Raffi Torres cannot seem to shake off his checkered past and the reputation he has earned for being a dirty player in the league. Currently with the San Jose Sharks. Torres has a history of suspensions and fines from the league for his violent style of play. After being suspended during last year's playoff run, history is repeating itself. Torres has officially been suspended for the remainder of the second round of the playoffs due to a hit he placed on Jarrett Stoll.
Torres placed an illegal hit on Kings forward Stoll on Tuesday night. It was a shoulder-to-shoulder blow that sent Stoll's head snapping back and removing him from the game all together. At the time, Torres was only hit with a minor charging penalty and a promise from the league that they would review the hit in place. When the Department of Player Safety calling Torres for an in-person meeting, his fate was sealed.
He will now miss all of the second round, meaning the suspension could be just three games, or a maximum of six games. This is the third pervious suspension of Torres' career. He was hit with a 25-game suspension during last year's playoffs for a hit he placed on Chicago's Marian Hossa. Torres made promises to change his style of play, something he seem to have abandoned during the playoffs. While it is questionable of whether the hit warranted a suspension, given Torres' past and the league's push for player safety, he was not getting off easy with this one.
When explaining why the hit earned a suspension, Brendan Shanahan said that Torres took a route that made Stoll's head the main point of contact. While he did not use his elbows or make leaps towards Stoll. he was still aiming for the head.
Torres was acquired from the Sharks prior to the year's trade deadline after he played for the Phoenix Coyotes and was crucial to the team's run to last year's Western Conference finals. This year, he has two goals and four assists in 11 regular season games along with one goal in the opening round of the playoffs.
