NHL Justifies Suspension For Tortorella By Citing Dangerous Precedent

It is quite a heavy handed response from the league, which has gone out of its way to protect their officials. They could be using Torts as an example of what is crossing the line in an effort to prevent similar outbursts from happening in the future.

NHL Cites 'Dangerous Precedent' In Tortorella Ruling

According to NHL reporter Anthony Di Marco, the league told the Flyers that Tortorella's actions set a dangerous precedent, thus justifying the suspension and fine.



For the league, Tortorella refusing to leave the bench is a big deal. The officials cannot physically leave the ice to escort coaches off the bench, nor is it their job to do so. As such, they expect coaches to follow basic decorum in events like this. Theoretically, Tortorella could have held the game hostage by continuing to refuse to leave. It is not clear what would have happened in that case.


One thing that is clear though is that the referees need to be more accountable. We have no official explanation for as to why Tortorella was ejected other than what we can see from the video. As fans, we deserve to know what is crossing the line and what isn't. Hopefully the NHL will do something to address this in the near future.

As seen on NHL claims Tortorella's actions caused 'dangerous precedent'