Bruins D Zdeno Chara has become public enemy #1 in the hockey world
I wanted to let this Chara-Pacioretty stuff sit for a couple of days and see what the fallout was before I commented on it. But the combination of the Montreal police opening a criminal investigation in to this is AND Air Canada threatening to pull their sponsorship, that's enough for me. Everyone needs to get off of Zdeno Chara's back. If the league wants to suspend him to shut people up, then fine. But this was a bang-bang play where it was unfortunate timing and positioning on the ice.
If you've been under a rock for the past couple of days, here's the hit (sorry for the French):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlJ0Ca6SIj8
If the 6'9" 260lb Chara makes that hit anywhere else on the ice, Pacioretty goes down, gets up, maybe there's a 2 minute interference call, and the majority of the mainstream sports media wouldn't know Max Pacioretty if he spit on them. Do you have to be aware of where you are on the ice, absolutely. But to think that there was any sort of intent to injure from Zdeno Chara is ludicrous. If you feel that way, you need to watch more than two or three hockey games in your entire life.
Max Pacioretty spoke for the first time publicly on TSN in Canada today. From his hospital bed, he said "I am upset and disgusted that the league didn't think enough of (the hit) to suspend him. I'm not mad for myself, I'm mad because if other players see a hit like that and think it's okay, they won't be suspended, then other players will get hurt like I got hurt. It's been an emotional day. I saw the video for the first time this morning. You see the hit, I've got a fractured vertebrae, I'm in hospital and I thought the league would do something, a little something. I'm not talking a big number, I don't know, one game, two games, three games...whatever, but something to show that it's not right."
I understand his frustration. His career is in jeopardy, he almost had his neck snapped, it's a natural reaction. And like I said earlier, while I don't agree with it, I can understand the league deciding to hand out a minor suspension to save face. The part that bothers me is when he talks about other players seeing a hit like that and "thinking it's okay." I would bet that not even Matt Cooke, Trevor Gillies, or Sean Avery would think smashing someones head in to the stanchion is "okay." It was an accident. And Max, if you want to get on your pulpit about players thinking that dirty hits are okay, you should check your own closet. Last time I checked, leading with your elbow to hit someone in the back of the head in to the boards is not okay:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1IDI1lTrBc
While I hope that Pacioretty makes a full recovery and is able to play again, I hope the NHL doesn't go the way of the NFL where it begins to become a "weeny" league (I wanted to use a much stronger word there). The NFL handed out numerous fines this year for hits that were "dirty". Just like the NHL, there are plays in the NFL where when you have big guys moving full speed with people changing direction at the drop of a dime. Impacts can happen in ways that weren't desired with players getting hurt. It's an unfortunate part of the game, but it is a part of the game.
The Montreal Police opening an investigation in to this is a partial reaction by the hometown police who are Habs fans. It makes them look silly. If the tables had been turned, where it was a Canadien hitting a Bruin like that, there wouldn't be a whisper about it. When former NHL'er Chris Simon took a baseball swing at the head of former Ranger Ryan Hollweg in a game between the Islanders and Rangers a few years ago, having a police investigation in to that would have been slightly more understandable. What Simon did was assault with a weapon and he's lucky there wasn't more damage done to Hollweg (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esETGHljQi4). Chara didn't do anything remotely close to that. He made contact and extended his arm a bit. Yes, that's interference. But the last time I checked, an interference penalty was two minutes in a penalty box, not a felony.
And as for Air Canada threatening to pull its sponsorship...I would love to see them follow through on that. The NHL needs their money more than they need to advertise in the NHL. But if you're going to do something, you better make damn sure you do it all the way. That means finding a way out of your naming rights agreement with the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, where the Maple Leafs play. The Leafs are kind of a popular team in Canada and the exposure they get from having their name on that building is pretty valuable. NHL games are played in that building, so if you want to disassociate yourself with a "violent sport", that's part of the package, too. If you're going to take a moral stand against something, you can't do it when it's convenient. Stop the empty threats and keep your nose out of something that's not even your business. As much as I don't like Gary Bettman's decision making sometimes, he took a hard line with Air Canada and I applaud him for it.
"Air Canada is a great brand, as is the National Hockey League, and if they decide they need to do other things with their sponsorship dollars that's their prerogative, just like it's the prerogative of our clubs that fly on Air Canada to make other arrangements if they don't think Air Canada is giving them the appropriate level of service." Bravo Mr. Bettman.
The bottom line is that it was a very unfortunate result of a play in a game where physicality is as natural as skating and scoring. Pacioretty had an idea of where Chara was coming from and was in a bad place. If you follow hockey, you've often heard the phrase "Don't skate with your head down". Why? Because that's asking to get leveled. And that's considered a clean hit as long as you don't target the player's head or lead with your elbow. While I completely agree with that logic, how can hitting someone who isn't paying attention be considered okay, but it not be okay when a defenseman is trying to make a play to slow down an attacking forward in a way he's been taught to his whole career.
