It’s been a big weekend for the playoffs, with the Sharks and Red Wings already having gone home. The Penguins, Bruins, and Canucks could very well be next depending on the outcome of their games tonight.
The biggest news, however, was the 25 game suspension leveled on Raffi Torres for his hit on Marian Hossa. Interestingly, player opinions on the suspension are mixed, even on the same club, with some hoping it’s a sign the NHL is finally getting serious, and others feeling like the standards keep changing.
Justin Bourne things they finally got it right, Coyotes fans think he’s a scapegoat, and Puck Daddy doesn’t think this ruling actually set any benchmarks.
Interestingly, the one guy I expected to rail against this in the media, Don Cherry, was 100% behind the suspension and sounds like he’d kick Raffi out of the game permanently if he had any say in the matter.
As for Torres himself, he’s considering an appeal, but outside of following the procedure for form’s sake I don’t see the NHL backing down – especially while Hossa remains unable to play.
In unfortunate news, Rangers forward Brian Boyle was concussed by a hit in game 5 of the Rangers / Senators series from Chris Neil. Rangers coach John Tortorella says it’s a similar hit to the Torres / Hossa incident, but watch the video. Personally, I don’t see a launch and Boyle was playing the puck, but we’ll see what the NHL decides in advance of Monday’s game 6.
In “Relevant to our interests” news, we mentioned the San Jose Sharks fell short once again. With more calls coming to blow up the team, keep an eye on the Shark Tank. Among other things, should Doug Wilson keep his position as GM, we know he had strong interest in Rick Nash. Another first round exit might be just the thing to restart those trade talks. Likewise, if head coach Todd McClellan is released, expect him to get serious consideration for the head coaching job here in Columbus.
Speaking of that job, Aaron Portzline takes a look at Todd Richards and if he’s the right man for the job. Interesting numbers comparing his season to Arniel’s with basically the same roster…
The Bruins were another team who supposedly kicked the tires on #61, and injuries may well put the Stanley Cup Champs out of the picture. With Nathan Horton lost to concussion symptoms, would Boston make a move to add another big scoring winger? Would they part with a player like Tuukka Rask to make it happen?
Back to Puck Daddy, check out some of the most disappointing players in the first round, and Kevin Bieksa performing a multi-level punking.
Finally, over at Backhand Shelf, Chris Lund thinks Patrick Roy will be back in the NHL sooner than later, while Cam Charron looks at the performance of Pekka Rinne, who posted the best series save percentage in post-lockout history against Detroit.