Av increase their toughness quotient.

Since the Avalanche have two brilliant players in forward Nathan MacKinnon and defenseman Cale Makar, adding a thick-bodied hitter like Gudas might be just what they need so they can rule the Western Conference once again.

Seattle Kraken

After a huge improvement in their second year, the Kraken would like to emulate the Golden Knights and contend for the Stanley Cup early in their existence.

There's no reason why the Kraken can't continue to improve in Year 3. They showed a relentless ability to go to the net and score important goals both during the regular season and the playoffs.

However, they are not a perfect team, and they could improve on defense and show more of a physical edge. The Kraken allowed 256 goals in 82 games, and that's an average of 3.12 goals per game.

A physical player like Gudas could go a long way towards helping them set the tone on a nightly basis. Sometimes, it's not the headline-type players who make the biggest difference. Somtimes it's the hard-hitting defenseman who can go into the corner and take the puck away from a big-name forward.

That's the kind of edge Radko Gudas would bring, and it would clearly benefit the improving Kraken.