Sharks forward Raffi Torres suspended for 41 games for hit

Torres was given a 10-minute misconduct and ejected from the game for the hit, which came with 7:15 to go in the first period.

Mueller and Tennyson were primarily paired together on even-strength, with both receiving ice time during the Sharks’ first power play.

After finally appearing to be healthy, Torres is on the verge of being back on the sidelines after another questionable hit.

Silfverberg did not return to the game but Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau he was only held out for precaution and could have returned to action if he was needed.

The length of Torres’ suspension is a combination of the Silfverberg hit and Torres’ history of delivering hits to the heads of opposing players, including Jordan Eberle, Jarret Stoll, Nate Prosser and Marian Hossa.

Torres has been suspended four times in his National Hockey League career, the latest coming in Game 1 of the second round of the 2013 playoffs.

With the NHL regular season’s opening puck drop on the horizon, this sends a clear message to the rest of the league that these kinds of plays (especially from players with Torres’ rap sheet) will no longer be tolerated, and good on them for that.

The 22-year-old defenseman – who is competing with Mirco Mueller and Matt Tennyson for one of the last two position spots on the roster – got the start Saturday alongside Brenden Dillon and made the most of it.

Though Torres is not a repeat offender under the CBA, he has “repeatedly violated league playing rules and has been sanctioned multiple times for similar infractions”, Burke said.

Boston’s Billy Coutu was banned for life in April 1927 for attacking a referee after a Stanley Cup Final game and Bruins enforcer Marty McSorley was suspended a full year for hitting Vancouver’s Donald Brashear in the head with his stick. Stoll missed the next six games as well with head and shoulder injuries.

As the release states, Torres waived his right to an in-person hearing meaning the player safety department, at their discretion, could suspend Torres for more than five games.