Whenever a player is suspended by the NHL, there's always a contingent of fans that feel there's been an injustice perpetrated against their guy. Even when their guy was given one of the longest suspensions in NHL history.
Raffi Torres was suspended for 25 games on Saturday for his hit against Marian Hossa of the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 3, a ban widely lauded as an appropriate step against a repeat offender.
But Phoenix Coyotes fans still showed up for Game 5 against the 'Hawks touting Torres-supporting masks that were caught on camera, as well as signs seen along the glass. ("Did Anyone Really Expect Fairness?" When the NHL owns the team that pays the player that's being suspended … yeah, sorta.)
Now, before you condemn Coyotes fans for supporting the condemned, here's Puck Daddy reader Jess explaining why the masks exist:
"Fans of the Coyotes have made a few hundred Raffi masks for those in support of a player we feel has been unfairly 'sentenced'. They're not pro injury to AT ALL but merely a supportive sign that Raffi Torres is not only a goon as those in the media have labeled him."
So there you go: They're not pro-Hossa concussion, they're anti-Making An Example Of Raffi Torres.