"Zdeno Chara is innocent"

13 Mar

Last week in the NHL, Boston Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara viciously checked (hockey term) Montreal Canadiens left winger Max Pacioretty.

“Pacioretty suffered a severe concussion, and a non-displaced fracture of the fourth vertebra in his neck when his head hit the partition between the benches in the waning seconds of the second period.”

Here’s the hit: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZdIs-IY2LBI

Chara was penalized for interference and a game misconduct.  While the league has not, and will not suspend or fine him for this, Montreal police actually started a criminal investigation.

Pretty much everyone involved in, or around hockey actually understands that Pacioretty’s injuries were caused by where he was at the time, and the nature of the game of hockey, and not Chara’s viciousness.

To me, this is quite hypocritical given that the Canada’s government’s laws (and our’s too) allow professional hockey to have fighting.  Yes, fighting.  Yes, guys are allowed to punch each other in the face legally, without being prosecuted for it.

For the most part, I don’t like the idea of law enforcement getting involved in anything within a pro sports game, particularly sports like football and hockey, which are constructed to be violent sports.

Listen po-po, unless one guy whacks another guy in the face with his stick 25+ times, stay out of hockey, because otherwise you might as well just ban the sport entirely.

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  • flyerzrule

    Fighting is allowed to police the game, not because there are no rules. Chara broke a guys neck, and an illegal play, and he wasn’t suspended. That doesn’t make much sense. If someone on the Flyers had done the exact same hit, we’d be hearing about how the Flyers are a dirty team and there would be a 10 game suspension involved.

  • The Stabbing Pen

    Mostly disagree. Chara has no history of dirty play, and you as the Flyers fan sound whiny and presumptuous.

    If anything, the people who construct NHL rinks are at fault for making such a hit possible. If this hit takes place anywhere else on the ice, everything would be peachy keen. Peachy keen as fuck.

    “Fighting is allowed to police the game, not because there are no rules.” — what does this mean exactly?

  • flyerzrule

    I never said I wanted the cops involved – only that Chara should be suspended.

    The argument you appear to be making is that fighting is allowed, therefore, breaking someone’s neck is allowed. Fighting is allowed so that when a player is out of control, he can be challenged on the ice by his opponent to defend himself for his actions.

    The argument that Chara has no history of dirty play is completely irrelevant. This was a dirty play. He is one of the league’s best D men – you really think he has no clue where he is on the ice? He looks right at the boards he’s about to push the Canadians player into. He was penalized on the play, and he should be suspended.

    • The Stabbing Pen

      “Fighting is allowed so that when a player is out of control, he can be challenged on the ice by his opponent to defend himself for his actions.” — says who? I’m pretty sure fighting is allowed because it’s “part of the game” (whatever that means)

      Chara started the hit before Pacioretty was at the dangerous area. No way Chara could’ve physically let up at that point. The NFL has similar issues going on right now with late hits, etc. Also, just because a player gets injured on a play that resulted in a penalty, that doesn’t necessarily warrant a suspension from the league.

      I don’t think it was a dirty play, it just looked dirty because a) the location on the ice b) the injuries that resulted

      If the NHL wants to avoid players getting hurt like this they must a) specifically not allow checking in this “area” and mark it as such on the ice b) reconfigure how the boards/glass are constructed c) ban checking entirely

  • flyerzrule

    “Part of the game” means that players can fight a guy who takes a cheat shot at a team mate.

    The play looks dirty because it is dirty. The NFL suspends players for late hits that start before a “socalled” dangerous area.

    If the NHL wants to avoid players getting hurt like this, they need to make an example out of Chara and show that this play won’t be tolerated. If I rob a bank, I can’t claim that I have no past history of robbing banks as my defense and not be punished. History shouldn’t matter – Chara should be suspended.

  • The Stabbing Pen

    I don’t know what you are talking about. There are no boards/glass in football.