Thursday Links – Where is Spring?

The Zdeno Chara and Max Pacioretty incident has really blown up on the Internet and the blogsphere, now the Montreal police department wants to conduct a criminal investigation on the hit. I don’t think that this warrants a criminal investigation. If there is a hockey player(s) that deserve to be in jail it’s Matt Cooke and Todd Bertuzzi, Zdeno Chara isn't a dirty player contrary to public belief. Zdeno Chara didn't have a history of being a dirty player after 13 years of hockey, however, Chara made a bad decision with his hit on Max Pacioretty and Chara is going to have to live with that hit for a very long time.

Don’t get me wrong I am not excusing this hit; it was an unfortunate hockey play that went poorly and ended up ending a player’s season. This latest dustup will only further strain the Habs and Bruins on ice feud and could possibly make the next game in this series a blood bath. There is a strong possibility that the Bruins and the Habs could end up seeing each other in the playoffs as well.

I was watching the game as it happened in time, no one ever wants to see a player get hurt on the ice, never. That being said, hockey is also a physical sport and people are going to get hurt, unfortunately a player was hurt in this situation. Was this a penalty, you betcha, it was called a five minute major on the ice, it was a classic definition of interference; Pacioretty was no where near the puck when he was driven into a metal stanchion. There has been an on going debate on whether Chara meant to do that, short of giving him a polygraph; I don’t know how we will ever figure out if Chara meant to do it or not.

We have learned nothing in the last week

So here we are a week after the Trevor Gillies hit on Cal Clutterbuck and we are right back at square one again, another horrific incident and another player out with another concussion. Sometime in the future, tonight, tomorrow or next week there will be another hit like this that will make its way onto YouTube.Com and the fans and the media will pick the hit apart and the various NHL fan bases will spar over the hit in question.

So what does the NHL do going forward? In this specific instance should Chara pulled up and not followed through on the hit, yeah probably, the puck was already by him, Chara didn’t pull up and Pacioretty was hurt on the play and carried off the ice on a stretcher and taken to the hospital. I would be willing to bet that Chara feels bad about the hit that he put on Max Pacioretty, I don’t think that there are that many players in the NHL that intentionally want to hurt people. I have also seen where some pundits have said that Pacioretty put himself into that situation by instigating and stirring the pot with Chara over the course of the season and that Chara had enough.I wonder if the league took that into consideration when they made their ruling?

In conclusion; I think that the NHL has pinned themselves into a corner with their past decisions and at times I question whether they really have a clue what they are doing? There is evidence by some of the NHL's recent decisions involving on ice incidents that the front office has no clue what they are doing. That being said, NHL hockey is a physical game and short of taking hitting out of the game, injuries and questionable hits are going to be part of hockey. The way the NHL responds to these hits going forward is going to make a difference on how often we see these types of hits. I also believe that as long as we have a certain player out patrolling the ice conducting acts of thuggery we will continue to have this discussion.

The Colin Campbell Wheel of Justice needs and has to be more consistent going forward, if not the NHL will never improve it’s player safety. While I think that the NHL "probably" made the right decision in this case under their current guidelines and rules it does seem like the only acceptable response to some fans and the talking heads and a percentage of NHL players would’ve been to give Chara a game or two suspension for his hit. I don’t know if the NHL is at that point yet in the discussion but I wonder if that isn’t on the horizon in the future? To be continued.

Links to the Story...

NHL Misses Opportunity to Send Message of Safety by Not Suspending Zdeno Chara [NESN.COM]

Montreal Police Launch Criminal Investigation for Zdeno Chara's Hit on Max Pacioretty [NESN.COM]

Chara: 'It was just a hockey play'[Sabres Edge] Here is what Zdeno Chara had to say on the matter.

"I totally understand. He's in the hospital so he's got the right to be emotional so I respect that," Chara said. "I obviously feel bad he got hurt. As a hockey player we all feel bad when something like that happens. ... I'm wishing him to a fast recovery and hopefully he'll be back on the ice soon. That's all we love to do. We love to be hockey. When we go out there, we take risks and sometimes we do get hurt. But it's just very unfortunate."

Air Canada threatens NHL over headshots [Toronto Sun]

That’s hockey?! NHL still whistling after Zdeno Chara’s rub-out of Max Pacioretty [The Vancouver Sun]

Poking the bear [Sportsnet.ca]

Personally, I see Pacioretty as a player who poked the bear for three straight games, then was foolish enough to put himself in a position where the big Bruin could exact payback.

We're not saying the payback was legal. It wasn't -- the puck was nowhere near.

But we are saying that if you expect Chara to know that turnbuckle was there, then you have to grant that Pacioretty did too. He also knew Chara was after him, since Pacioretty had antagonized Chara off and on for most of three games.

The Habs forward rolled the dice and lost. He could have hit the brakes, he could have gone inside. He chose instead to attempt to squeeze past Chara down the boards, and it was a bad decision.

McKenzie; Pacioretty not happy with Chara or League Decision [TSN.COM]

Bettman say Pacioretty hit horrific, but part of the game. [TSN.COM]

Chara will not be supended.

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."

Zdeno Chara Hits Max Pacioretty

So what do you think? Is there going to be a suspension coming for Zdeno Chara? You can bet that Colin Campbell will take a look at this hit. Chara was giving a 5 minute major and a game misconduct. Chara and Pacioretty have a history as well, as Chara went after Pacioretty back in January after Pacioretty scored a goal in overtime and pushed Chara...

Zdeno Chara on being booed in Ottawa

I have always wondered why Senators fans boo Zdeno Chara every time he touches the puck in Ottawa. Personally I can see why Phil Kessel is booed in Boston but “Big Z”?

"I don't know. I can't really control what the fans are doing, if they're booing me or not. I played hard when I played for Ottawa, I always did my best and the organization, at that time, chose Wade Redden and I was fine with that and I had to move on. So when they decided to sign Wade instead of me, I had to move on and obviously management back then — John Muckler and company — they made it look like I went for the money, but that wasn't the case. Basically I liked my chances and options that I had in Boston and that's why I chose Boston and I still believe in that and it's just too bad that they made it look, to the fans and to the public, like I went for the money." [Hockey Capital]