Raffi Torres appears ready to retire from professional hockey if he doesn't land an NHL contract for the upcoming season.
The rugged 34-year-old winger has not played since the 2015 preseason, where he was suspended 41 games for a hit on Jakob Silfverberg of the Anaheim Ducks, but he is hoping to get an invitation to a training camp this season.
Supplementary discipline and various injuries - most recently knee surgery - have limited him to 44 regular-season games since the 2013 season, and Torres says he'll likely hang up his skates if he can't land a job with one of the NHL's 30 clubs.
"To be honest, I’ve never been one for Plan B’s," Torres, who was under contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs before becoming an unrestricted free agent on July 1, told John Matisz of Postmedia. "I’ve been telling everybody (who asks about my future), it’s probably going to be The Show or no."
Torres added he's been training heavily for the past several months in order to test his knee, which he admits may not hold up under the rigors of an 82-game schedule.
That may be a tough sell. If he does choose to retire, his career would be capped at 635 games, 137 goals, and 497 penalty minutes.
