Chara's Hit on Pacioretty

wulfie68

Council Member
Mar 29, 2009
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This whole thing is a huge over reaction. Air Canada (the most laughable excuse for a "corporate entity" in the country), the Liberals in Quebec and Ottawa, ought to pay more attention to their real business. Gary Lunn ought to butt out as well and pay attention to the real issues facing his portfolio. Knee jerk reactions by politicians to percieved (and not always real) problems tend to create more havoc than they eliminate. The NHL has been slow to address some issues around injuries and particularly concussions, but AS A FAN I would rather they proceed carefully than overreact and make changes to the sport that eliminate its strengths. Hockey is not a contact sport, but rather a collision sport like football, where injuries are always going to be part of the game. If you don't like that, then stop pretending to be a fan and watch or play something else.
 

Avro

Time Out
Feb 12, 2007
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This whole thing is a huge over reaction. Air Canada (the most laughable excuse for a "corporate entity" in the country), the Liberals in Quebec and Ottawa, ought to pay more attention to their real business. Gary Lunn ought to butt out as well and pay attention to the real issues facing his portfolio. Knee jerk reactions by politicians to percieved (and not always real) problems tend to create more havoc than they eliminate. The NHL has been slow to address some issues around injuries and particularly concussions, but AS A FAN I would rather they proceed carefully than overreact and make changes to the sport that eliminate its strengths. Hockey is not a contact sport, but rather a collision sport like football, where injuries are always going to be part of the game. If you don't like that, then stop pretending to be a fan and watch or play something else.

They will act when someone gets killed.

In F1, every time there is an accident involving two or more drivers the police do an investigation. It isn't it's own entity outside the law.

Ayrton Senna was killed in 1994, the FIA took major steps to make the tracks and cars safer. Not one driver has been killed since.

Take a look at this crash....I was there at that corner....I thought he was dead.

YouTube - CRASH ROBERT KUBICA MONTREAL 2007

He walked away because of improvements to the cars safety.

When there is a will there is a way.

Just for reference you can see how similar the two crashes are.....except one ended a mans life.

 
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#juan

Hall of Fame Member
Aug 30, 2005
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A lot of people saw that episode like this:

When Chara makes contact, the puck is at least 20 feet away — therefore, it’s interference.
But instead of just holding Pacioretty, which Chara did, the Bruins captain took it a degree further with a hard shove into boards — a decision made worse because there is no glass where he starts the contact, sending Pacioretty head-first into the turnbuckle.


However we look at it, Chara caused this injury and he is responsible. The fact that he has had no previous suspensions
is meaningless. He has played just thirty two games and already the incredible hulk is captain of the Bruins. Surely there is a Lowlands Gorrilla somewhere that can be taught to skate.
 

Skatchie

Time Out
Sep 24, 2010
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The hit was clearly intentional, dangerous, and outside of the rules of hockey. You can see his hand drive Pacioretty's face into the glass. This is far worse than what Todd Bertuzzi did. Actually, the truth about the bertuzzi incident is that Moore broke his neck when his teammate jumped on Todd, while todd was on him after the punch. I still think the NHL should be liable and pay out moore huge cash too. If I was Pacioretty, I would press charges and sue Zdeno Chara and the NHL for everything they have. This is one of those cases where the spineless commissioner, Bettman (the anti christ of hockey), should be fired for his inaction. He should have over rode Colin Campbell and suspended Chara indefinitely. Because the act was so heinous and clearly dangerous and imo criminally negligent Chara should be suspended for as long as Pacioretty can not play. He should be suspended without pay and his considerable salary should go to Pacioretty for the time being.
 

Cannuck

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Feb 2, 2006
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The only person who knows whether this was an accident or intentional is Chara, and unless he admits to an attempt at running him into the stanchion there would be little interest in the league taking action against him.

I've hit more people into the boards than I care to even consider counting. Always and I mean always focused on the player and not the boards. Chara could perform the same hit a thousand times and not hurt anybody....and I know because I've seen the same hit thousands of times. People really need to stop being so silly.

As a side note Chara should file a law suit against Pacioretty for his defamatory childishness.

A lot of people saw that episode like this...

A lot of people think Elvis is alive and that the Joos brought down the WTC. It really doesn't matter what a lot of people think.
 

karrie

OogedyBoogedy
Jan 6, 2007
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As a side note Chara should file a law suit against Pacioretty for his defamatory childishness.

Do you have a link to what Pacioretty himself has said? (and yes I did Google it, but can't turn up Pacioretty's own words on the subject)
 

Cannuck

Time Out
Feb 2, 2006
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The hit was clearly intentional, dangerous, and outside of the rules of hockey. You can see his hand drive Pacioretty's face into the glass. This is far worse than what Todd Bertuzzi did. Actually, the truth about the bertuzzi incident is that Moore broke his neck when his teammate jumped on Todd, while todd was on him after the punch. I still think the NHL should be liable and pay out moore huge cash too. If I was Pacioretty, I would press charges and sue Zdeno Chara and the NHL for everything they have. This is one of those cases where the spineless commissioner, Bettman (the anti christ of hockey), should be fired for his inaction. He should have over rode Colin Campbell and suspended Chara indefinitely. Because the act was so heinous and clearly dangerous and imo criminally negligent Chara should be suspended for as long as Pacioretty can not play. He should be suspended without pay and his considerable salary should go to Pacioretty for the time being.

