Jacob Trouba

Compared to the aggressive suspension history of guys like Tom Wilson, Brad Marchand, and Nazem Kadri, Trouba, at least superficially, looks like a saint. We're ...

[saying](https://twitter.com/SNYRangers/status/1622820559791742981?s=20), "It's a shame you have to [fight] every time you throw a hit ... [currently sits](https://www.hockey-reference.com/leagues/NHL_2023_skaters.html) second in the NHL with 123 blocked shots and 11th in hits with 153. But for now, teams seeking revenge might be wise to do it within the confines of the rulebook. "There were three or four big hits," [he said](https://twitter.com/NHLFlames/status/1622818380448145408?s=20). [net-positive](https://www.naturalstattrick.com/playerteams.php?fromseason=20222023&thruseason=20222023&stype=2&sit=5v5&score=all&stdoi=oi&rate=n&team=NYR&pos=S&loc=B&toi=0&gpfilt=none&fd=&td=&tgp=410&lines=single&draftteam=ALL) on their 5-on-5 chances with him on the ice this year—and he hasn't been much of an offensive presence either, putting up just three goals and 11 assists in 2022–23. He often appears to possess a single-minded desire to knock opponents off their feet, sometimes to the point of [looking stupid himself](https://twitter.com/PeteBlackburn/status/1535088590434312201?s=20), and with his high-powered hits he lives in that grey area where the league's authority ends but the other team's touchiness still exists. In an extremely tense battle between nontraditional foes coming out of what I guess wasn't a very relaxing all-star break, the Rangers surrendered a third-period lead but sent things to overtime tied 4-4 off Mika Zibanejad's second of the night. Three times in this game—twice Trouba's—the Rangers delivered a very hard, very emphatic unpenalized check to someone on the Flames, and Calgary responded by starting a fight. Without this goal, the Rangers don't get to OT. We're at something of crossroads in the NHL when it comes to hitting. [I wrote about him in December](https://defector.com/when-the-going-gets-tough-jacob-trouba-gets-nasty) without explicitly telling him to go to hell. 1 in [a lot](https://www.foreverblueshirts.com/blackhawks-player-shot-at-jacob-trouba/) [of towns](https://pittsburghhockeynow.com/pittsburgh-penguins-sidney-crosby-jacob-trouba-getting-away-nhl-dops/) over the last six years, the NHL's Department of Player Safety has yet to really mark him as an outlaw.