Raffi Torres Suspended Indefinitely for Hossa Hit (VIDEO)
The National Hockey League has suspended a Phoenix Coyote player indefinitely after what was described as a "brutal" hit on an opposing player.
Phoenix Coyotes forward Raffi Torres was suspended after he knocked Chicago's Marian Hossa out of the game on Wednesday.
Hard hits are nothing new in a hockey league that sees regular fights take place between members of opposing teams.
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"I've seen a lot of other hits like it in the league. It's a fast game," Coyotes coach Dave Tippett said.
He continued: "The thing about TV is you can slow it down and you can click and click and click it. When you're out there on the ice, it's not slowed down and click, click, click. It's a fast game."
"I don't think there was any malicious intent on Raffi's part," he added. "He's a hard hitter. That's the way he plays the game. He turned, coming full speed, caught a guy right in the chest. Unfortunately, the player was injured."
What has caused the extended debate is that fact that Raffi's skates were off the ice when he hit Hossa who had just passed the puck.
"In the history of the game, hitting is used to dislodge a player from the puck, not the intent to injure when you don't have the puck because you aren't aware," Blackhawks forward Andrew Brunette said.
"When you don't have the puck, there shouldn't be that kind of contact," he said.
Members of the Coyote team understood why the Blackhawks might be upset and that it is not something that players want to see.
"We would probably be equally upset if our guy was knocked out of the game like that. That's unfortunate that he got injured. We certainly don't want to see that," Coyotes veteran Ray Whitney said.
"You don't want to see anybody in our league get injured. I can understand the frustration, and I can understand the league's going to handle it the way they have to handle it," he said.
