Once again, a sports related incident has sparked outrage from the general public...and yes you guessed it, it's about hockey.

The Montreal Police have taken it upon themseleves to investigate an on ice incident between two NHL players.

These players are paid to do a job, no one has the job of hurting people intentionally within any law I would abide.

If you watch the replay and agree that Chara, intentionally shoved this guys head into that unmoveable object, review the play and consider that Chara is almost a foot taller than the other chap.

Regradless of my bias, I feel that unless it is junior sports, or use of a sports item as a weapon...the police have no business in setting a precidence that will effect every organized sport on the planet.

What's next, Boxer A: wants Boxer B: charged with assualt because he got his/her butt kicked.

I have included a link the for all the info (if it doesn't work in your country ...youtube CHARA HIT), keep in mind, the offender, Chara..is the biggest (Tallest Heaviest) player with the hardest shot (105.9 MPH with a 4 ounce frozen piece of rubber).

If he was slapping that puck at me I would want him arrested, but not if I signed up for a million dollars a year to stop it.

So the question is...should the police be tasked with doing the job of organized sports clubs that make millions off the pain and suffering of it's members.

http://www.cbc.ca/video/#/Sports/1221284063/ID=1835509407

AAnt

It was a sporting incident. Sure it was a hard tackle and the position was unfortunate, but it wasn't done with malice. If anything they will have to alter the layout of the team boxes (slopping angles rather than right angles) as that would be the only way to make it safe. I've been checked in a similar fashion, but as I was only a teenybopper last time I played hockey my face was nowhere near the box wall.

There is no legal case to be answered there, it was a sporting incident. Nothing more.

3 things:

1) I don't believe the hit was violent or even illegal in any way. The rules state it was a clean check, yes he was assessed a major + game penalty for interference, which is still the correct call. (Interference is as he impeded Max's progress for playing the puck, 5 + GM is assessed as injury resulted) however under Boarding or any other rule, that check would be perfectly clean, it was just a situational hazard that caused the problem.

2) I don't believe that Zdeno Chara would make such a violent hit intentionally. I don't think any player MEANS to hurt a player very often, so this was just a bad situation (People bring up bad blood in the past between Zdeno and Max.. but I don't think its related in any way)

3) It's a sport, you recognize the dangers of the sport before you enter the ice surface. There are contracts signed, waivers, insurance to support somoene who is permanently injured (as Max is likely going to be, as he broke vertebra in his neck). To file criminal charges in the course of a regular game (Violent assaults excluded.. I wouldn't count a normally clean check that had an unfortunate environmental hazard included to be a violent assault.) Simple state of momentum says that you get ****ed up more when hitting something solid, even more so if it's smaller as the impact is zeroed in on a smaller point.

Of course, this will prompt the NHL to think about their glass placements in the rinks. I've almost had the same thing happen to me refereeing (not quite as much impact) and was sore for a few days.

at least put some kind of padding on that wall...

If youve been in a ice arena, underneath the blue nylon, there is foam padding surrounding the metal glass holder.

It's an unfortunate sporting incident. I blame the rink more than the person hitting him.

Quote from PMD9409 :

It's an unfortunate sporting incident. I blame the rink more than the person hitting him.

TY...you're the first person to point that out...in this post.

"It's the Arictech of the slippery slope, that we all slide down AAnt"

Nice seeing you agin Lad.

Quote from dawesdust_12 :

If youve been in a ice arena, underneath the blue nylon, there is foam padding surrounding the metal glass holder.

TY Dawes...was wondering when we were going to educate the world on the steps we go through to have sports.

AA

Quote from mutt107 :

at least put some kind of padding on that wall...

A few years back they had to Pad the field post in NFL, wasn't for the dirty hits as much as a player looking the wrong way and running into it.

AA

I don't think that the law has any place in such a sporting accident.

NHL needs to look into making their walls like that of most racing tracks since the same kinds of contact with the walls is expected. Nothing angled towards the direction that objects are comming from should be in place. This would mean that the surface he ran into needs moved sufficently back so that that surface is able to be progressivly brought towards the ice rather than being a solid face.

there was an incident last year, where (i think) someone on montreal skated into one of these stanchions and smashed his hand... was out for weeks in that instance as well.

i don't blame chara for a freak accident... i can see how pacioretty can be mad though... but he should suck it up, he's always getting himself hurt.