Jacob Trouba texted Jujhar Khaira after the Blackhawks forward was sent to the hospital following a heavy hit from Trouba on Tuesday night.
Khaira was released from the hospital on Wednesday and placed on injured reserve after being stretchered off the ice, which left Trouba visibly shaken up following the hit.
“Obviously very scary and unfortunate,” Trouba said after Wednesday’s loss to the Avalanche, snapping New York’s seven-game winning streak. “I exchanged text messages with him after and checked in. He told me he’s doing okay so that’s good to see. Obviously, no one wants to see that and no one plays the game to see guys get injured or injure guys. It was very unfortunate. It’s a tough situation for everyone and I hope he recovers fast.”
Trouba wasn’t penalized for the hit, which he believed was a clean one.
“I don’t think it was malicious,” Trouba said. “I don’t think I jumped, stayed on my feet tried to tuck my shoulder in and put it in the chest. That’s how I was taught how to hit, that’s the cleanest way I know how to hit. That’s what I try to do. I don’t think I have a reputation as a dirty hitter. I play the game hard, I play pretty close to the edge but I try not to go over the edge.”
Trouba was in the spotlight again on Wednesday, drilling Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon with another heavy hit that again didn’t result in a penalty, but did lead to Trouba dropping gloves with Gabriel Landeskog, just one night after Trouba did the same with Chicago’s Riley Stillman shortly after the hit on Trouba.
While the reactions from the opponent weren’t surprising, Trouba says he won’t change his style of play, especially when he believes his hits are clean.
“I don’t have an issue with it,” Trouba said. “Do I think you have to defend yourself if the hit’s deemed clean? No. Do I have a problem standing up for myself if someone wants to stand up for their teammate. No, I also don’t have an issue with that.”
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