On March 8th, 2011, Zdeno Chara took out Max Pacioretty along the boards against the glass between the benches. Pacioretty went face first into the glass, and was carted off the ice on a stretcher and brought to the hospital. He suffered a concussion, and a fractured vertebrae in his spine. The only punishment given out to Chara was a 5-minute game misconduct penalty. Recently, he has come under scrutiny from the media that it was a dirty hit, and rumors have circulated that the police might even get involved. Here is my opinion on the entire matter.
The play has been called a "hockey play" by much of the media, and they are right. Chara cannot be blamed for being a lot bigger than Pacioretty, or stronger for that matter. And Chara has a lot more to think about when he's on the ice; he cannot be expected to know exactly where the pane of glass is at all times. But was the play dirty? A little of yes, and a little of no.
The reason I say no is because like I said before, it is a hockey play. Chara was just finishing his check, and that is normally encouraged among hockey players. His hit just happened to come in the worst position on the ice, which is not his fault either. What I feel was dirty about it was the timing of the hit. If you watch the video, you will see the hit happen near center ice. At the time of the hit, you can see the puck is clearly past the blue line. That to me signals a late hit, which would give it the title of a dirty hit. Along with that, and this is a stretch but not out of the realm of possibility, perhaps Chara felt he was going to get beaten to the puck, and just tried to interfere with Pacioretty's progress. But, if that is the case, it is still a dirty hit, because the puck was still past the blue line when the hit occurred. However, I can not confirm that because I cannot tell what Chara was thinking at that moment. And, I am not trying to call Chara a dirty player either.
Do I believe Chara is a dirty player? No I do not. Was the play a dirty hit? Some aspects were, but overall, thats the sport of hockey. Should there be a harsher penalty for Chara? Absolutely not.
Chara was merely playing the game the way it is suppose to be played: physically. Chara has no track record of being a dirty player in the entirety of his 13-year career in the NHL. I do not believe that there was any intention by Chara to hurt Pacioretty, and the punishment of a 5-minute game misconduct penalty is the appropriate penalty that should be given to Chara. The idea of this hit being looked at as a crime is absurd, and the police and NHL should not waste their time investigating anything.
I wish Max Pacioretty a speedy recovery so he can hopefully return this season. If that is not possible, next season I hope to see him back to top performance.
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