Raffi Torres suspended 25 games

[PensFaninRegina]

Raffi Torres Suspended 25 games for his hit on Blackhawks' Marian Hossa in Game 3 of their playoff series - TSN.ca alert

[Avyran]

Holy inconsistency.

--- Edit: Wanted to make sure I say I'm actually happy at this massive suspension. Torres has history with this (in the playoffs as well). But 25 games, after a bunch of 1-4 game suspensions?

[PensFaninRegina]

Holy inconsistency.

and this is shocking, how?

[columbia]

He's a street thug and I fully approve of this.

[shmenguin]

matt cooke feels vindicated

seriously. the guy had infinite chances to clean up his act and he ignored them. he deserves the cooke treatment. odds are he'll make an effort to play clean now.

[bhaw]

matt cooke feels vindicated

seriously. the guy had infinite chances to clean up his act and he ignored them. he deserves the cooke treatment. odds are he'll make an effort to play clean now.

This. After watching the video, I agree with the ruling. My only comment in the other thread was that it's a shame he was able to injure so many guys before they finally came down on him.

[Digitalgypsy66]

I still don't like how an injury factors into a suspension, but looks like a good sentence.

It must be weird for the league to suspend a player who is also an employee.

[Rocco]

Given his history and the number of things Torres did wrong on that play, 25 games is right. I'd like the rules to allow for a team to be fined for this as well to make them suffer for employing people intent on maiming opponents.

[SolidSnake]

If the hit was on anyone besides Chicago's "big 3" of Kane, Toews and Hossa it would of been a 5-10 gamer

[comatose]

In a vacuum this is the way you send a message. Considering everything else that's happened, this is a joke and completely unfair to Phoenix. 25 games? Weber got 0. Neal got 1 for almost the exact same hit. Torres may change as a result of this, but the rest of the league won't because they have no clue if they'll get the small end or the big end.

[shmenguin]

matt cooke feels vindicated

seriously. the guy had infinite chances to clean up his act and he ignored them. he deserves the cooke treatment. odds are he'll make an effort to play clean now.

This. After watching the video, I agree with the ruling. My only comment in the other thread was that it's a shame he was able to injure so many guys before they finally came down on him.

I would say its a shame has hasnt gotten 10 games by now. Something more moderate and more prompt would have saved everyone a lot of grief.

[Digitalgypsy66]

In a vacuum this is the way you send a message. Considering everything else that's happened, this is a joke and completely unfair to Phoenix. 25 games? Weber got 0. Neal got 1 for almost the exact same hit. Torres may change as a result of this, but the rest of the league won't because they have no clue if they'll get the small end or the big end.

Did you watch the video? Near the end, they showed about 4-5 hits that Torres has done since 2007, including two this season alone. I know the 2007 hit doesn't count (per the CBA, a player's record is cleared after 18 months), but it shows a pattern of head hunting and charging.

[comatose]

In a vacuum this is the way you send a message. Considering everything else that's happened, this is a joke and completely unfair to Phoenix. 25 games? Weber got 0. Neal got 1 for almost the exact same hit. Torres may change as a result of this, but the rest of the league won't because they have no clue if they'll get the small end or the big end.

Did you watch the video? Near the end, they showed about 4-5 hits that Torres has done since 2007, including two this season alone. I know the 2007 hit doesn't count (per the CBA, a player's record is cleared after 18 months), but it shows a pattern of head hunting and charging.

Which kind of proves my point. The rest of the league can throw 3 or 4 cheap head shots before they really get the hammer. That's why nothing changes.

[Pavel Bure]

Idea on page 1 of Sheriff Shanny thread would have taken care of this turd a long time ago.

[Gaucho]

Clean hit.

[Rocco]

Clean hit.

Only if he's wearing a Pens jersey. Then any suspension would be part of the Illuminati conspiracy.

[The Snapshot]

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.

[bhaw]

If you do the math, 25 games is what is required to keep him out of the playoffs if Phoenix goes 7 games in every series through the Cup.

Happened in game 3 so 4 more games in Round 1 plus 7 games x 3 more rounds (21 games). 4 + 21 = 25.

Maybe that's not what they were thinking, but it makes sense.

[Staggy]

If you do the math, 25 games is what is required to keep him out of the playoffs if Phoenix goes 7 games in every series through the Cup.

Happened in game 3 so 4 more games in Round 1 plus 7 games x 3 more rounds (21 games). 4 + 21 = 25.

Maybe that's not what they were thinking, but it makes sense.

I was thinking the same thing.

[npv708]

Good riddance.

Looking back through some of my posts from the SCF Finals thread last year:

Torres is far worse than Matt Cooke. His rap sheet should be about 10 pages longer than Cooke's, too. He's already been suspended once for the playoffs, and has had 2 other incidents that should've been suspensions. The thing is, is that the stuff is does, is typically far worse than what Cooke does, with maybe the exception of the last suspension for Cooke, which was just pure stupidity. Same in the regular season, it was one cheap shot after another. He's the main reason I dislike the Nucks as much as I do. Torres is one of the dirtiest players in the league, but the league already made an example of Matt Cooke, so they have no need to consistently punish Torres.

It still amazes me that Torres gets away with what he does.

[NJ5934]

Didn't Steve downie get 30 for the hit on the Ottawa guy a couple of years back? If so.....I think 25 is pretty lenient considering Torres' history.

Then again, this makes perfect sense in the big picture of NHL supplemental discipline. That hit on Hossa could be replicated to the t tomorrow night and there would be no suspension at all.

[tifosi77]

Weber, no games. Asham, four games. Rinaldo, no games. Torres, TWENTY-FIVE GAMES.

While I agree with the length of the suspension, I tend to think that Sheriff Shanny only dropped that number as a tacit apology for there not even being a penalty called on the ice for the hit.

[the wicked child]

Couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

[Rocco]

The lack of a suspension on Weber was a travesty. I think even the NHL knows that. But that play and Torres' play are different things. The first was an act of frustration where a guy crossed the line. Torres went directly for Hossa's head with a dangerous hit on a guy who had chance to protect himself and has a history of not respecting the safety of other players.

Just because the NHL got it wrong on Weber doesn't mean they have to keep getting it wrong due to precedent. They got it right here.

[penny lane]

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

Dave Molinari ‏ @MolinariPG
Matt Cooke, asked directly about the Torres suspension: "We have Game 6 tomorrow. That’s the most important thing."