New Jersey Devils defenseman P.K. Subban has been fined $5,000 by the NHL’s Department of Player Safety for what it calls a “dangerous trip” against Calgary Flames forward Milan Lucic on Tuesday night.
The incident happened mid-way through the first period and can be seen in the video below.
Subban was assessed a two-minute minor for tripping on the play.
What stands out about the play is that this is not the first time we have seen this sort of play from Subban, and not even this season. He has been fined before for a “dangerous trip” and has developed quite a reputation around the league for this exact type of play, whether the league punishes him for it or not.
Was this an intentional slewfoot by PK Subban on Milan Lucic?
— Daily Faceoff (@DailyFaceoff) October 27, 2021
A. Yes
B. No pic.twitter.com/6dvX1vwunD
We saw a similar situation play out during the preseason with Ryan Reaves of the New York Rangers. He was not fined for that play.
As dangerous as these plays can be they never really seem to be something that is on the DoPS’ radar for suspension or significant punishment. The league has not suspended a player for this type of infraction since the 2014-15 season and typically only hands out fines for them.
The Flames won Tuesday’s game by a 5-3 score.
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Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.