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Montreal cops investigating hockey hit
Police in Montreal said Thursday they will investigate a hit in Tuesday night's National Hockey League game as a possible crime, Canadian media report.
The hit by Boston Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara on the Montreal Canadiens' Max Pacioretty left Pacioretty with a severe concussion and a fractured vertebra, according to a CTV report.
Chara was given two penalties on the play and ejected from the game. On Wednesday, the NHL said the penalties assessed on the ice were appropriate and it would take no further action.
But Quebec's top prosecutor, Louis Dionne, asked for the police investigation after watching video of the play, the CBC reported.
In the play, Pacioretty skates with the puck in front of the bench area of Montreal's Bell Centre as Chara comes alongside and tries to push Pacioretty into the boards along the benches. Pacioretty's head slams violently into a glass stanchion separating the two benches. Pacioretty was face-down on the ice for several minutes.
NHL Senior Vice President Mike Murphy called the hit "a hockey play that resulted in an injury because of the player colliding with the stanchion and then the ice surface," CTV reported.
Chara said Wednesday he did not try to harm Pacioretty.
“Obviously I feel bad about what happened. I was trying to make a strong hockey play and play hard. It was just very, very unfortunate that the player got hurt and had to leave the game,” the Boston Herald quoted him as saying.
"It was just one of those things. These things, like glass extensions, doors, even hockey nets, are part of the game. Obviously, players run into them. It’s just very, very unfortunate that a player got hurt,” he said.
The NHL's decision not to further discipline Chara didn't sit well with Canadiens fans. Their calls flooded a police emergency call center in Montreal after the league's announcement Wednesday asking police to take action, the CBC reported.
Pacioretty was also upset with the league.
"I am upset and disgusted that the league didn't think enough of [the hit] to suspend him," he told Bob McKenzie of TSN.com. "I'm not mad for myself, I'm mad because if other players see a hit like that and think it's OK, they won't be suspended, then other players will get hurt like I got hurt."
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This hit was absolutely disgusting... i could only watch it once.. If this was any 680 of 700 players in the NHL, this would've been an automatic 15 game suspension without pay. The fact that Chara is not a repeat offender is a BS excuse on the part of the league. Boston's ownership group couldn't be more tight with Gary Bettman and league management... this is an absolute travesty.
It was a clean hit....you clearly dont watch hockey.
clean hit-hockey is the most physical game in the world with extra things that can cause injury-clean hit
It's just part of the game. Hockey has a violet past and still continues to be a very rough sport to play. Hockey fans watch the games to see blood on the ice. Maybe the real problem is that better safety messures need to be in place to protect players when getting checked. Maybe excessive contact with other players should be a penalty like in the NFL.
The injuries, while unfortunate, are not the issue. Regardless of the injuries, nothing changes the action that ensued. You cannot merely punish someone every time an injury occurs in the NHL. Body contact is a big part of the game, and Pacioretty has suffered an unfortunate injury as a result. Do you suggest body contact be removed from the NHL as well? This was an interference penalty at most, it just took place at a bad time, in a bad area of the ice. Hope the kid heals up alright.
Interesting that some defend Chara by saying he did not have a reputation as a dirty player. Well guess what – he's got one now.
And no, it was not a clean hit. He steered his head into the divider with his hand and arm. Maybe that's a clean hit in Boston, Philadelphia, and Vancouver, but not in the other 27 cities.
you're a moron. go away.
There was nothing wrong with the hit. The cause of this was just the perfect (or worst) possible location of the hit. If this had happened anywhere that the boards were not taken back for the bench, he probably would not have even left his skates.
Best thing about hockey? When the gloves come off and they go toe to toe on the ice.
It was a deliberate push into the glass post. It was not just a hard check. It was an attempt to injure a player. Yes I been to a Hockey game or two. Doesn't matter the sport, criminal assault is a crime. Picking up the Stick doesn't give you license to attempt to injure or kill someone. Went to a game last week and half the crowd was there for one purpose and one purpose only, to see someone get the crap beat out of them. The 2,000 or so ten year old boys got a big kick out of what's become a Blood sport.
