Philadelphia Flyers defenceman Radko Gudas has been handed a 10-game suspension for slashing Winnipeg's Mathieu Perreault, the league announced. 

Gudas was initially offered an in-person hearing for the incident, but declined, opting to plead his case over the phone. 

During Thursday's 3-2 loss to the Jets, Gudas received a five-minute major and a game misconduct for slashing Jets forward Mathieu Perreault over the back of the head in the right corner of the Flyers' end. Gudas and Perreault were among the six players battling for the puck along the boards. Perreault knocked Gudas' helmet off and Gudas then responded by tripping the Jets forward and slashing him over the head as he returned his stick to the ice. 

After the game, Perreault said Gudas did apologize, but he does not believe the contact was accidental.

"He got the meaty part of the neck," said Perreault, who returned Thursday after missing 12 games with a lower-body injury. "It could have been worse, I guess.

"He apologized in the penalty box, but when you look at the replay, it looks like he did it on purpose. It wasn't an accident. He's been known for doing stuff like that, so I certainly don't appreciate it. I'm sure the league will take care of it."