Living down last season’s “Banana Peel” slip, the wisecrack he insisted was not a racial taunt, Krys Barch landed on his feet with the Devils yesterday.
New Jersey signed the 32-year-old enforcer to a two-year free-agent deal yesterday after he had five points (two goals, three assists) with 114 penalty minutes in 51 games with the Panthers and Stars last season.
Barch, 6-foot-1, 237 pounds, was with the Panthers barely a month, acquired Dec. 7 from the Stars, before he was suspended one game by the league for an on-ice comment made Dec. 31.
During that game, Barch asked Montreal’s P.K. Subban, who is of Jamaican descent, if he slipped on a banana peel in falling to the ice. Barch claimed he was referring to a dive, and not making a racial comment. He also questioned Subban’s courage during the incident. He was suspended one game, which would have been extremely lenient if the NHL believed there was any racist overtone to his comment.
Barch spent five-plus seasons with the Stars and had 31 points (12 goals, 19 assists) with 669 penalty minutes in 304 games. He did not appear in the Panthers’ playoff series against the Devils and sat out eight of their final 10 regular season games, playing 41 (91 minutes) with Florida.
Barch’s signing comes a day after the Devils lost captain Zach Parise to the Wild, who signed him to a $98 million, 13-year contract.