NHL Department of Player Safety Punishes Hurricanes Star for Slash on Jacob Trouba

The NHL's Department of Player Safety has been rather quiet through the first week of the NHL season thus far, but now, they've handed down a major fine to a talented young player.

On Thursday night, the Carolina Hurricanes continued their unbeaten start to the 2025/26 campaign with a 4-1 victory over the Anaheim Ducks, taking them to 4-0-0 on the season.

However, during the matchup, young forward Jackson Blake was looking to hold his own against Jacob Trouba, and in the process, delivered a brutal two-hand slash to the veteran blue liner.

As a result, the NHL's Department of Player Safety came down hard on him today, handing down the maximum allowable fine ($2,358.94) for the young forward for his actions against Trouba.

Early in his young career, Blake hasn't been known to be too much of a problem for the DoPS, but this was a clear call from the league given how they are trying to get this type of slash out of the league moving forward.

With 1 goal and 4 points in four games this year, Blake has been a major piece for the Hurricanes, and even after this play, the young forward will hopefully continue to grow and develop into a star for this squad.

Ultimately, it was a young player standing up for himself against a veteran, but on this occasion, Blake took it a little too far, and now he's going to pay the price as Carolina look to keep rolling early in the season.