Max Pacioretty-Zdeno Chara; Was the Intent Really There?

Just as I promised, here are my thoughts about last night’s Max Pacioretty-Zdeno Chara hit. While my friend did bring up some good points, I think he left out some key issues. I can’t really blame him though, he wrote the article only minutes after it had happened, so I’m sure a lot of the post was based strictly on emotion.

I believe, like my friend, that the NHL’s stance on fighting and head shots is one of the main causes of this horrible incident. From Trevor Gillies hit on Cal Clutterbuck  (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hwl85L1E1M) to Matt Cooke’s vicious elbow of Marc Savard (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-I5m4f0ZXA), head shots have become extremely prevalent in hockey. Savard still hasn’t fully recovered from his hit, and he’s been shut down for the season by the Bruins. Until the NHL does something drastic to curb headshots and other dirty hits (8-15 game suspensions sound about right to me), these things will continue to happen.

My main issue with my friend’s post however, is his intent to injure theory. While yes, there might have been some animosity between Pacioretty and Chara, and yes, the Habs and Bruins aren’t exactly best pals, I still don’t believe this particular hit was intentional. The play happened too quickly. The hit was definitely illegal (Pacioretty didn’t have the puck), but it happened so quickly that there was no way Chara could have planned it this way. With slo-mo instant replay, it is impossible to tell just how fast the play happened, and because of this, the hit looks much worse. Now don’t get me wrong, you’ll never confuse me for a Zdeno Chara fan; however, there is no doubt in my mind that it was not Chara’s intentions to put Max Pacioretty in a stretcher.

The best event that I can compare it to is Todd Bertuzzi’s despicable assault of Steve Moore back in 2004. Bertuzzi was upset that Moore and the Avalanche had taken out Vancouver captain Markus Naslund in the teams’ previous meeting. He took matters into his own hands during their next game; chasing Moore around the ice, grabbing him from behind, and driving him head first into the ice.

Now the main difference between this play and the Chara hit is intent. Bertuzzi clearly went out of his way to take care of Moore, while Chara’s was more of a fast paced (albeit dirty), physical hockey play. I’m not saying Chara should be fully excused; I’m just pointing out the difference between someone who was clearly trying to injure (Bertuzzi) to someone who simply made a dirty play in a bad location (Chara).

There is also another matter for the NHL to consider, the size of the rink. For years, I’ve been saying NHL rinks needs to be expanded. Players are so big and strong that keeping them in a tightly packed area is bound to cause major problems. The area near the benches must also be fixed, as players are incredibly vulnerable to serious injury. If the rinks were expanded and the bench area was made safer, it would heavily decrease the amount of deadly hits and injuries.

I think it’s clear that there are many factors to account for when an issue like this arises; you can’t just point at Zdeno Chara and say that it is completely his fault. While I do think the NHL needs to send a message by handing out a lengthy suspension, I think they must also take a good, hard look at themselves. They need to find a balance; punish the offender, but fix your own policies as well. After all, the NHL isn’t only responsible for its teams and its players; it is responsible for preserving the integrity of the game as well.