Jacob Trouba suspended two games for hitting Mark Stone in head

Winnipeg Jets defenseman Jacob Trouba has been suspended two games for his illegal check to the head of Ottawa Senators forward Mark Stone.

Late Sunday night, Winnipeg Jets defenseman Jacob Trouba illegally hit Ottawa Senators forward Mark Stone in the head. The NHL Department of Player Safety has suspended him for two games for an illegal check to the head.

As you can see in the video, Trouba’s hit to the head of Stone is illegal for several reasons. The biggest one is the hit was deemed avoidable and unnecessary. Trouba makes the principal point of his hit Stone’s head. Because the victim didn’t change his head positioning drastically, it’s on Trouba to make sure to deliver a legal check. He doesn’t. It’s worth noting the video states Stone wasn’t injured, but he’s likely out with a concussion. Trouba’s lack of past supplemental discipline likely factored into their decision.

The punishment is an acceptable one and it’s on par with similar hits. However, Jets fans should feel a bit confused about this. Especially since Blake Wheeler got injured on a very similar high hit by Evgeni Malkin. Malkin didn’t even receive a hearing for the hit.

While the Department of Player Safety should be applauded for disciplining Trouba, why not discipline a very similar hit? Even though Wheeler returned to the game, this reeks of the NHL once again being reactive instead of proactive. Why punish just the result of a hit? Punish the action itself to ensure the action doesn’t happen. This is why the NHL is in a concussion lawsuit to begin with. And this isn’t even the first questionable hit of Malkin’s career.

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You’d think the league would start punishing actions more than results. Until they do, Department of Player Safety hearings will be inconsistent at best and damaging at worst.