Fortunately, we have knowledgeable hockey people that see it differently.

Do you have a link to what Pacioretty himself has said? (and yes I did Google it, but can't turn up Pacioretty's own words on the subject)

Max Pacioretty on Zdeno Chara: 'I do feel he targeted my head' - Puck Daddy - NHLBlog - Yahoo! Sports

"I believe he was trying to guide my head into the turnbuckle. We all know where the turnbuckle is. It wasn't a head shot like a lot of head shots we see but I do feel he targeted my head into the turnbuckle."
 

karrie

OogedyBoogedy
Jan 6, 2007
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That's not defamatory. He speaks only of how he feels a single incident played out, nothing else about the man. He doesn't call him a criminal, doesn't demean him, etc. Just says he feels he was pushed. If Chara took that to court, it would speak more about him than the video and Pacioretty ever could.
 

TenPenny

Hall of Fame Member
Jun 9, 2004
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Location, Location
karrie, I hope you realize that the 'stanchion' is something like 3 to 6" in diameter, its padded.

 

karrie

OogedyBoogedy
Jan 6, 2007
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karrie, I hope you realize that the 'stanchion' is something like 3 to 6" in diameter, its padded.


Padding at high speeds means nothing. The skull stopping dead in its tracks, while the brain continues on its merry way inside the head, and the body contiues on its merry way beneath, is fatal regardless of how well padded the thing you impact is.
 

Cannuck

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Feb 2, 2006
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That's not defamatory.

Of course it's defamatory

Defamation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"Defamation—also called calumny, vilification, traducement, slander (for transitory statements), and libel (for written, broadcast, or otherwise published words)—is the communication of a statement that makes a claim, expressly stated or implied to be factual, that may give an individual, business, product, group, government, or nation a negative image. It is usually a requirement that this claim be false and that the publication is communicated to someone other than the person defamed (the claimant).[1]

"
 

mentalfloss

Prickly Curmudgeon Smiter
Jun 28, 2010
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Looking at that video at first glance without any understanding of the history of these players, it doesn't appear that there would be any intent from Chara to cause him serious harm. That said, there is a history between these two guys, and it should be determined whether or not the average hockey player should be aware of this 'danger zone' on the ice, not to mention if a big guy like Chara should know the kind of damage he is capable of.

They'll have to get some hefty statements and witness accounts from the game before anyone can really say anything conclusive.
 

#juan

Hall of Fame Member
Aug 30, 2005
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Chara didn't see what he was doing. He didn't know it was Pacioretty's head.
He was looking the other way. He didn't mean to hurt Pacioretty.
He's really just a nice boy.

 

mentalfloss

Prickly Curmudgeon Smiter
Jun 28, 2010
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Chara didn't see what he was doing. He didn't know it was Pacioretty's head.
He was looking the other way. He didn't mean to hurt Pacioretty.
He's really just a nice boy.


That's a pretty gruesome shot, but it still doesn't definitively prove intent.
 

Cobalt_Kid

Council Member
Feb 3, 2007
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This all comes down to the changes in the game that resulted by moving into the US in a big way. Americans don't like the fighting the same way Canadians do and the old inforcer system that removed the bad seeds doesn't work anymore. Americans also love the big hits like in football so we have a dangerous mix of a sport where the old internal controls by the players has been removed and an emphasis on rough play to compete with other sports.

If you really want to get players attention and stop the stupidity then start tying their actions to consequences, if you injure a player you should have to sit out as long as it takes for your victim to heal. If you end a players career by one of these sadistic hits that seem almost the standard now that should be the end of your career. We don't let players protect themselves anymore by having an enforcer beat the crap out of anyone who breaks the code on dangerous hits, so let's demand some rules that will protect players and bring some finess back to the game. One of the best players in recent time might be gone for good because some no-name idiot knows how to play dirty, and a man was almost killed the other day. If his neck fracture had displaced he probably would have died.
 

PoliticalNick

The Troll Bashing Troll
Mar 8, 2011
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moron? Who are our largest tax payers? Think of what the government pulls in from each highly paid NHL'er. Think what a hit it is for them if they suddenly are no long earning, and instead are sitting in a hospital a vegetable somewhere. It's just good business to demand the sport get incramentally safer. *jaded*

Largest taxpayers? Since when?

When Mark Messier played in Vancouver he bought a house in Bellingham, Wa. Claimed this was his home address even though he had a suite at the Georgia Pacific hotel. And then got paid in US funds into a US bank account so at the end of the year all the tax paid on his $6 million salary was PST and GST on what he actually spent here. His accountant also used heavy tax exempt investments in the US to avoid most of the income tax there. Oh, and when he retired to Florida (no income tax in that state) he sold the house in Bellingham for a profit and avoided capital gains by re-investing in commercial real estate.

You and I pay more income taxes than most of these guys.

If you don't like that, then stop pretending to be a fan and watch or play something else.

But they won't televise ping pong 4 nights a week. Help me start a revolution.