Rogue Shark
The National Hockey League has made a slew of changes this season including concussion watchers, the coaches challenge, and 3-on-3 overtime periods. However, the one change that has yet to be implemented is a hard and fast rule that would effectively stop players like Raffi Torres in their tracks. Or, at the very least, make it prohibitive for teams like the San Jose Sharks to keep such a player on their payroll.
In the NHL, there have always been players that you might deem as dirty. Some might refer to them as Goons, but Torres is a different breed. A breed that is far more dangerous. Torres has repeatedly laid head shots on opponents with malicious intent, and thus far has been levied with somewhat lenient punishments.
The question is, when is a player deemed irredeemable? Is it after he has been warned, fined, or suspended on nine separate occasions? Apparently not. What is even more alarming, is the fact that league has not yet named him as a repeat offender according to the video explanation of his most recent suspension below.
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This suspension was a total of 41 games, for interference and an illegal check to the head of Jakob Silfverberg of the Anaheim Ducks. Fortunately, Silfverberg appeared to be uninjured, though he was removed from the game for precautionary reasons. This is the longest suspension handed down by the NHL, though in the case of Torres it does not seem like enough.
Torres has been suspended on four other occasions for hits that were very similar. On those occasions, the players on the wrong side of a Torres hit have not always fared quite as well. The 2012 hit on Marian Hossa for example, required Hossa to be taken out unconscious on a stretcher. He did not play another game until the following season. Torres received a 25 game suspension, which was later reduced to 21, after an appeal.
Just four months prior to the hit on Hossa, in December of 2011, Torres had been suspended for a head shot to Nate Prosser of the Wild. For that hit, he received a measly 2 game suspension. He had already been suspended 4 games for another hit on Jordan Eberle of the Edmonton Oilers at the end of the 2011 season. That is three suspensions in a twelve month span for those of you keeping track at home.
Some might say that Torres has been relatively quiet of late, however that would be misleading as he spent most of the last season battling an injury. In fact, Torres has only played 15 games since the last such infraction, which occurred in May of 2013. On that occasion, he threw a shoulder into the head of LA Kings center, Jarret Stoll.
Blood In The Water
The reality is, Torres is in fact a malicious repeat offender, and should be dealt with in a manner befitting his blatant attempts to harm opposing players. In fact, if the league feels that they need to wipe out players with this sort of agenda, perhaps they should stop trying to reform the players with suspensions, and start going after the teams who employ them, too. As long as these players are allowed to play, the teams should be held accountable for their actions.
Any player with similar infractions within one calendar year should be deemed repeat offenders, and automatically hit with a strike system, similar to strikes issued to DUI repeat offenders. The Sharks, and any other team would certainly think twice about letting Torres lace up his skates if the team were to get fined heavily against their cap. Imagine a cap strapped team having to shell out a massive sum that is then deducted from their available cap space.
Such a penalty would be a severe handicap, resulting in personnel shuffling in order to remain under the cap, and could hinder the teams play as well in the long run. There isn’t a team in the league willing to give up any kind of cap space beyond their salary, for a player as one dimensional as Torres. Today, the “enforcer” role among the NHL is all but extinct, and that is all the more reason to permanently shelf any player who has a penchant for leading hits and head shots.
For the NHL, the time has come to clear the beaches and start hunting the predator in San Jose before Torres, or a player like him, does irreparable damage that cuts another players career short, or worse.