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.
Previously on MapleLeafsDaily
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 % |
List of polls |
|
16 minutes ago | By Dean Chaudhry Unfortunate News Coming Out of Toronto Regarding Leafs Rookie Jacob Quillan |
|
2 hours ago | By Dean Chaudhry Insider Who Broke Rantanen Trade Says Contender Kicked Tires on Leafs' Mitch Marner |
|
4 hours ago | By Dean Chaudhry Hard-Hitting Ex-Leaf Lands Back On Waivers and May Now Be a Better Fit With a New Coach in Toronto |
|
7 hours ago | By Ryan Smitheram Maple Leafs Provide Official Updates on John Tavares, Matthew Knies and Max Pacioretty |
|
9 hours ago | By Mike Armenti The Vegas Golden Knights Have Officially Done the Maple Leafs a Huge Favour |
|
10 hours ago | By Mike Armenti TSN's Darren Dreger Clears the Air Amid Maple Leafs, Mitch Marner Speculation |
|
11 hours ago | By Ryan Smitheram Chicago Blackhawks Expected to Pursue Two Maple Leafs Forwards if Unsigned by July 1st |
|
12 hours ago | By Ryan Smitheram Ex-Leafs GM Brian Burke Makes Absurd Comment About the Struggling Morgan Rielly |