What National Hockey League player has the dubious distinction of having been given the longest ever suspension?

george48

According to this it was Chris Simon of the New York Islanders back in 2007. 30 games for stomping on the leg of Pittsburgh's Jarko Ruutu. http://proicehockey.about.com/cs/history/a/nhl_suspensions.htm Apr 21 12, 12:15 PM

sportsherald

Raffi Torres of the Phoenix Coyotes has just tied the 25 game suspension record, due to his head shot late hit on Marian Hossa of the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2012 playoffs: http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=629019 "Should the 25 games not be served by the conclusion of the 2012 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the remaining games of the suspension will carry over into the following regular season. Torres will be prohibited from playing in any preseason games until he has served this 25-game suspension (playoff and regular-season games). Should the suspension carry over to next season, because he is classified as a repeat offender under the Collective Bargaining Agreement, Torres will forfeit $21,341.46 in salary for every regular-season game in which he is ineligible to play." Apr 21 12, 12:41 PM

wdstk

Simon's was the second longest to... a one-year suspension handed down to Marty McSorley in 1999-2000. It ended his career in the NHL. Apr 21 12, 6:23 PM

sportsherald

The first link http://proicehockey.about.com/cs/history/a/nhl_suspensions.htm treats that McSorley suspension as 23 games, although he was banned for a full year after that: "On February 21, 2000, McSorley, playing for the Boston Bruins, swung his stick and hit Donald Brashear in the head with 3 seconds left in the game. Brashear fell backwards and hit his head hard on the ice as a result of the stick's contact with his head and helmet. As a result of the fall and hard contact with the ice, Brashear lost consciousness and suffered a grade 3 concussion. As a result of the stick incident, McSorley was charged with assault and suspended by the NHL for the remainder of the 1999-2000 season (including playoffs) missing 23 games. On October 4, 2000, a jury found McSorley guilty of assault with a weapon for his attack on Brashear. He was sentenced to 18 months probation. The trial was the first for an on-ice attack by an NHL player since 1988. After his assault conviction his NHL suspension was extended to one full year (through February 21, 2001). McSorley would never play in another NHL game." -from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marty_McSorley The Guinness World Record site names the 30 game Chris Simon suspension as the longest: http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/records-1000/longest-suspension-in-nhl-history-for-an-infraction-during-a-game/. A Wikipedia article on hockey violence states: "Billy Coutu was the first, and to date only, player banned from the NHL for life for violence in 1927; he assaulted referee Jerry Laflamme and tackled referee Billy Bell before starting a bench-clearing brawl during a Stanley Cup game between the Boston Bruins and Ottawa Senators, apparently on the orders of Bruins coach Art Ross. The NHL's first president, Frank Calder, expelled Coutu from the NHL for life; the ban was lifted after 2½ years, but Coutu never played in the NHL again." -from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violence_in_ice_hockey Coutu's life, or 2½ years, would beat the official 1 year (effectively life) ban for McSorley. Apr 21 12, 7:50 PM