"Some quick thoughts from the NHL on TSN panel on Tuesday night."
The National Hockey League's checklist for determining how many games a player will be suspended for under Rule 48 - or interference - will pretty much hit all the marks when the league looks at Raffi Torres' check on Marian Hossa in Tuesday's contest.
It was a late hit by league standards, and while the NHL does measure hits with their eyes in terms of a feel, they also measure it in terms of time and I'm sure this will be deemed a late hit.
Torres launched himself into Hossa. It was not a hit straight through the way that Dustin Brown hit Henrik Sedin in the Vancouver-LA game. There was a launch, and the principle point of contact was the head. In addition to that, there was a significant injury on the play and the player in question is somebody who has a history as a repeat offender.
Just before the playoffs began last April, Torres got a four-game suspension for his hit on Jordan Eberle. This season, he was fined $2,000 for elbowing Jan Hejda of the Colorado Avalanche in the head. Two days later, he was handed a two-game suspension for charging Minnesota Wild's Nate Prosser.
Torres has a checkered past and when they go through the criteria of Rule 48, he meets them all. He's going to be suspended, and I suspect it's going to be an in person hearing with a significant number.