I haven't posted in a week, and with the season winding down and my latest analyses of the standings so recent, I need something to talk about. Somehow I managed to refrain from this subject when it happened, but I just can't stay silent anymore. Chara. Pacioretty. I am doing a project on the Montreal vs. Boston coverage of this event, and after reading so much aggravating discussion of the hit, I am severley frustrated.
Generally, I try my absolute best to stay impartial, and I am trying to approach this the same way. You may say being a Bruins fan makes me unfit to make an ubiased comment on this event, and may argue with anything I say for that reason. But I consider myself very open to consider all the angles no matter who the players or teams are that I am talking about. I agreed with suspensions to Bruins this years, Brad Marchand and Danile Paille. I can step aside and realize a bad hit, or a good hit, when I see one, no matter who the culprit or the victim. I have taken the brunt of some flack for my opinions on this hit from a lot of my friends. But I sincerely stand by my opinion and hope that my readers can take a minute to actually consider the angles of what I am saying, instead of immediately judging my words based on your existing position.
I believe this was a very unfortunate hit. But I do not consider this a dirty hit on the part of Chara. Both players carry some of the responsibility for this event, but judging by the existing rules, Chara's hit was legal. Everyone is calling for Chara's head, but two heads for one does not help Pacioretty. Pacioretty claimed he was disgusted that the league took no action, citing the fact that the players need to take notice and not do this.
Meanwhile, the league HAS taken notice and has taken appropriate action, discussing the dimensional changes that need to be made to NHL arenas in order to eliminate the dangers of the stanchion between the benches. Had the hit taken place anywhere else on the ice, Pacioretty is fine. One can argue that this is no excuse: Chara is a veteran and should use better judgment at that area of the ice. At that speed, however, it's tough to be so aware of your surroundings.
Speaking of awareness, many believe this was Chara's retaliation for a previous incident between the two players. Was Chara annoyed with Pacioretty still? Probably, but I doubt so much to the point that he would intentionally try to injure a player. Aside from some fights in the moment, Chara is not a dirty player. If he wants to get someone back, he will do it with a big, clean hit.
And speaking of intention, some argue that Chara used his hand to guide Pacioretty's head into the stanchion, and he showed no remorse because he didn't even look back to see if he was okay. To this I say the following:
In terms of the hand, no foul on Chara. He was pushing off on Pacioretty for some leverage, pretty much everyone does that a bit. You can say no that's not always the case, but when you're riding someone along the boards and intend to keep going without losing speed, you're going to push off. Leaning into a guy without your hand in that situation costs you balance, and therefore speed. Then you might say, yeah, but players pushing off don't push off on someone's head. To this, I give two numbers. 6'9" and 6'2". Chara has seven inches on Pacioretty, natrually, if he extends his arm, it's going to be at level with Pacioretty's head. I see no intent in this extension. Chara wasn't even looking at Pacioretty, and probably had no idea where exactly his arm was extending into. Likewise, Chara didn't look back to see the damage of his hit because he didn't realize what had happened; he was not looking.
I also mentioned that both players carry some responsibility. Some may wonder how I could think this is Pacioretty's fault, but watch the replay. on the slow motion, run it a few times over and watch closely. Right before contact, Pacioretty jumps. He tries to squeeze by between Chara and the boards and avoid the hit. Now off balance, his upperbody is easily pushed back by Chara, and over the boards, into the stanchion. Had Pacioretty leaned into the hit, he would still be in the lineup.
Additionally, I'd like to point out that to the Canadiens fans who think Bruins fans are defending Chara because of the Savard and Bergeron incidents that we did not throw beers at Brent Johnson or Antero Niittymaki on the bench. But maybe we're just not passionate enough.
My opinion on the legality aside, this was a very unfortunate event and I wish Max Pacioretty a speedy and successful recovery.
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