Raffi Torres Is Appalling! Commit the Crime, Serve The Time.
By Frank Rekas
Emotions may have gotten the best of me earlier today when it was announced that Phoenix Coyotes forward Raffi Torres was going to appeal his 25 game suspension for his hit on Chicago Blackhawks forward Marian Hossa. A suspension of this magnitude goes all the way back to Chris Simon, who received 30 games back in 2007 for stepping on the leg of Jarkko Ruutu who at the time was playing for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Previous to that during the season before, Simon received a 25 game suspension for a stick swinging incident when he swung at Ryan Hollweg of the New York Rangers. The article goes to show the “rap sheet” of Simon and this situation with Raffi Torres is no different.
Torres is a repeat offender who in my mind hasn’t learned one thing, and isn’t even remorseful about what he did before, and especially now to Marian Hossa. After the game Torres he said something to the effect of “it was a hockey play”. Really? Launching yourself at 100 miles an hour into a player who didn’t have the puck and making contact with his head is a hockey play? The game has no place for these shennanigans. It was only after the suspension ruling came down that Torres actually tried to say he felt bad about Hossa. BS. His speech was written for him, and it was said without care or concern for what had originally happend to Hossa Take another look and you judge:
Why is the 25 games fair? Let me repeat for you all the wrongs that happened in a matter of seconds on this play. He left his feet. He made contact with a players head. The player did not have the puck, and the hit was late. Need more evidence? That should be enough. But let’s talk about Torres and his track record. Did you know that the night of the hit on Hossa was one year to the date of this hit on Brent Seabrook?
Which came just a few days after he served a four game suspension for this ugly hit on Jordan Eberle.
Then there was this hit on Jan Hejda.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wckGdkYJsCg
I have said many times before that I love physical hockey, but I cannot stand illegal hockey, and hits like all of these are over the edge, and the game has no use for players like this. Want a “professionals” opinion? Here you go from a guy who coached physical play:
The mere fact that Torres is appealing is utterly disgusting. What’s worse is that the NHLPA is going to support his appeal. Hossa left the game on a stretcher, and to be completely candid, no one knew of his condition at that moment. How do you think his Blackhawks teammates felt? You saw what Joel Quenneville said about the hit? He didn’t like it, was disgusted that four officials didn’t have the decency to do anything about it. Dave Tippett the Coyotes coach whom I really like made added to the idiocy by allowing Torres to stay in the game and play, as well as feel that it was hockey play. I’m waiting for the day when a coach has the stones to sit a player after a revolting hit like that. Will it over come?
It’s interesting to read the comments in this article that was posted on TSN earlier.
The fact that we’re actually wasting our time with this is worse than the act itself. I will be appalled myself if Torres gets any of this suspension reversed or gets his sentence limited. He has no business playing in the Stanley Cup Finals and has no business playing for 25 games into next season. This kind of lunacy has to stop. The Shea Weber incident allowed things to get out of hand for a few days. Think about it, if I’s at work and I take your head and ram it into the water cooler you think I’m not getting fired?
Torres is appealing the suspension because he thinks it’s too long. The problem that the NHL has created is that many of the previous suspensions were too short. That’s why Torres feels he needs to appeal.
For wasting everyone’s time, and mine included, how about this? Give him 25 more!
Thank you to @caitlinchris and @hockeygal77 for inspiring this post.
Thanks for reading. We welcome your comments and opinions.
Follow the Rat Pack on Twitter: me @TheRatTrick , David Lasseter @davidlasseter , Josh Luecht@joshluecht, Patrick McLaughlin @PatrickRattrick3, Scott Mullin @GreatScottsman, David Rodriguez @davidbub_2, Paige Lewis @RatTrickLewiz Gabby Kiger @gabbykiger, Adam Reid@AdamReid and Chrissy Parente @chrissaay44. Also, please join our Facebook Fan Page and hit the like button, send us photos, and tell us what’s on your mind.