According to Bruins staffers, Chara is clearly shaken by the whole incident. You can call bull and say that's just PR damage control, but we'll see how much it's affected his game tonight when the Bruins take on Buffalo. You hope he's not tentative, but I'm willing to bet he's going to show hesitation at least once tonight, and that's a shame.
If you've been under a rock for the past couple of days, here's the hit (sorry for the French):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlJ0Ca6SIj8
If the 6'9" 260lb Chara makes that hit anywhere else on the ice, Pacioretty goes down, gets up, maybe there's a 2 minute interference call, and the majority of the mainstream sports media wouldn't know Max Pacioretty if he spit on them. Do you have to be aware of where you are on the ice, absolutely. But to think that there was any sort of intent to injure from Zdeno Chara is ludicrous. If you feel that way, you need to watch more than two or three hockey games in your entire life.
Max Pacioretty spoke for the first time publicly on TSN in Canada today. From his hospital bed, he said "I am upset and disgusted that the league didn't think enough of (the hit) to suspend him. I'm not mad for myself, I'm mad because if other players see a hit like that and think it's okay, they won't be suspended, then other players will get hurt like I got hurt. It's been an emotional day. I saw the video for the first time this morning. You see the hit, I've got a fractured vertebrae, I'm in hospital and I thought the league would do something, a little something. I'm not talking a big number, I don't know, one game, two games, three games...whatever, but something to show that it's not right."
I understand his frustration. His career is in jeopardy, he almost had his neck snapped, it's a natural reaction. And like I said earlier, while I don't agree with it, I can understand the league deciding to hand out a minor suspension to save face. The part that bothers me is when he talks about other players seeing a hit like that and "thinking it's okay." I would bet that not even Matt Cooke, Trevor Gillies, or Sean Avery would think smashing someones head in to the stanchion is "okay." It was an accident. And Max, if you want to get on your pulpit about players thinking that dirty hits are okay, you should check your own closet. Last time I checked, leading with your elbow to hit someone in the back of the head in to the boards is not okay:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S1IDI1lTrBc
While I hope that Pacioretty makes a full recovery and is able to play again, I hope the NHL doesn't go the way of the NFL where it begins to become a "weeny" league (I wanted to use a much stronger word there). The NFL handed out numerous fines this year for hits that were "dirty". Just like the NHL, there are plays in the NFL where when you have big guys moving full speed with people changing direction at the drop of a dime. Impacts can happen in ways that weren't desired with players getting hurt. It's an unfortunate part of the game, but it is a part of the game.
The Montreal Police opening an investigation in to this is a partial reaction by the hometown police who are Habs fans. It makes them look silly. If the tables had been turned, where it was a Canadien hitting a Bruin like that, there wouldn't be a whisper about it. When former NHL'er Chris Simon took a baseball swing at the head of former Ranger Ryan Hollweg in a game between the Islanders and Rangers a few years ago, having a police investigation in to that would have been slightly more understandable. What Simon did was assault with a weapon and he's lucky there wasn't more damage done to Hollweg (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=esETGHljQi4). Chara didn't do anything remotely close to that. He made contact and extended his arm a bit. Yes, that's interference. But the last time I checked, an interference penalty was two minutes in a penalty box, not a felony.
And as for Air Canada threatening to pull its sponsorship...I would love to see them follow through on that. The NHL needs their money more than they need to advertise in the NHL. But if you're going to do something, you better make damn sure you do it all the way. That means finding a way out of your naming rights agreement with the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, where the Maple Leafs play. The Leafs are kind of a popular team in Canada and the exposure they get from having their name on that building is pretty valuable. NHL games are played in that building, so if you want to disassociate yourself with a "violent sport", that's part of the package, too. If you're going to take a moral stand against something, you can't do it when it's convenient. Stop the empty threats and keep your nose out of something that's not even your business. As much as I don't like Gary Bettman's decision making sometimes, he took a hard line with Air Canada and I applaud him for it.
"Air Canada is a great brand, as is the National Hockey League, and if they decide they need to do other things with their sponsorship dollars that's their prerogative, just like it's the prerogative of our clubs that fly on Air Canada to make other arrangements if they don't think Air Canada is giving them the appropriate level of service." Bravo Mr. Bettman.
The bottom line is that it was a very unfortunate result of a play in a game where physicality is as natural as skating and scoring. Pacioretty had an idea of where Chara was coming from and was in a bad place. If you follow hockey, you've often heard the phrase "Don't skate with your head down". Why? Because that's asking to get leveled. And that's considered a clean hit as long as you don't target the player's head or lead with your elbow. While I completely agree with that logic, how can hitting someone who isn't paying attention be considered okay, but it not be okay when a defenseman is trying to make a play to slow down an attacking forward in a way he's been taught to his whole career.
According to Bruins staffers, Chara is clearly shaken by the whole incident. You can call bull and say that's just PR damage control, but we'll see how much it's affected his game tonight when the Bruins take on Buffalo. You hope he's not tentative, but I'm willing to bet he's going to show hesitation at least once tonight, and that's a shame.
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