Max Pacioretty - Injured by Chara

**ZackG** · 03-09-2011, 03:07 PM

Hi everyone,

Not sure how many of you are hockey fans here. I myself am a Montreal Canadiens fan, but I am trying to look at the hit sustained by Max Pacioretty impartially...

At full speed, the hit looks unintentional by Chara and unfortunate for everyone. However, once looking at the replay in slow motion, you can see many clues as to what Chara was thinking and what exactly he did.

Firstly, Pacioretty was on his way past Chara using his speed combined with his body position. You can see that Chara has that "Oh, Crap" look. He knew that Patches was blowing by. He also takes a very poor angle at trying to stop Max Pac. So poor, that he starts using his arm "rub" him into the boards. Up to this point, in my opinion, what we see is a normal occurence and doesn't merit anything other than a 2-minute penalty to the offender for interfering with the skater.

However, the next few moments become scary. Chara looks up. He clearly sees where he is (next to the benches and the partition). Instead of giving up on trying to stop Pacioretty (there were 15 second left in the period, also losing 4-0), Chara continues his efforts to push Pacioretty into the boards. He then gives Pacioretty a "little" push from behind, preventing Pacioretty from being able to stop. Also, a "little" push from someone who is over 6ft9, 250lbs and going over 30km/hr, has monumental force to it. Once the push has been executed, Chara then gets his left elbow up, forcing Max Pacioretty's head into the only place it can go, the partition.

Once Pacioretty gets hit, Chara skates on. He doesn't look back. Not even once. He may have killed the guy, and didn't look back. To me, this screams malice. Obviously, Pacioretty and Chara have history as well, but I will not get into that here.

The result: Pacioretty sustained a concussion and a fractured verterbrae. It will take years until he becomes fully functional.

In my opinion, this merits a heavy suspension from the NHL. Somewhere between 10 games to the rest of the season would send a message to the players. You must be aware of where you are and what you are doing. Regardless of whether Chara meant to do it or not, it happened. Severe consequences were suffered by Pacioretty. Chara must suffer some kind of consequence as well, even though it will never be quite like what Max Pacioretty will have to endure.

What do you guys think? I would be interested to know what some of you on this forum think on a sports issue.

Thats my two cents for the day.

Zack

**NBVC** · 03-09-2011, 03:46 PM

Eerily similar to the Bertuzzi (Vancouver Canucks) incident from a while back. I guess the lessons weren't learned. I think that one is still in the courts and the guy who got hit (Steve Moore) is suing big.

**ZackG** · 03-09-2011, 05:15 PM

For sure. Did not seem like a "legitimate at all.

Sadly, the NHL has screwed up, once again, by not handing out any type of recourse. There will be no fine or suspension for Chara.

All this does is show that the NHl is not concerned about head shots. At the very least, the NHL should be discouraging ANY kind of head shots, whether they are intentional or not, and whether or not it would be the same if it happened at another point on the ice.

Personally, I cannot take anything the NHL does seriously anymore when it comes to discussing head shots. How can you adamantly state that you want to protect the player by taking out all kinds of hits to the head, but you let this one go? This is a hit to the head. Period.

Lightly pushing someone OFF A CLIFF is completelydifferent from lightly pushing someone onto a bed or pillows. Yes, they are the same act. The consequnces vary from DEATH to COMFORT. However, I would go to jail for killing someone by pushing them off a cliff.

In the Chara-Pacioretty case, however, the NHL is essentially saying that any act has the same relevance wherever it is committed. This can't be true.

So sad.

I'm at a loss for words.

The NHL failed. If you had a choice, why would you want to put your kid into a sport that won't protect the lives of their players. At this point, football is safer than hockey,

**NBVC** · 03-09-2011, 05:40 PM

All the big-wigs care about is "what entertains the fans". What brings in the bucks. The checking, the fighting, that seems to be what excites the fans and what they want to see (and keeps the game from presumably becoming too boring to watch) or else, by now that would all be punished more severely. It's soon becoming almost like Professional Wrestling (WWE)... it's not a sport it's just entertainment.

**Mordred** · 03-10-2011, 12:27 PM

I don't see any correlation between this and Bertuzzi. The problem with Chara's hit is more about where the glass starts from the bench. Did he do it intentionally to injure Pacioretty? Hard to tell because we cannot tell what Chara was thinking when he body checked him.

**ZackG** · 03-10-2011, 03:19 PM

Even if you take intent out of the equation, it should still be a suspendable offence.

You cannot argue any of the following:

- It was a penalty (match penalty for interference) called on the ice
- The penalty called was legitimate and no one is questioning it
- A penalty is an illegal act on the ice
- This illegal act led to the possible death of another player. Ended up being a concussion and broken vertebrae
- When you do something illegal in real life, the punishment varies depending on the consequences from the illegal act, regardless of intent.
- For example, Driving drunk is an illegal act and can lead to a driver losing his/her license
- If you drive drunk and kill someone, you go to jail for life.
Same act, different consequence, completely different sentence.

Too bad the NHL can't make a judgement like this.

**Cutter** · 03-10-2011, 04:41 PM

If you drive drunk and kill someone, you go to jail for life.

What??????

You ARE in Canada, right???

**Mordred** · 03-10-2011, 06:44 PM

Originally Posted by ZackG

Even if you take intent out of the equation, it should still be a suspendable offence.

You cannot argue any of the following:

- It was a penalty (match penalty for interference) called on the ice
- The penalty called was legitimate and no one is questioning it
- A penalty is an illegal act on the ice
- This illegal act led to the possible death of another player. Ended up being a concussion and broken vertebrae
- When you do something illegal in real life, the punishment varies depending on the consequences from the illegal act, regardless of intent.
- For example, Driving drunk is an illegal act and can lead to a driver losing his/her license
- If you drive drunk and kill someone, you go to jail for life.
Same act, different consequence, completely different sentence.

Too bad the NHL can't make a judgement like this.

It was a penalty and I don't question it. A penalty is an illegal act on the ice that is punishable by either penalty or suspension (for which there is a review panel outside of the game itself). After this, you loose me. There is no argument to equating a physical sport, where injury is common and is a risk that all players, coaches, media, fans, wives (husbands), children, and the likes, to that of drunk driving. Also, you, I, and a few other live in Canada, where people intentionally murder other people without much consequence, never mind going to gaol for life.