Dirty Hit? Zdeno Chara hit on Max Pacioretty Mar 8, 2011

[Zoom Zoom Boy]

The argument here is, not if it was a clean hit or not. it was not a clean hit regardless of where it happens it would be called interference

The issue is that he was hit into a very dangerous area regardless of intent

It's like saying i lifted my stick and hit a guy skating buy, it was by accident, no intent what so ever but it's a highstick. regardless of if he hit him into the stanchion or not on purpose, he still hit the guy and deserve some type of punishment , this reasoning "he didn't mean it" could be used for so many things. Compare to headshots, regardless of intent or just freak accident people get penalized for it. A mistake was made and he has to pay for it, simple

He did pay. He was penalized in the context of the game. He received a 5 minute interference major and a game misconduct. He already got what he deserved based on the rules of hockey.

The debate here is whether there was purposeful intent to injure, which is where suspensions come into play. The NHL ruled that Chara did not purposefully intend to injure Pacioretty. Some agree with that and others don't.

[The Johal]

I personally dont think big Z meant for that outcome .. big Z is just that BIG he went into witht he intent to finish his check, he also stated after he wasnt looking to hurt anyone.
Its a shame but its hockey people are gonna get hurt but you never wanna see a person go down like that even if he was a hab (just kinding) and the media just blow everything up, they just need something to write about.

hoping for the best for Max!

[PCLoadLetter]

The hit was clean. The outcome of the hit wasn't.

[mazdathree3]

In my opinion it was just a case of 2 players being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I would say that if it was anywhere else around the boards Chara would have hit Max exactly the same way. However, those turnbuckles seriously need to be changed because this hasn't been the first time someone has been hit into it.

[Zoom Zoom Boy]

In my opinion it was just a case of 2 players being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I would say that if it was anywhere else around the boards Chara would have hit Max exactly the same way. However, those turnbuckles seriously need to be changed because this hasn't been the first time someone has been hit into it.

Yup...

[zoso]

Well with Chara's git and the first video you posted, the Hit is right at the Glass pushing the guy into it.


The 2nd's one is away from the glass and the hit is done, the hitter took off and the guy is sliding into to, slightly different scenarios

[bman13]

http://www.thestar.com/news/article/...p-media-report

[mazdathree3]

Good move by Air Canada. Something proactive should be done now before someone potentially gets killed. Unlike the 13 year old girl that got killed in a Blue Jackets after getting hit with a puck in the stands and then the NHL decides to put up the protective mesh.

[Olestra]

Please explain how he "had" to finish "that" check? That wasn't your typical mid-stride lay him out hit. I definitely understand how some of those can't be avoided mid hit, but this wasn't even a hit, it was a partial rub out. It should have been called as interference but then Chara stepped it up and shoved him into the stanchion as they were going by.

Because this is a very basic and fundamental play in hockey. You don't hesitate in the middle of a hit to make sure the guy is ok to be hit before you finish your check. By that time, he'd be long gone and you would never be playing in the NHL.
Chara is skating backwards and turns with the player to complete his hit, which is clean, not from behind and not charging from a distance like most of the other videos posted here. I feel the direction of Chara's head is him focusing in on Pacioretty for the hit, which seems fair to me.

[ovie8]

Because this is a very basic and fundamental play in hockey. You don't hesitate in the middle of a hit to make sure the guy is ok to be hit before you finish your check. By that time, he'd be long gone and you would never be playing in the NHL.
Chara is skating backwards and turns with the player to complete his hit, which is clean, not from behind and not charging from a distance like most of the other videos posted here. I feel the direction of Chara's head is him focusing in on Pacioretty for the hit, which seems fair to me.

The way the hit was delivered is clean. But the question is should Chara have even hit him to begin with? No, because the puck was already chipped ahead! Had Pacioretty been skating with the puck then the hit is fair play.

If you play contact hockey, you become well aware of your surroundings. So I'm sure Chara knew the turn buckle was there. Did he want to injure him? probably not...So it was an irresponsible hit. Should at least be fined. Kind of like careless driving...

[cwp_sedan]

Yep, he definitely didn't mean to push his face into the stanchion...lol.

[Slade]

Yep, he definitely didn't mean to push his face into the stanchion...lol.

LOL, I think it was a dirty hit, Chara said in one interview he didn't know where he was on the ice which is BS, if you can't tell your infront of the bench, then I don't know how he can skate.

I can't wait for 2 or 3 players to hit him at once...im sure he still wont fall though haha.

[thanu31]

heard theres going to be police investigation on this...

[cwp_sedan]

heard theres going to be police investigation on this...

Yeah I read this too. IMO this is pushing it. I could have seen a suspension but a criminal investigation is too much.

[Zoom Zoom Boy]

heard theres going to be police investigation on this...

Don't hold your breath. If there is an investigation, it will simply be a routine to appease the outcry. No charges will be laid. The rumours are mainly because retarded Habs fans have been dialing 911 throughout the Province of Quebec to report and complain about the Chara hit and demanding police involvement. Seriously, I am not kidding. They are tying up dedicated emergency lines for this. Sadly.

