Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara will not be suspended by the NHL for his hit on Max Pacioretty. I was watching the game last night and nobody wants to see a player get hurt on the ice, if there are fans that like to see players get injured they are seriously demented, that being said I am glad I am not the person that had to make a decision on whether Chara had to be suspended or not. I will predict that there will be fans that are not going to be happy with the hit and the fact that Chara wasn’t suspended by the NHL, whether you want to acknowledge it or not hockey is a physical game and people are going to get injured playing a physical game. Zdeno Chara is not a dirty player and doesn’t have a history of doing questionable things on the ice. I think in this case the NHL might have made the right decision in this case.
"I conducted a hearing with Boston Bruins' defenseman Zdeno Chara with respect to the major penalty for interference and game misconduct that he was assessed at 19:44 of the second period for a hit on Max Pacioretty of the Montreal Canadiens.
"After a thorough review of the video I can find no basis to impose supplemental discipline. 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.
"This was a hockey play that resulted in an injury because of the player colliding with the stanchion and then the ice surface. In reviewing this play, I also took into consideration that Chara has not been involved in a supplemental discipline incident during his 13-year NHL career."
