Raffi Torres
In the wake of the BRUTAL HIT that Phoenix Coyotes’ winger Raffi Torres laid to Chicago Blackhawks Marion Hossa in the Coyotes Tuesday OT win over the Hawks, Torres has been suspended indefinitely pending a hearing on Friday by the NHL.
This was just released via ESPNChicago.com :
Phoenix Coyotes winger Raffi Torres has been suspended indefinitely, pending a hearing on Friday, for his hit on Chicago Blackhawks forward Marian Hossa during Game 3 of their Western Conference quarterfinal series on Tuesday, the league announced.
That means he’ll at least miss Game 4 on Thursday.
The hearing was planned for Wednesday but rescheduled at Torres’ request. It will be convened at the NHL’s New York office. An in-person meeting could result in a suspension of more than five games.
Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville called the officiating a “disgrace” for not calling a penalty on Torres.
Hossa was immobilized, carried off the ice on a stretcher, taken to a hospital and later released.
Torres appeared to jump into the hit and leveled his shoulder against the head of Hossa, who no longer had the puck. The NHL is trying to protect players from concussions by cracking down on shots to the head.
“It was a brutal hit,” Quenneville said Tuesday.
“I saw exactly what happened and it was right in front of me. All four guys missed it. It was hard. The refereeing tonight was a disgrace.”
Quenneville may be facing a fine for his remarks.
The hit sparked an intense reaction from Blackhawks fans. In fact, Coyotes announcer Tyson Nash, who once played for Quenneville on the St. Louis Blues, told “The Waddle & Silvy Show” on ESPN 1000 that he received death threats for calling the play a clean hit. Nash recanted those remarks after viewing more replays of the incident.
It’s been an NHL postseason filled with violent incidents, fights and suspensions. Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews said Tuesday he doesn’t know what to expect as far as discipline against Torres.
“Who knows,” Toews said. “I don’t know what to expect anymore. I don’t think anyone does. So we’ll see, it will probably be a surprise, I guess. We’ve got four (referees) out there. When there’s a guy getting carried off on a stretcher, you think that there might be something wrong with what happened.”
Phoenix leads the series 2-1