Have to love how the media, government and now corporations are jumping all over this to get extra exposure and free publicity. It is pathetic and ridiculous.

[cwp_sedan]

It could have all been avoided with a suspension.

[Zoom Zoom Boy]

It could have all been avoided with a suspension.

Doubtful. Everyone would have still jumped on the bandwagon regardless.

Ah, and the latest stupidity. Publicity mongering much? Conflict of interest anyone?

QUEBEC CITY, Que. - Montreal police have confirmed they opened a criminal investigation into the devastating hit that placed Canadiens forward Max Pacioretty in the hospital with a cracked verterbra.

Police say they are acting on a complaint about the shot delivered by Boston Bruins captain Zdeno Chara earlier this week.

Meanwhile, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman refused to comment on the incident this morning on his way into a U.S. congressional briefing in Washington, D.C.

Bettman's previously scheduled briefing focuses on the state of hockey in America and the relationship between hockey and education and physical rehabilitation.

Montreal police say they opened the investigation after a request by Quebec's director of criminal and penal prosecutions, Louis Dionne.

A spokeswoman for Dionne said he initiated the process after seeing television footage of the incident.

He issued a recommendation to the provincial Public Security department that an investigation be opened; the department then forwarded the file to police.

[cwp_sedan]

Doubtful. Everyone would have still jumped on the bandwagon regardless.

True, but I think there would have been less of an outcry of angry fans.

I still think about how Chara could have ended this players career and there won't have been any repercussion to him. If I went out and accidentally ran over a pedestrian with my car, I would be responsible for it even though it was an "accident" or there wasn't the "intent" to hurt or harm. This should be treated the same way.

Look at Bertuzzi's situation. He is still playing and making money yet Steve Moore is done his career forever. Sad really.

[FoXy]

Look at like 1:49... I am not sure what to believe cus it really DOES look like he had no reason to check him and really did plow him into the wall.... He didn't have to do it but he did anyway.... THAT I think is dirty. I mean if you are checking to get the puck that's one thing but for no reason?? Shady indeed.

[FoXy]

Yep, he definitely didn't mean to push his face into the stanchion...lol.

I mean the pic really does say it... His hand was still on him when his face/neck is making contact with the stanchion... Poor guy.

[Zoom Zoom Boy]

True, but I think there would have been less of an outcry of angry fans.

I still think about how Chara could have ended this players career and there won't have been any repercussion to him. If I went out and accidentally ran over a pedestrian with my car, I would be responsible for it even though it was an "accident" or there wasn't the "intent" to hurt or harm. This should be treated the same way.

Look at Bertuzzi's situation. He is still playing and making money yet Steve Moore is done his career forever. Sad really.

The game of hockey, which is governed by a league commission with active involvement from the NHLPA and with a set of definable rules and assumptions towards risks everytime they step on the ice, cannot be directly compared to what happens in a civilian respect. If I punch someone in the face on the street, say a stupid Hab fan for instance that is dialing 911, I get charged with assault and I go to jail. If I punch that same stupid Hab fan while playing a hockey game, I receive a 5 minute major penalty and the admiration and adulation of hockey fans everywhere.

Sure, there are always boundaries and this is where the police sometimes are involved. The Bertuzzi example is one. McSorley on Brashear was another. Dino Ciccarrelli trying to chop down Luke Richardson like he was a tree is another. There have been a few more, even at the Junior level, such as Patrice Cormier. You could easily build a case that all of these examples demonstrate a very clear intent to injure and were significantly more viscious and purposeful than the Chara hit on Pacorietty. The Chara hit is significant for two reasons. One, a stanchion was involved during a routine play and two, it happened in Canada and happened in Montreal. This is the town that rioted and did millions of dollars worth of damage to their own city when Maurice Richard almost killed an opposing player and was then suspended. If this hit happened say in Phoenix with the Atlanta Thrashers playing, do you think it would be getting this attention?

The Chara hit was otherwise insignificant in terms of a hockey play, other than the obvious significance that a fine young man was severely injured as a result. It is very unfortunate, but it happens. I've seen a hell of a lot worse and with obvious intent to injure.

[The Wolf]

These "people" are like pitbulls. How can we expect them to behave differently than what they've been taught their whole life? Every coach they've ever had since Peewee has rewarded them for trying to kill people.
The fault doesn't lie squarely on the player. Thousands of coaches and sponsors and analysts have created a culture of monsters. They condemn this behavior in one breath and praise it in another.

[midnightfxgt]

I think he intentionally ran him into it... I dont think he meant to kill the guy though.

However, since the guy was seriously injured, there should have been a suspension. It was a dirty play, and had a worse outcome than planned.

[cwp_sedan]

I like this quote that a friend of mine made.

I believe he had intentions to hurt him but maybe not snap his neck. However, if I punch a guy in the face in an attempt to give him a black eye and I slip and punch him in the throat and kill him. Guess what i'm still a murderer.

[midnightfxgt]

^^^ A better way of saying what I was getting at LOL!