Pretty hard to watch. Spoiler <iframe title="YouTube video player" width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/jimZ1tSdPY0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Chara was not suspended.
I saw that yesterday and man, that's brutal...he's pretty fcked up... It was a legal hit and it just happened to be at a spot near the bench/padded glass...
He was not suspended because it was not malicious. He hit the guy softer than a lot of guys get his. It just happened that after the hit the guy ran into the side boards in a bad spot. From what I am seeing there is no way to blame the guy from Boston.
^ I agree, it didn't look malicious and Chara isn't known to be dirty player. The thing that has ppl questioning the hit is the history that Chara and Pacioretty have. They don't like each other. I honestly don't understand why they need glass there.
That looks like he was trying to run him into the turnbuckle. Did he intend to break the guys neck? No, I don't think so. But when you review the history these two have, I think Chara deserves a lot of criticism here. He has to be aware of where he is on the ice. Running a guy into a turnbuckle can ruin a guys life. The NHL has to do something about this. http://nhl-red-light.si.com/2011/03/09/charas-hit-calls-his-character-into-question/
i'm not familiar enough with the intricacies of hockey to comment on the merits of this hit, but another board i go to has a ton of rabid nhl fans and they're all pretty much in agreement that this was a dirty hit and that chara should be suspended.
Part of the rise of the NBA in the 80s was that they cleaned up the violence in the sport, which allowed the game to be much more fluid. NHL needs this also. If you're a fan of the fights in the NHL you aren't a hockey fan, you're a fight fan.
It's hard to clean up a hockey fight because you're fighting while skating on ice. Often times, people who try to step in and stop two people from fighting (assuming that they're fighting because they're actually pissed at each other, and really want to fight) often times end up hurt worse than the people that are throwing punches. You try to hold your ground, and contain someone that wants to break free from you, while standing on ice. It doesn't work. I've seen shattered patellas and torn ACLs resulting from people trying to keep hockey players from fighting. Thus, it's just "part of the game."
normally i'd say unintended, not a dirty hit. With Chara, probably intentional But when it's questionable like that and it very well may have been unintentional, I don't think it's suspendable But on Chara's next violation, I think the NHL will come down harder than they should because of this one
Same here about my familiarity with hockey. But I also doubt the "he was in a bad spot" argument. Seems to me all hockey players would know exactly where that "bad spot" is (you'd never want to hit it with your face), and Chara steered the guy right into it...correction, steered his head directly into it. Looks like Chara knew what he was doing.
These two have a history. In another game, Pacioretty was celebrating a goal, and he shoved Chara out of the way to go celebrate with his teammates. Chara didn't take too kindly to that, and he tried to fight him then. Either way, that was dirty as hell, and he deserves to be suspended for that. Pacioretty should be considered LUCKY to just come away with a concussion and a broken vertebrae. He could have easily been paralyzed, or worse.
At first glance, it didn't seem bad to me, but then it seemed like Chara could have released his hold after the check. There are holds, and there are checks. That, from my little knowledge of hockey, seems now like a hold. Hope he recovers fast.
Geeze, that looks brutal. remind me of this times 100 <iframe title="YouTube video player" width="640" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/9yYJaqRvXPk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Cops open Zdeno Chara hit probe Montreal police started a criminal investigation Thursday into the on-ice hit by Boston defenseman Zdeno Chara that left the Canadiens' Max Pacioretty with a severe concussion and cracked verterbra. Police said they are acting on a request by Quebec's director of criminal and penal prosecutions, Louis Dionne. Police added that after evidence is collected it then will be determined if there are grounds for prosecution. full article
also borderline interference considering he hadn't started that motion and the puck was already long gone
It's true that it very well may not have been a malicious act, but that put aside, you can't put another human's career, let alone life, at risk like that. I think Chara should've been suspended, but not because it was a malicious act... my reason is as follows. The NHL should send a message to the league's enforcers: you can do your job, but don't do your job indiscriminately. If you see that turn-buckle coming, let up and plan your attack for another time. When it comes down to it, you shouldn't allow something like that happen. Slamming someone into a turn-buckle? That's not a natural part of the game. To let it go unpunished will have every enforcer thinking "as long as I don't come across as malicious, I can get away with it!" However, if you punish, it'll have the enforcers thinking twice about the position they're about to put a player in.
