Raffi Torres

Raffi Torres is a veteran player in the National Hockey League who began his professional career in 2001 with the New York Islanders. On March 3, 2010, he was traded from the Columbus Blue Jackets to the Buffalo Sabres. Torres also spent four seasons with the Edmonton Oilers. He was an integral part of the Oilers during their run to the Stanley Cup Finals in 2006.That season, he scored a career-high 27 goals while playing in all 82 regular-season. games. He then added four goals and seven assists in 22 playoff contests. Torres was taken by the Islanders in the first round of the 2000 NHL draft.

After playing with Brampton in the Ontario Junior Hockey, Torres made the jump to the American Hockey League in 2001. He played for the Islanders' AHL affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers, who reached the Calder Cup finals that season. A Toronto native born on October 8, 1981, Torres was traded to the Oilers in 2003. He scored a career-high 46 points for the Oilers in 2003-04. After missing the majority of 2007–08 due to an anterior cruciate ligament injury suffered in a game against Detroit on December 15, 2007, Torres was dealt in the off-season to the Blue Jackets in exchange for Gilbert Brulé. http://bluejackets.nhl.com/

At the trade deadline of the 2009-10 season, the Buffalo Sabres acquired Torres from the Columbus Blue Jackets for Nathan Paetsch and a second-round pick in the 2010 draft. The 6-0, 216-pound Torres had 19 goals and 12 assists 60 games this season for the Blue Jackets, including seven power-play goals and three game-winners. At the time of the trade, the 28-year-old left wing had played in 418 career NHL games, recording 177 points. He was two goals shy of 100 for his career. Before the trade, Torres had been on a hot streak, recording five points in his previous five games. Torres is set to become a free agent at the end of the 2009-10 season and could actually re-sign with the Blue Jackets after July 1, when the free agency period begins.The Boston Bruins, Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers also were reportedly interested in Torres.http://msn.foxsports.com/nhl/player/raffi- torres/109905

Torres became a popular player upon his arrival in Columbus because of his gritty play and two-way approach to the game, but he continued to he hampered by injuries. He was limited to just 51 games in the 2008-09 seasons, scoring only eight goals and adding 12 assists. Torres added two assists in four postseason games, as the Blue Jackets made the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. They were swept in the Western Conference quarterfinals by the Detroit Red Wings. During the regular season, he missed 19 games following knee surgery and sat out 10 other contests due to a separated right shoulder. This after he was unable to play in the final 49 games of the 2007-08 campaign. http://msn.foxsports.com/nhl/player/raffi- torres/109905