Take it away, Shanahan:
25 games is far more than I actually expected to see handed down to Torres. I thought 10-15 would have been far more likely. However, after seeing all of Torres’ other hits in one video – 25 games seems more than justified.
25 games ranks up there as one of the longest suspensions of all time in the NHL. Only Billy Coutu’s lifetime ban and Chris Simon’s 30 games rank higher. It’s interesting to note that Shanahan identifies 3 separate penalties that could have been called on the play – interference, charging and illegal hit to the head. Though I can’t imagine we’d ever hear about it – let’s also hope the four officials on the ice are also given some sort of lecture on missing 3 different penalties in one play.
Torres’ history of cheap shots and the fact that Hossa was injured also factored heavily into the decision. This is clearly a message sending suspension, much like the one given to Matt Cooke last year for his hit on Ryan McDonagh. One would hope Torres gets the message loud and clear.
There still hasn’t been much word on the extent of Hossa’s injury.