Former NHL player Matthew Barnaby, who played for seven teams across 14 seasons, was arrested Thursday morning by Nashville police on charges of alleged assault and public intoxication, records show.
According to a police report obtained by WGRZ Buffalo, Barnaby was involved in an altercation with his girlfriend and others at Nashville Crossroads bar downtown. A bouncer told police Barnaby choked him.
Nashville police booked Barnaby into jail just after 1 a.m. and he was released around 9:30 a.m., his total bond charges amounting to $6,000. His next court appearance is scheduled for March 27, per records.
Barnaby took to Twitter Thursday afternoon, stating that he “will be vindicated very soon” and a “full statement would be coming soon.”
Barnaby entered the NHL with the Buffalo Sabres in 1992-93 and spent six seasons with the team before playing for six more organizations over the next eight years. He led the NHL in penalty minutes twice (1995-96, 2000-01) and finished with 2,562 over 834 games. He played until 2006-07.
ESPN hired Barnaby after his playing career to serve as a hockey analyst, a role he fulfilled for four years until the network fired him a day after he was charged with a DWI in 2011, which came after his ex-wife dropped five misdemeanor charges against him earlier that year.
