Raffi Torres suspended 25 games

[DelPen]

This is due to Torres being an idiot and nothing to do with anything else which is a shame. No message will be sent. Shanny is still a joke.

[TheHammer24]

This is consistent. Guys who refuse to adapt get the nuclear option.

[pressure=9Pa]

sadly part of the equation is who gets hits...substitute Dan Carcillo for Hossa and the nhl is talking the coyotes strong play.

True, but that's not an unreasonable consideration. If guys think that superstars are more protected, teams are less likely to send a Godard type after a Crosby type.

[Digitalgypsy66]

Weirdness on the CBC: according to Damian Cox, CBC and HNIC weren't allowed to talk about the Torres suspension until Don Cherry's first appearance tonight. It was mentioned on the news, but none of the sports talking heads could talk about it until Cherry had his say. Weird.

[Streaks House]

Let's see what kind of message this sends, only time will tell. But here's my question:

Is this the NHL's way of saying they are sick of Torres and his antics and this is their way to truly stick it to him?

OR

Is the NHL finally sending a message that these egregious hits will not be tolerated? If this is a player without a disciplinary record, how many games does he get, 5-10?

[Rocco]

Let's see what kind of message this sends, only time will tell. But here's my question:

Is this the NHL's way of saying they are sick of Torres and his antics and this is their way to truly stick it to him?

OR

Is the NHL finally sending a message that these egregious hits will not be tolerated? If this is a player without a disciplinary record, how many games does he get, 5-10?

He probably gets 5 or less. There's no doubt that the history of Torres played a part in the suspension, and it should. This wasn't an accident. This is how he plays.

[penmyst]

Let's see what kind of message this sends, only time will tell. But here's my question:

Is this the NHL's way of saying they are sick of Torres and his antics and this is their way to truly stick it to him?

OR

Is the NHL finally sending a message that these egregious hits will not be tolerated? If this is a player without a disciplinary record, how many games does he get, 5-10?

I'm voting for the former.

[shmenguin]

just saw shanahan's suspension video. they showed the 4 or 5 other hits to the head that he's been punished for in the past.

i don't understand why cooke was the one getting lynched last year. torres has a much, much sketchier past.

[Pitt87]

sadly part of the equation is who gets hits...substitute Dan Carcillo for Hossa and the nhl is talking the coyotes strong play.

True, but that's not an unreasonable consideration. If guys think that superstars are more protected, teams are less likely to send a Godard type after a Crosby type.

Completely faulty reasoning. Point is not that some guys are off limits... point is that, if you let these guys go long enough hitting like this, they will eventually have a **** at a Crosby type and won't think twice about making that hit. Hits are either legal or they aren't, and they need to eliminate them BEFORE someone gets hurt like this, not after. Your suggestion indicates that a star needs to get seriously injured before players will get the message, yet stars keep getting injured on plays like this.

The gray area you said isn't unreasonable needs to be extremely limited. When you suspend James Neal for a high hit on Giroux and kick Matt Cooke out of a game for getting hit after the whistle, and Shea Weber can slam Z's head into the glass without missing a game, and PK Slew-Ban can 'dangerously trip' everyone without any penalty at all, players can't be sure what's legal and when.

[topshelf]

I think it is great, but seems pretty arbitrary too in terms of games. Shanahan is still all over the map with these rulings. Torres is a thug, but I don't see how this one gets 25 games when some of the other decisions have been made. I still can't believe Weber got nothing at all, and then this one jumps all the way to 25 games. Just so unexpected based on the history of Shanny's rule.

I'm still wondering how Asham got 4 and Rinaldo didn't get anything.