New York Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba will not face discipline for a hit against Montreal’s Justin Barron that drew no penalty but plenty of ire from Canadians players and fans alike, ESPN reported Wednesday.
With the Rangers ahead 5-2 in the third period Tuesday, as Barron handled the puck along the boards before passing it, Trouba sent the Montreal defenseman to the ice with a hard check. Barron, 22, had to be helped off the ice to the trainer’s room.
After the hit on Barron, Trouba was penalized five minutes for fighting with Montreal defenseman Mike Matheson, who was also given an instigator penalty as well as five minutes for fighting, but no penalty was assessed for the hit that started the tussle.
After reviewing the play, the league called it a legal full body check where Barron’s chest, not head, was the main point of contact, per ESPN.
People on Montreal’s side of the puck voiced their displeasure after the 7-2 final, especially given Trouba’s history of questionable hits.
“They had a clean hit on the ice, we have a hit to the head from a player that’s had multiple, multiple warnings,” Canadiens forward Brendan Gallagher said, per The Athletic. “So, whether the league decides to do the right thing, whether he gets another pass, that’s up to them.”
Trouba is no stranger to controversial in-game action, having been suspended twice and fined four times, including an elbow to Florida Panthers forward Evan Rodrigues in the 2024 Eastern Conference finals.
Trouba, 30, has no goals and four assists in six games this season, along with nine penalty minutes. Last season he tallied 22 points (three goals, 19 assists) and 73 penalty minutes in 69 games during the regular season.
The Winnipeg Jets selected Trouba, a Michigan native, with the ninth overall pick of the 2012 NHL Draft. They traded him to the Rangers on June 17, 2019, for defenseman Neal Pionk and a first-round pick in the that year’s draft.
–Field Level Media