NHL suspends Sharks forward 41 games for a brutal check

One would think that the NHLPA would file a grievance of the suspension length. Rules need consequences to be effective, and this suspension establishes a precedent that habitual offenders will be treated harshly.

Sure, it’s possible Torres might appeal this suspension, and won’t that be a joyous moment in the halls of the National Hockey League Players’ Association if it comes to that?

His record wasn’t exactly clean with the Sharks, either, earning a suspension for the remainder of the second round of the 2013 playoffs for a head shot on the Kings’ Jarret Stoll.

His previous longest ban had been a 21-game suspension – initially 25 games – for a high hit on Chicago’s Marian Hossa in the first round of the playoffs in 2012 when he played with Phoenix.

The 41-game suspension is a big one, but for a hit that could have easily ended a young player’s career, it’s deserved.

It was interesting that the video linked above pointed out that Torres is not technically considered a repeat offender but then seemed to use his history against him. Torres received a match penalty for it, meaning he was ejected and automatically suspended until the NHL’s Department of Player Safety ruled officially.

In April of 2011, Torres was suspended for an elbow to the head of Jordan Eberle.

“Just by going over clips and clips and clips of that, and seeing that you can do it and I’ve done it before, made it easier”, Torres told Yahoo Sports’ Nick Cotsonika. The Anaheim Ducks have a real chance to go all the way this year, but it will be up to the frequent culprits of dirty play to harness their rage into more effective outlets. Torres was a first-round pick of the Islanders (No. 5 overall) in 2000. His sentence was reduced to 21 games. And when the concussion case begins in earnest, the NHL’s light treatment of this known danger will be on the docket, you can bet. Stoll missed the next six games as well with head and shoulder injuries.

Even if the Sharks get into injury trouble at the forward position, there are skilled prospects they should prefer: Nikolay Goldobin and Barclay Goodrow if they are looking for skill and Micheal Haley or Frazer McLaren if they need an enforcer. It’s his fifth suspension, which is light by half, considering the predatory nature of his game.

The Torres ban was meaningful, eye-catching and really left you wondering just one thing: What took so long? The San Jose Sharks need Torres to change his ways and remain in the lineup.