The New Jersey Devils have agreed to a two-year deal with tough guy Krys Barch. Financial terms were not disclosed.
Barch, 32, spent last season between Dallas and Florida, playing in 51 games while recording 2G-3A-5PTS and 81 penalty minutes. He also racked up 12 fighting majors, one of which came -- ironically enough -- against his new Devils teammate, Cam Janssen:
In this context, the signing is actually quite amusing because Barch and Janssen have been going after each other for years. They’ve fought seven times over the course of four seasons, most of which occurred while Barch was in Dallas and Janssen in St. Louis.
Now -- if you’re wondering where you recognize Barch’s name from, it’s probably in relation to the “incident” he had with Montreal’s PK Subban last season. Barch was accused of uttering a racial slur at Subban by asking if the Habs blueliner had “slipped on a banana peel” after falling to the ice.
Barch insisted it was “nowhere along the lines of a racial slur” yet the NHL still chose to suspend him for a game.
“Mr. Barch has admitted making the remark, but denies that the comment was racially motivated,” said Colin Campbell, Senior Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations. “While we accept Mr. Barch’s assertion, as a player in the National Hockey League, he must be held accountable for making a comment that, in the context in which it was made, and in light of the entirety of the circumstances, was offensive and unacceptable.”