Approximately one week after the Zdeno Chara and Max Pacioretty incident that took place in Montreal, reporters and analysts all over the hockey and sports world are putting their theories and thoughts behind the hit. Some will talk about how Zdeno Chara had every intention to take out his man and throw him into the turnbuckle – especially since these two have had their differences in the past – while others stand behind the big man and believe he had no intention on hurting Pacioretty or even letting his face hit the turnbuckle.
From watching the video in the link above, we clearly can see that it is a late hit by Chara but not necessarily cheap. The fact that Pacioretty skated in stride with the 6-foot-9 defenseman as he dumped the puck into Boston’s zone makes it that much more controversial. People can say that a late hit is a dirty hit but they probably never watched the NHL pre-lockout. If the year was 2003 and Zdeno Chara made the exact same hit, he still would not be facing a suspension from the league. Unfortunately for Max Pacioretty it happened on the wrong side of the ice. In fact, if Chara made the same play on the opposite side of the ice, we probably would have watched Patches get up and exchange a few words with the big man due to the history they have.
Max Pacioretty shoves Zdeno Chara after a 3-2 OT win for the Habs back in January.
“I sincerely appreciate all of the support that I have received since my injury,” Pacioretty said in a statement. “I was disappointed that the NHL did not suspend Zdeno Chara. However, I have no desire for him to be prosecuted legally. I feel that the incident, as ugly as it was, was part of a hockey game.”
I totally agree with Max Pacioretty in this case. Zdeno Chara does not deserve to be charged for his hard and aggressive style of play but he should be suspended for his hit. There will never be one answer to the question of whether or not the Chara’s hit was a clean one; but he should be punished for the injury that Pacioretty suffered. If the NHL is going to give Trevor Gillies a 10-game suspension because of this hit on Cal Clutterbuck – who hit his man a lot harder than he was hit – then Chara should have at least received a 5-game minimum due to the severity of the injury.
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