Limited to 32 contests, he recorded 11 points. Torres was traded in the off-season to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for forward Gilbert Brulé on July 1, 2008. He missed 10 games to begin the 2008–09 campaign with a separated right shoulder. A month later, on December 2, 2008, he underwent surgery for an injured knee and missed an additional 19 games. With an injury-shortened season for the second consecutive year, he recorded 12 goals and 20 points over 51 games. In the 2009 playoffs, Torres added two assists as Columbus was swept in four games by the Detroit Red Wings. The following season, on March 3, 2010, Torres was traded to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for defenceman Nathan Paetsch and a second-round draft pick. He had recorded 19 goals and 31 points over 60 games with Columbus before the trade. In 14 games with Buffalo, he notched five assists. The Sabres entered the 2010 playoffs as the third seed in the Eastern Conference. They were eliminated in the first round by the Boston Bruins. Torres' play struggled against the Bruins and he was benched for the final two games of the series. He recorded two assists over four playoff games. Leaving Buffalo as an unrestricted free agent, Torres signed a one-year, $1 million contract with the Vancouver Canucks on August 24, 2010. He scored his first goal as a Canuck on October 13, in a 4–3 loss to the Anaheim Ducks. The following month, he registered his first NHL career hat trick on November 2 during a game against the Edmonton Oilers. It marked the first time in Oilers history that a former player scored a hat trick against the club. The hat trick also helped Torres earn First Star of the Week honours as the best player in the NHL for the week ending November 7, 2010. Beginning in January 2011, he underwent a 23-game goalless streak, snapped on February 19 in a game against the Dallas Stars. Later in the season, Torres was suspended four games for a hit to the head of Edmonton Oilers forward Jordan Eberle during a game on April 6, 2011. Canucks general manager Mike Gillis told media that he "strongly disagree[d] with it", while Torres argued that he did not stick out his elbow or leave his feet to make the hit and that Eberle raised his hand in defence of the oncoming check, indicating that it was not a blindside hit. Eberle was not injured on the play. The suspension ended Torres' regular season as the Canucks had two games remaining.