Coyotes’ Raffi Torres has suspension reduced

Raffi Torres will be back on the ice for the
Phoenix Coyotes sooner than originally thought.

The Coyotes forward was suspended for 25 games following a
hit on Chicago’s Marian Hossa in Game 3 of the first round
of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, one many (including the NHL)
deemed to be of the incredibly dirty variety.

Torres did not play again for the Coyotes, missing the
rest of the team’s run to the Western Conference Final.

However, Torres got some good news Monday, as NHL
commissioner Gary Bettman reduced the suspension by four games. Add
in the playoff games missed, and Torres will have to sit
out just eight more games.

What’s interesting is that the commish would be overruling
the original suspension handed down by NHL discipline czar
Brendan Shanahan, which could set a somewhat dangerous
precedent for the league.

At the same time, the move will certainly be viewed as the
right one for anyone who felt the original suspension was
too harsh, especially when you consider it was the second-
longest banishment for an on-ice incident in recent NHL
history.

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