Brendan Shanahan delivered a stern message to the rest of the NHL today by suspending Raffi Torres 25 games for his illegal hit to the head of Marian Hossa. It is clear that the league is fed up with guys taking cheap, and dangerous shots at other players.

Most were speculating that Torres might get 7-10 games, but I don’t think anyone expected 25. The 25 game suspension means that Torres is not allowed to play in the next 25 playoff games for Phoenix, if they even play that many. If 25 more playoff games are not played by the Coyotes this year, then the suspension will carry over into next year’s regular season. If the suspension does go into next season, which it most likely will, then he is also ineligible to play in the preseason, but those games do not count towards the 25.

Odds are that no one around the NHL will be complaining about this suspension except for those in the Coyotes’ organization. Torres is a well known, repeat offender that has no respect for, or from his peers around the NHL.

A number of different factors played into determining the length of this suspension. Torres violated 3 rules in delivering the hit itself, all of which should have been penalized, but weren’t. Also, he is a major repeat offender, having received supplemental discipline from the NHL 5 times already in his career.

For those interested, here is Brendan Shanahan’s video explanation for the suspension:

Video