Really Matt? The part where Chara uses his hand to guide him into the buckle...was that clean? Try watching the video again. You're obviously the clueless spectator.
Not saying people aren't over-reacting, but if it was a "clean hit" why was he given 2 penalties and ejected? People thinking the police should be brought into this are idiots. It's a hard hitting game, it was dealt with by the penalties. The league has spoken. It's not like he was waiting in the parking lot after the game and beat the crap out of him.
Clean hit, just a bad location.
@American Idiot Clean hits don't vary by city. North American hockey has been a rough sport with hard hits,, cheap shots and fights galore in every city in which it's been played. The hypocrisy among fans who complain about some teams while cheering their own goons has disgusted me for decades. The international game has always been exciting without anywhere near the gratuitous barbarism of the NHL and the women play a good game without any body checking at all. The NHL has condoned excessively rough play and fighting for decades. How about first fight, you're out ten games. Second fight, you're out 20 games. Third fight, you are suspended for 80 games. Fourth fight and you're banned for life? Don't anyone say it's "part of the game". If it's against the rules, it is NOT part of this game any more than it is part of the game in chess or bowling. If it is part of the scene in hockey, that's because hockey has chosen to treat what should be considered outrages as minor matters. The sport will only ever be as civilized as the people who run it, and that has historically meant that it pays strategically to have goons mug skilled players. It's a shame.
Ok this is ridculous. It was a accident. Hockey is a physical sport, hitting is part of this fast past game. I find extremely hard to bbeleive or near impossible to think chara let alone any NHL player would be able to say hay there's the glass divider I'm going to check that guy into it. Not In this fast paced game. The NHL got it right by not adding any additional reprimands. The police need to stay out of it and the habs fan should know that it's part hockey when things like this happen same to the players. They all should know that events like this can and do occur, it's part of the game. I'm sure in the next year you'll see the rinks padding or making a change to this area of the rink to ensure that the severity is lesson the next time this type check happens.
What are you joking? Even the CBC broadcast shows it was an accident – a hard hit plus REALLY bad timing. Players get pushed into the boards all the time, and Chara clearly wasn't looking towards the boards when he pushes him. If he was, he might have noticed the stanchion coming up. It's a nasty injury, but the hit itself, had it happened anywhere else on the rink, would have barely been noticed. I feel bad for Pacioretty (or however you spell his name), but at most it should have been the boarding call that got issued.
This wasn't like Bertuzzi or Marchment (was it Marchment, I can't remember for sure) clubbing someone or rabbit punching him from behind. It was a standard hockey play that occurred in the worst possible spot on the rink. Definitely not a crime, though, and Quebec should find something better to do with its police force.
To those saying it was a clean hit – no it wasn't. It was interference because Pacioretty did not have the puck, which was quite far away when the hit happened. The referees correctly called the interference penalty (and assessed it as a 5 minute major penalty instead of a 2 minute minor penalty. So calling it a clean hit is just blatantly inaccurate. We can debate whether it deserved a suspension or deserves to be treated as a criminal offense, but if you start your debate by calling this a clean hit then don't be expected to be taken seriously.
Maybe if you did watch it more than once you would have noted that it was a freak accident. Clean hit. Part of the game.
I agree. The main reason it was dirty, was b/c Pacioretty did not have the puck. This was out and out interference and there should have been no body contact at all. How there could be no further discipline is ludicrous. Its time for the law to clean up the mess that the NHL has created. This has gotten way out of hand.
Its not whether or not it was a clean hit, its the intention and precedent. Over the past 10 years intentional shots have become more and more acceptable in the NHL. This has resulted in many young and promising players being severely damaged with career and life threatening injures. The rule should be simple. If the act is judged to be intentional, and after watching the video, I would say it was, the perpetrator gets the same sentence as the victim. If the victim is out for a week, so is the person who hurt him. If the victim is out for the season, so is the guy who hurt him.
