San Jose Sharks forward Raffi Torres has been suspended, pending a discipline hearing, for his hit to the head of Anaheim Ducks forward Jakob Silfverberg, according to TSN's Darren Dreger.
Torres was handed a match penalty for the head shot in second period of the Sharks' 5-1 preseason loss to the Ducks on Saturday night.
Silfverberg left the ice and did not return.
"He"s OK. Thank goodness for that," Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau said. "He was kept out just for precautionary reasons. Knowing this was the last pre-season game, there was no sense bringing him back. He could’ve played.""
Sharks coach Pete DeBoer called the play "unfortunate."
According to NHL rules, any player who receives a match penalty "shall be automatically suspended from further competition until the Commissioner has ruled on the issue."
Torres is a repeat offender having been been suspended four times in his NHL career. His most recent suspension occurred during the 2012-13 Stanley Cup playoffs. Torres was suspended for the remainder of the second round against the Los Angeles Kings for an illegal check to the head of Jarret Stoll.
Torres was handed a 25-game suspension in 2012 while playing for the Arizona Coyotes after landing a late hit on the Blackhawks' Marian Hossa. The 25 game suspension is the third-longest in NHL history.
Here is the hit on Silfverberg:
