Sharks winger Raffi Torres has been suspended 41 games—a full half of the NHL season—for an illegal check to the head of the Ducks’ Jakob Silfverberg. This surprisingly tough suspension signifies two things: the Department of Player Safety is not fucking around this season, and the NHL is damned sick of Raffi Torres trying to end careers.
Here’s the DoPS video:
The hit on Silfverberg was brutal enough: Torres basically crossed the rink to put his shoulder on Silfverberg’s chin. But this is a lifetime-achivement suspension. In his NHL career, Torres has been suspended four times, fined three times, and warned twice, almost all for targeting opponents’ heads. He’s a danger to everyone on the ice, and a liability to his own team, and he’s not going to be missed.