As I wrote about a few days ago, one of the biggest stories of the NHL playoffs has been the violence and suspensions that have seemed to come on a nightly basis. Game 3 of the series between the Phoenix Coyotes and Chicago Blackhawks contained what was by far the most significant of those acts. About halfway through the first period, Raffi Torres left his feet and launched himself into the head of Marian Hossa, resulting in a game misconduct for Torres, and Hossa being taken off the ice on a stretcher. It was a vioent hit, absolutely worthy of a fine and a suspension. When I found out that the suspension was for 25 games though, I was very surprised.
Depending on whether or not the Coyotes advance in the playoffs (they lead the series with Chicago 3-2 at the moment), this suspension is likely to last into next season. After I saw multiple replays of the hit, I was not convinced that it was worthy of a suspension of that length. An NHL regular season is 82 games, so to be suspended for 25 of them is an extremely long time. So just looking at the ruling from that perspective, I was not convinced that the hit was worth a 25 game suspension.
However, after the suspension was handed down, the man who made the ruling, former NHL star Brendan Shanahan, did something that I don't remember ever seeing a league executive do. Instead of just releasing the news to the media, Shanahan got in front of a camera and told anyone watching exactly why he handed down the ruling that he did.
He showed multiple videos of Torres delivering illegal hits, some from this season, and some from previous seasons. Shanahan broke down how and why each of the hits was illegal, and by doing so it clearly demonstrated that Torres had a history of violent hits. I had always known that Torres was a physical player, but because of the videos that Shanahan showed, I really was able to see that Torres had a history of crossing the line from physical to dirty.
Shanahan explained how all of these hits and their resulting fines and suspensions had played a role in him handing down this 25 game suspension. Torres is only the fifth player in the history of the NHL to receive a suspension of at least 25 games, and we all got a clear explanation of why exactly that ruling was made.
I don't remember ever seeing a league official do what Shanahan did, but I was very impressed by him doing it. By releasing his statement on television, it not only demonstrated why Torres deserved the suspension that he received, but it also put a face to the name of the man that handed the suspension down. It was as if Shanahan were showing that he was not afraid to step forward and stand up for himself and the standards of the NHL.
There have been plenty of suspensions handed down in all kinds of different sports, but in most of those cases, all we get is a news release with a number of games and a name on it. We don't always get a full explanation of why a certain ruling was made, and we don't get to actually see more than a signature from the person handing down the ruling. I think what Shanahan did was great for a number of reasons, and I now have a full understanding of why Torres received the suspension that he did. Now maybe this will just be an isolated occurrence because the suspension was such a significant one, but I think executives from other professional sports leagues should take note of what Shanahan did so when they might have to hand down suspensions in the future, everyone will get a clear picture of why a ruling was made.
Seeing Torres committing multiple infractions over an extended period of time now has given fans a much clearer picture of his history as a player, and maybe it will make Torres think twice in the future before delivering a hit. If it does, we have Brendan Shanahan to thank for keeping dirty hits out of the game, and I think other professional sports leagues would be smart to look into making similar strides to show the fans why exactly it is these rulings are made.
Daily Rangers Update: Craig Anderson was terrific last night for the Senators, and a 1-0 loss at home means we are going back to Ottawa with the season on the line. A lot of the scoring has come from guys like Anton Stralman and Brian Boyle, and we have not seen some of the bigger names making plays when they need to be made. It would be great to see names like Brad Richards or Marian Gaborik in the scoring column tomorrow night, because if we don't there may not be any more season left. There is absolutely no margin for error now, so nothing less than a win tomorrow night is acceptable. Let's Go Rangers!
Daily Diamondbacks Update: The offense struggled last night despite another great effort from Joe Saunders, who has gotten off to a terrific start, but the losing streak reached 5. Things went much better today though, as Gerardo Parra hit a grand slam and we finally got some key hits at key times. Until the entire lineup is back to full strength, we are going to need production from everyone, and that happened today. Wade Miley will get the start tomorrow in place of Daniel Hudson as we begin a series with the Phillies to hopefully get us back above .500 after a very bad week.
Daily Giants Update: Less than a week until the draft. Tight end Coby Fleener from Stanford still seems to be the projection of most. We will find out soon as the defending champs will make the 32nd pick of the draft on Thursday night.
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