Andreas Athanasiou publicly trashes Jacob Trouba for questionable hit, has some strong words for the Rangers captain
Saturday night, Andreas Athanasiou was on the receiving end of a bone-rattling Jacob Trouba hit. Trouba, who is known for tip-toeing the line when it comes to big hits, caught Athanasiou as he was exiting the Hawks' zone. A few people believed that Trouba could have been facing a suspension as the reverse angle of the hit made it seem like the main point of contact was Athanasiou's head, not his chest.
The NHL Player Safety department thought it was a clean hit as Trouba did not receive any hearing and the only penalty he received on the play was for fighting Jonathan Toews. Athanasiou, who got right back up after the hit, and remained in the game, was not pleased with the hit at all.
"That guy is known for hitting high, not really worrying about the puck out there and almost trying to hurt people," Athanasiou said. "That's his game; that's what he does. He's an $8 million man with zero goals, so he has to figure out how to do something when making that much. If you can't help the team, I guess you try to hurt guys on the other team."
Those are some harsh words from Athanasiou for Trouba and while he makes a good point about Trouba walking a fine line with almost hurting people, the comments also make it seem like Athanasiou doesn't like getting hit. We don't see too many big, open ice hits anymore and players always forget that they are part of a game. Regardless though, Athanasiou is spot on with his assessment of Trouba's game and there will certainly be some bad blood the next time these two teams meet.
| POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 5 | 123 ANSWERS Andreas Athanasiou publicly trashes Jacob Trouba for questionable hit, has some strong words for the Rangers captain Is Jacob Trouba a dirty player? | ||
| Yes | 90 | 73.2 % |
| No | 33 | 26.8 % |
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