04/23/24
April 21, 2012
Phoenix Coyotes' Raffi Torres Suspended 25 games: There is throwing the book, and then there is launching the entire library, which is what the NHL has done at the Phoenix Coyotes' Raffi Torres.
posted by tommytrump to hockey at 12:51 PM - 20 comments
It was Raffi's third suspension in a year and he wasn't remotely remorseful for it. He's still calling it finishing his check.
Torres has gone from a gritty, character player to a predator on the ice in the last few seasons. I'm neither surprised nor can I muster up a whole lot of sympathy for how harsh the punishment is. He's hitting people straight in the head (see the hit on Brian Campbell last year and the hit a few years earlier on a Sharks player that's in the video) when they're totally defenceless and doesn't see how the hits are wrong. That, to me, is a big problem for the NHL.
posted by dfleming at 01:53 PM on April 21, 2012
Agreed. I liked him in Edmonton; I don't recognize him now, he's changed that much.
posted by jjzucal at 02:03 PM on April 21, 2012
Good for the NHL. Players better start taking this shit seriously.
posted by dyams at 02:10 PM on April 21, 2012
Players better start taking this shit seriously.
When a blatant intent to injure is punished with a paltry fine, how can they?
posted by MeatSaber at 04:22 PM on April 21, 2012
When a blatant intent to injure is punished with a paltry fine, how can they?
Don't complain about the size of the fine. That's the maximum amount a player can be fined based on the CBA.
Weber had never been disciplined for his play in the NHL, and while the act looks malicious, it wasn't injurious as Zetteberg is wearing a visor. I'd say it was about as dangerous as a gloved punch during an after-the-whistle scrum.
I said that he probably deserved a one-game suspension, but for those that were looking for the NHL to throw the book at Weber, they would have complained about that just as much as the maximum fine allowed.
posted by grum@work at 06:01 PM on April 21, 2012
So basically even if the Coyotes make it to game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals, Torres will be out.
Well, that makes things very interesting for Torres.
Players don't get paid for playing in the playoffs (except for bonuses and from the NHL depending on how far the team goes, and he'd still get those), but the games count towards his suspension.
For every game that Torres misses in the playoffs, he doesn't miss in the regular season, and saves himself $21,341.46 per game in lost salary.
posted by grum@work at 06:09 PM on April 21, 2012
I'd say it was about as dangerous as a gloved punch during an after-the-whistle scrum.
How many gloved punches have cracked a helmet?
Regardless of the resulting injury, or lack of injury, it was a dirty play directly at a player's head. If the NHL isn't going to punish that accordingly, they can't then expect the players to take punishment seriously...
posted by MeatSaber at 06:28 PM on April 21, 2012
How many gloved punches have cracked a helmet?
(Where was the link supposed to go? It doesn't work.)
posted by grum@work at 08:59 PM on April 21, 2012
If Zetterberg had been stretchered off or Hossa had bounced back up, would that have made the hits dirtier/cleaner? The NHL needs to police the actions, not the results.
I don't really have a problem with Torres getting 25 games. I find it curious that he's getting it for a play that didn't draw a penalty.
posted by Mookieproof at 09:02 PM on April 21, 2012
Regardless of the resulting injury, or lack of injury, it was a dirty play directly at a player's head.
And he was fined, which happened 32 times prior to Weber this season, for incidents that probably caused more damage than what Weber did.
posted by grum@work at 09:05 PM on April 21, 2012
posted by MeatSaber at 09:06 PM on April 21, 2012
If Zetterberg had been stretchered off or Hossa had bounced back up, would that have made the hits dirtier/cleaner? The NHL needs to police the actions, not the results.
Actually, in most cases that Shanahan has responded to, injury to the victim has played a part in the length of the suspension. I think that a player injury SHOULD warrant more time. Assign a suspension based on the actions, and then tack on more time if it caused an injury.
I find it curious that he's getting it for a play that didn't draw a penalty.
Why? Isn't that what the league should be doing? If the refs miss the call or mistakenly think it was a legal hit, then I'd want the league to step in and correct it like they did.
posted by grum@work at 09:10 PM on April 21, 2012
Take Two..
So it's a report based on a tweet based on something that the player told him?
Is there a picture of the helmet somewhere?
I'm not saying he's lying, but there's a difference between cracking the main part of the helmet, and breaking one of the connecting joints because of the stress applied by Weber pushing on the back of the helmet.
posted by grum@work at 09:15 PM on April 21, 2012
Hitting a guy in the head is illegal, period. Brendan Shanahan has enough problems without trying to factor in exactly how injured someone is, particularly given that concussion damage seems to have a cumulative effect. I realize that that's the way it's been done, but it's wrong.
Sure, the league is doing what it should by suspending Torres. But if it was that egregious -- one of the longest suspensions in league history -- I would hope that one of the four on-ice officials might have noticed it.
posted by Mookieproof at 09:42 PM on April 21, 2012
It would be great if officials saw each and every bit of action on the ice, and made the correct call on the spot, but it will never happen. And when there's video evidence as in this case, where a player launches himself at another player, leaving the ice to hit a player in the head, when that player doesn't have the puck anymore, I'm happy there was such clear video for the league to look at.
posted by dyams at 06:39 AM on April 22, 2012
[Yakko Warner mode] "Wheel Of Suspensions, turn, turn, turn...Tell us the punishment he has earned."[end Yakko Warner mode]
Sometimes I wonder if that's how the number of games for each of these plays is determined.
posted by TheQatarian at 09:49 AM on April 22, 2012
I've seen countless replays of the Torres hit and there, in the shot, is a linesman on the boards looking right at Hossa while Torres is hitting him. It looked to me like he was literally swallowing his whistle as the hit happened.
posted by insomnyuk at 07:57 PM on April 22, 2012
Weber had never been disciplined for his play in the NHL
Actually, yes, he was fined $2500 for boarding earlier this season.
He should have gotten two. Changes the character of that series, and I really think it sent the signal that suspensions weren't coming in the postseason, which gave the oxygen to all the Penguins/Flyers crap. Torres probably would have pulled this shit, regardless.
posted by stevis at 10:24 AM on April 23, 2012
Weber had never been disciplined for his play in the NHL
Actually, yes, he was fined $2500 for boarding earlier this season.
You are correct. I was just looking at suspensions, and missed that.
posted by grum@work at 01:23 PM on April 23, 2012
So basically even if the Coyotes make it to game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals, Torres will be out.
Matt Cooke seems to have changed his behavior after a lengthy suspension so maybe it will be the same deal for Torres.
The NHL really dropped the ball not suspending Weber and I think it sent the wrong message to other players.