Chara Escapes Extra Punishment

Zdeno Chara will not face a suspension for his controversial hit on Max Pacioretty of the Canadiens.

"After a thorough review of the video I can find no basis to impose supplement discipline," wrote NHL senior vice president of hockey operations Mike Murphy today. "This hit resulted from a play that evolved and then happened very quickly - with both players skating in the same direction and with Chara attempting to angle his opponent into the boards. I could not find any evidence to suggest that, beyond this being a correct call for interference, that Chara targeted the head of his opponent, left his feet or delivered the check in any other manner that could be deemed to be dangerous."

Pacioretty has been diagnosed with a severe concussion and a fractured vertebrae in his neck. He is still in hospital. The hit happened with 16 seconds left in the second period Tuesday night. Chara ran Pacioretty into the partition separating the two player benches and was assessed an interference major and game misconduct.

"This was a hockey play that resulted in an injury because of the player colliding with the stanchion and then then ice surface," wrote Murphy.

 

Comments

[Matt Dennis]

What a joke. How does Colin Campell still have a job? And people wonder why the game is becoming plagued by dirty and blindside hits? It's because there is no accountability from the top-down!

[Rob Mulligan]

Hey Damien , if you notice the colour of the bumpers on the ends of the glass kind of blend in with the rest of the eviroment. What if the bumper pad were a unformed colour around the league. Say for example a bright orange or another bright colour. It's possible a player might see it out of the corner of his eye and be able to take some kind of precautionary measure. I know i won't solve the problem ,but it might save someone from the same fate. Just a thought.

[Raina]

So does this mean that Chara remains a boy scout when he injures the next player who crosses him? Cooke didn't get a suspension either, but I doubt too many Bruins fans find him "innocent". Habs fans won't forgive Chara either. Someone is actually going to have to die before the league will do something to protect their players -- must be really nice knowing that about your employer.

[Cory McKechnie]

Campbell had nothing to do with this. Amazed how uninformed people are when they make ridiculous statements on these things.

[Jo]

Nope...
No evidence whatsoever that Chara had targeted Max's head after an already illegal hit...

SEE: http://twitpic.com/47s8ub

These NHL guys are already responsible for allowing the lowered standards on clean and late hits, by condoning malicious assault. Next they're going to be guilty of murder as well someday.

[kneeboard85]

It's funny how many people thought this was a dirty hit and anyone with a brain could see that. I commented last article he would get 2 just to keep all the whiners at bay but even that would be too steep, glad to see he didn't get anything. oh and @ Matt Dennis Campbell can't rule on this because his son plays on Boston so he had nothing to do with this ruling.

[Raina]

No Cory. Campbell didn't. His EMPLOYEE (aka his #1 assistant) is the one who made the decision. That doesn't reek of favourtism, does it?

[twisted]

this guy who reviewed the play....he should be fired on the spot for this comment.

nobody will believe this. and i don't think he saw the arm extension before Max hit.

It WAS the EXtension of the arm that pushed him out. You see this very clearly.

GET new glasses guy. better yet quit while your still ahead.

[2nd Guess]

Ultimately, Murphy had to guess about Chara's intent on the hit -- did he attempt to injure Pacioretty by extending his arms near the end of their contact, or was it a routine "rub-out" play? Should the location of the play -- near the stanchions by the benches -- alter a checker's intentions or not?

Ask 100 people, and you would probably get 100 answers. Given the extent of Pacioretty's injuries, it would no doubt be satisfying to drop Chara in a deep hole. But in the absence of irrefutable intent to injure or a clearly illegal act, Murphy had little choice but to come down on the side of leniency.

[John A McDonald]

Hi! Damien
I am a regular reader of your column and enjoy in most cases very much. I feel you should write a column about the equipment to-day. It not only protects players ,but in most cases it is used as a weapon.The elow pads in particular are very hard and the elbows always seem to come into play.Soft pads would certainly change the way aplayer checks. I cannot understand why the NHL does not examine this.Soft pads would cut down on a lot of the hard check that take place. Damien I feel this should create a good column for you to write. I know I am right about this observation.Looking forward to you writing about this

[Ron]

Damien, I have watched this hit at least 10 times today and unless my eyesight is failing me I see Chara's hand-forearm-elbow guide the Montreal player's head into the partition.The problem is that the NHL's way of dishing out disipline is so undisciplined that there is no way for anyone to figure what is right and wrong in terms of discipline. I guess someone is going to have to die before the NHL can determine the difference between a " Hockey Play " and intent to injure.

[jeremy]

There's a reason Boston has the lowest number of minor penalties while being the dirtiest team in the league. Colin has to step aside until his son is no longer in the league. Colin may not have said the words "no suspension" but his employee did.

[The NHL is a black eye to society]

Come on. Chara's reaction -- skating away with little concern -- after the play was telling. That was his natural reaction, not a scripted one.

It's not like Chara was not at a good vantage point of seeing Pacioretty fly into the wedge of the boards, he was the initiator and "cameraman" in fact. Chara had to know that this was a potentially very serious injury. If he was genuinely concerned, wouldn't that have elicited a different reaction moments later?

NHL? Slap's his wrist. That is an example of why I hate hockey with a passion and wouldn't watch it if you paid me to.

