CHICAGO — Raffi Torres is used to being a lightning
rod for media and league attention. On Wednesday at the United Center, the
Phoenix Coyotes winger became the poster boy for the biggest storyline of the
2012 playoffs.
Torres was suspended indefinitely by the league for his open-ice hit on
Blackhawks forward Marian Hossa during Game 3 of the Western Conference
quarterfinal series in Chicago on Tuesday. Torres will have an in-person
meeting with league disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan on Friday in New York,
leaving open the possibility of a suspension of more than five games. Torres
will not play in Game 4 on Thursday night.
“There’s no remorse with a guy like that,” Chicago captain Jonathan Toews said
Wednesday of Torres’ hit. “That’s not hockey to me.”
Following the hit, Hossa lay on the ice for a long time before being taken off
on a stretcher. He'd go straight from the arena to a hospital for tests, his neck in a brace. Several Hawks
players said they spoke to him on Wednesday and that he is feeling better, but
there is no timetable for his return.
As for Torres, the fact that he is a repeat offender will likely hurt him in
his hearing. He was suspended two games earlier this season for a hit on
Minnesota’s Nate Prosser and received four games late last season for a hit
on Edmonton’s Jordan Eberle. Couple that with the fact that Hossa did not have
the puck and Torres left his feet to deliver the hit — which was a blow to the
head — it seems likely the league will come down hard on Coyotes winger.
The hearing, which had been planned for Wednesday, was deferred at the request
of Torres and the National Hockey League Players Association. A league source
said an NHLPA representative was unable to attend the original meeting, but the
Coyotes might also be waiting on Hossa’s status because it could impact the
length of the suspension.
Torres' suspension is the ninth in this season’s first round, more
than the league witnessed during the entire 2011 postseason.
“We’re paying more attention to it as media and as a league in general,”
Coyotes forward Ray Whitney said. “If you asked a player who played in the past,
they would say certain hits that right now are being discussed were common.
“The game is changing — and (so is) what the league is trying to do to protect
players.”
The two clubs remained predictably divided on Wednesday. Chicago coach Joel
Quenneville reiterated his statements from Tuesday night when he called it a
"brutal" and illegal hit.
Phoenix coach Dave Tippett defended the hit, saying it was a product of the
speed of the game.
“The ones that I really don’t like are the ones where guys walk right up to
some guy and cross-check him in the face. That’s malicious intent,” said
Tippett, who reminded Chicago media members that Blackhawks defenseman Duncan
Keith elbowed Vancouver forward Daniel Sedin in the head near the end of the
regular season, drawing a five-game suspension and giving Sedin a concussion.
“Every team and every team’s media protects their own team,” Tippett said. “That’s
just the nature of the beast. You ask people in Vancouver what they’re thinking
of the Keith hit, they’re probably thinking the same thing you guys think of
the Torres hit.”
Tippett said he sees hits like these all the time.
“You can’t, in full motion, just stop. The game doesn’t work that way,” the
coach said. “It’s a hard game. It can be brutal at times, but it’s about
winning. It’s what makes our game great.”
Given the record number of suspensions in the first round, it is
clear the league is trying to alter that approach.
“There’s things that should not be happening,” Blackhawks forward Andrew
Brunette said. “If you don’t have the puck, I don’t think you’re fair game.
“It’s not just last night. It’s been all through this playoff season.
Obviously, we’re not getting the message.”
