Mackenzie Blackwood gives P.K. Subban a controversial nickname.

The New Jersey Devils are courting some controversy and it seems like the team itself may not necessarily be on board with what the players are doing.

Devils defenseman P.K. Subban has been mired in controversy this season after a number of seemingly reckless plays have drawn the ire of opposing players and opposing fan bases. I am of course referring to the numerous slew-footing incidents that Subban has been involved in this season, most of which were admittedly right on the edge of what could or could not be considered slew-footing in the National Hockey League.

Perhaps the most notable of these incidents occurred earlier in the season during a game against the New York Rangers. The Devils and Rangers were tied at 2 goals a piece in the game's third period when Rangers forward Sammy Blais and Subban got tangled up in the corner. It would be difficult to make the case that this was an intentional slew-foot on the part of Subban based on the video evidence, but the end result was a season ending injury for Sammy Blais and a number of angry fingers pointed in Subban's direction.

The Devils' are fully aware of the reputation that Subban has been building for slew-footing throughout this season and that was made clear this week when Devils goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood made what may have been an ill advised joke on social media. Commenting on a post on P.K. Subban's Instagram, Blackwood gave the Devils' defenseman the nickname "SLEWBAN", a clear reference to the slew-footing incidents involving Subban this season.

I stated earlier that I suspect the Devils do not approve, and that stems from the fact that the comment is no longer up on Subban's Instagram. Something tells me that a member of the Devils staff gave Blackwood a tap on the shoulder and asked him to delete the ill advised nickname, one that seemingly glorifies a number of questionable plays from his teammate.

Perhaps even Subban himself would prefer not to have attention drawn to incidents that have been viewed negatively by the NHL fan base at large.