[Cory Mckechnie]

Damien, I feel sorry for your having to put up with all these idiots, I really do.

[peter]

i have two points about the Chara hit that hopefully make people understand that there was intent to injure pacoritty 1 the hit was in front of the boston bench therefore chara sat where he checked pacoritty 2 as a defenceman he has to know where the plexie glass finishes so when he has to clear the puck from his zone he will not get a penalty for delay of game it is part of being a good defenceman not to mention after play for 13 years in nhl he would know the bell center very well by saying i would never try to hurt someone intentionally what did you except for him to say yes i wanted to do it.....have you ever heard someone pass in front of a judge saying i did it on purpose was the hit nessarey boston being down 4-0... 15 sec left in the period chara wanted to provke something to change the game if that is not intent ......that is not the hockey i enjoyed for 40 years... a good check is part of hockey but where do we draw the line on cheap shots get well MAX

[Winston]

The NHL is a bloody joke. Look at the twitter pic referenced in another post, or http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mx2AxYxgqRA and watch from 1:35 on. Chara didn't merely skate in a way that angled Patch into the boards, or even check him in a way that most would consider a normal body check, he quite simply pushed the player's head into the glass with his left arm. Repeat, didn't push the player, he pushed the players HEAD into the glass. Anyone who calls that a hockey play is an idiot.

[Darren]

Chara knew exactly where he was on the ice and exactly what would happen if he angled him just a little bit towards the boards. Epic FAIL

[JP]

reckless actions causing serious injury are penalized and should also be grounds for suspension! the video is enough! no check! just a forearm to head into the post! in a 4-0 game period ending ??? this is reckless and chara is a big man who should be held resposible for his reckless actions! does this mean now that all big guys have an excuse? did the NHL not want to speed up the game? now what? does someone take chara out? I do not see this man as tough as he looks? there are many big men in the NHL who fight I believe they could easily cork him over and over during the season and Chara would shrink in size and ALWAYS know where he is on the ice! All the people cheering him on are misinformed I see him as a bully! bullies are pieces of crap and are hated maybe the NHLPA should grow a set of balls and take Chara into a private room with ten or twenty players and have a "private discussion" with this idiot just to remind him he is going to kill a brother in the NHLPA. With the new feelings about headshots this year and moving forward I feel Chara should have been suspended at least once already this year if not twice and this would have been number THREE this season. He is guilty of far more than the NHL see and now his peers should step in and make right what the league cannot

[Nick22]

Billion dollar game, million dollar players, 2-cent rinks and an NHL, Owners, and Union (hardest to understand) that flat out 'doesn't care' about the 2-cent rinks or about the growing violence and lack of respect in hockey. Not 'toughness' but 'VIOLENCE'.
GREAT article. thx.

[Gordon Goldrich`]

The neanderthals have won again. The Chara hit and lack of action by the NHL is just another example.

I taped the game and have watched the "hit" in super slow motion a number of times. In my view, there is only one answer and that is that Chara intended to do exactly what transpired. Take a look at the positioning of Chara's body when it is in contact with the Montreal pllayer. Not even a chipmunk could have gotten past him. Next, take a look at the movement of Chara's left arm immediately before the impact with the glass. His left forearm and elbow are directly behind the Montreal player's head.
Clearly this was a deliberate act and the boys with the eye in the centre of their forehead have once again let a villainous act escape without any punishment.
When will the NHL learn? Another good player has been taken out of the game for the rest of the season and possibly for the rest of his hockey career.
Disgusting!!!

[Sensi-Bill]

I firmly believe that as revealing of detail slow-motion replay can be, it also distorts reality in a significant way.
It is human nature while watching slo-mo to suddenly think that the speed of thought of the players involved somehow matches one's own speed of thought while watching.
In this case, while watching the hit, the viewer has plenty of time to format the thought, "Yes, I place my arm here, just so, and I can guide his head into this stanchion." The viewer then makes the totally unsound leap to believing that the player thus had the same opportunity and time to form the same thought, and then accept it and act upon it.
The phenomenon gets worse the more we repeat the experience, the more times we watch instantaneous action stretched out by slow motion to create artificial time in which to ponder and plan.
Here's a little test. We can almost talk as fast as we think. So try repeating the full "Yes, I place my arm here . . ." line out loud while watching the replay in slow motion. See how it seems to fit?
Now try doing it at normal speed. How much did you get to say before the whole incident was over? "Yes, I place . . ."?
Now realize that if the player had managed to utter at least that much while making the hit, in slow-motion replay with audio, it would come out something like "Y Y Y Y e e e e s s s s, , , , I I I I p p p p l l l l a a a a c c c c e e e e . . ."
It's something to remember when judging something via slow-motion replay. Slo-mo stretches time and action, leaving the viewer more time to examine and evaluate. BUT it does NOT provide the subject of the replay more time to have thought or planned.

[SPW]

I believe hockey can be saved!!! To do this several things need to be done:
1) Improve today's helmets, they appear to be getting thinner and with less padding every year.
2) Remove body checking within the danger zone (anywhere within 5 feet of the boards). Leave the open ice hits.
Take these two measures and over 80% of the concushions will be eliminated!!

SPW