On March 8th Bruins' captain Zedeno Chara delivered a devastating hit on Montreal's Max Pacioretty, now before I get into it, its kind of imperative to see the hit to understand where myself and so many others are coming from but I must warn you the video is difficult to watch, my heart stopped because honestly Pacioretty looks- well he doesn't look good, the video is in French but that's inconsequential, also its 7 minutes long but you don't have to watch the entire video, 2.5-3 minutes and you'll understand:
First things first, Pacioretty is okay as in he's alive, thank Santa Maria for that, he did however, fracture his 4th cervical vertebrate (the ones at the top of the spine) and suffered a severe concussion. He's 22 years old, a minor league player that was called up to the majors, and there's is no timeline for him to return to hockey at this point in time. Also his parents were at the game...I know!
The Hit
Let's call a spade a spade, it was a dirty hit! No ifs, ands, or buts about it. Watch it again (if you can stomach it); Pacioretty has the puck, Chara's coming in for a hit, pretty standard right? You have the puck, you're fair game, we all know this. So Pacioretty chips the puck away, Chara's body makes contact with Pacioretty's, okay we're still good, still pretty standard AND THEN comes Chara's long arm, and he shoves Pacioretty's head into the stanchion (the metal bar holding together the glass) and not only does it become dirty hit but a dangerous one! Pacioretty falls to the ice unconscious, no one knows what's wrong, he's not responding, not getting up, not opening his eyes. The trainers working quickly but you can see the panic in their actions, at one point they're checking his pulse, Boston's trainers come to help, working on him trying to gauge the situation, then after several gruelling minuets a number of habs players lift their unconscious teammate onto the stretcher. He's off to the hospital, and we're all left holding our breath.
The Reaction
This is where Montreal shows their superiority to their ancient rival, because that night the Montreal Police Force were inundated with calls, like phones off the hook, lines being clogged, like every man woman and child in Quebec picked up the phone to call, because Habs fans wanted justice! It wasn't just a dirty it, it was criminal! As of now Montreal Police have started a criminal investigation into the hit, oh hell yeah!
We the citizens are outraged but so is our government, our Minister for Sport, Gary Lunn, made a comment in the house of commons no less, saying in not so many words that the NHL better do something about it AND our Prime Minister (as much as I dislike him) echoed his sentiment. Only in Canada right?
So the citizens are outraged, the government is outraged AND capitalism is also outraged. Air Canada, unsatisfied with the league's reaction to this incident, sent a scathing letter to the NHL stating among other things:
“It is becoming increasingly difficult to associate our brand with sports events, which could lead to serious and irresponsible accidents”
OH SNAP! I might have to reconsider my not flying with Air Canada, after this. This is no idle threat and the NHL would be fools to take it as such, the current economic climate paired with the difficulty some clubs are having south of the boarder *cough*Arizona*cough* can they really afford to loose a major sponsor like Air Canada?
Well apparently Buttman is being a fool because he's publicly brushed them off but with VIA Rail and Canadian Tire circling, not to mention a criminal investigation on the cards, and the league's most dedicated fans crying out for blood, is that really the best move?
Chara
Chara was cited for a major penalty and that's it. No suspension, no fines, nothing. Not only that there has been no apology, public or otherwise. Pacioretty has received no phone calls, no flowers, no get well card from Chara. Classy.
He says it was not his intention to hurt him, that hockey's a physical game, and that things happen in the heat of the moment. While I agree that hockey is a phycial game, I'd just love to know what sort of outcome Chara expected from shoving a guy's head into a metal bar, just wondering. Sure he probably didn't anticipate that he would have broken his freakin vertebrate but the intention seems clear as day once you see the hit. His apathy concerning this whole situation is a little troubling though, many players who hurt another player or even get into a major brawl, always check up with each other after the game to see if they're alright or apologize or forget about it over gross domestic beer but not Chara! Hmmm. Maybe Chara was instructed NOT to apologize because an apology would be an admission of guilt and with a criminal investigation underway...ohhhhh conspiracy!
PS Pacioretty is 6'2 212 pounds. Chara is 6'9 255 pounds. *cocked eyebrow*
The League
And here's where I throw my hands up. The league has done NOTHING, absolutely NOTHING! They've released thinly veiled passive aggressive statements aimed at Air Canada because they dared to have a moral compass, and basically patted us all on the head telling us they'll talk about it at the GM's meeting this week, so don't you worry. UGH. The NHL cronies are scared to set a precedent, because they don't want to 'pansify' the game, because hockey's a tough sport, a man's sport, if you don't like it, well you can get the fuck out of here! But is it so wrong that we want our players safe? Is it so wrong that we want our children to learn how to play an albeit physical game, without there being the dangers of dirty hit and career ending injuries that could have been avoided?
Are dirty players just going to be allowed to roam free within our league without challenge, not only ending careers but seriously altering the health of another player, because a hockey career only lasts so long, what happens when a lingering injury suffered during the glory days seriously affects an ex-player's health? Why are they protecting the Matt Cooke's and Todd Bertuzzi's, and in this case the Zedeno Chara's? How many Max Pacioretty's, Steve Moore's, Nick Kypreos', or hell even Sidney Crosby's are there going to be? Despite the myth that's being perpetuated by the league, and hockey fans, this game is WAY more violent than it was in its original 6 days. Maurice 'Rocket' Richard, would he last in this modern game? I'm scared of the answer. When is this league going to stop being a bunch of 'pansies' and step up to the freaking plate?!?!?!?!
We demand a pound of flesh, and we'll get no less!
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