@Matt – It was not a clean hit. A late hit is NEVER a clean hit. It was interference, all the refs and the NHL agree that it was interference. If an illegal hit causes such a severe injury it should be punished. I don't think a criminal charge is necessary. But the NHL's decision for no suspension was not right. As much as I despise Sidney Crosby and the Penguins (I am a Red Wings fan first and a Caps fan second), the hit on him during the Winter Classic was a similar hit in that it was interference and/or a late hit. That hit has caused him to be out for most of the second half of the season and potentially the rest.
When rules are broken a slap on the wrist is acceptable (such as in-game penalties). But when rules are broken, which are there to help PREVENT these things, result in significant or severe injury; more punishment should be given out. The player responsible is deserving of more than just in game penalties, suspension of some length is required. Because the consequences reach farther than just one particular match.
Montreal may have lost their season, the Penguins as well, because of these incidents. It's not fair to those clubs that the offending club get's away scott free.
The law should not be involved in the game of hockey. Period. Hockey has been cleaned up so much in the past 30 years it's a completely different game now. Those who think it is barbic go watch basketball or water polo those are pretty tame. If you want a rough sport watch rugby or lacrosse.
Your comparing pacioretty to Crosby? The hit on Crosby was a head shot from the player. Chara's hit was an interference but from a hitting aspect was not aimed at his head. The divider hit his head. With all this talk abou the NHL not doing anything about the game. Seems like most of you just started watching, you should do a little research on the topic before speaking of the game.
You must be kidding. The cops have nothin better to do? Oh I get it – lets arrest all violent offenders in sports. Football would be done, I feel for the batter in baseball that hits a foul ball into the stands and breaks someones hand. My god, what if a downhill skier falls and wipes out int the stands – put them in jail GD it! Ah what the heck – shut down all sports – there are too many what if's. Hockey and most sports have violent acts within them. They players, coaches, fans, family memebers, etc. all realize that and cope and accept it. Yep – deal with the extreem acts of violence (hard to draw a line, agree), but everyone settle down. Enjoy the sport. The benefits far outway the risks.
why is everyone crying? what are you gonna do, suspend chara for an interference call? nothing about this his should call for a suspension, let alone even get tssed from the game. yes it is unfortunate that he was injured to this extent, but i mean come on, saying he should be suspended for this is plain moronic
Canadian maybe ? how funny is it that they want to investigate the hocky hit as a crime , now i know why there's no football in canada, well i tell you what you mounties ride your horse down to Detroit and arrest his butt, see how that works out for ya EH......
Did you just start watching hockey yesterday? It was interference, the guy happemed to hit his head on the edge of the glass. If the hit did not come from a Bruin, there wouldn't be nearly the attention. Go Montreal cops, glad you don't have anything better to do................
It's about time! Deliberate violence has ruined hockey, and sets a horrible example for youths. Prosecute assaults and and emphasize sportsmanship to return the game to an action-filled exciting sport which doesn't rely on bloodletting.
again, you dont watch hockey, didnt even check him, just rubbed him out of the play.
clean hit
Clean hit, unfortunately his head was in the wrong place at the wrong time. This stuff happens in any contact sport.
@Matt: Clean hit? Seriously? He intended to put him in the bench but followed through and ended up nearly tearing his head off on the stanchion. It was an extremely dangerous, reckless play that wouldn't have happened if Chara didn't lose his cool.
Legal hit? the hit occurred well after the player lost the puck, that alone is interference. I'm disgusted, but unfortunately not surprised, that no suspension occurred. Colin Campbell is a joke, the fact that he's in charge of discipline while his son is in playing should be enough to force him to step down from his position.
Also that stuff doesn't happen in any sport, not too many sports have hard poles sitting just off the field of play. This sort of play rarely happens in hockey let alone any other contact sport.
Sorry to keep posting, but for all my complaints on NHLs justice this is nothing that the police need to be involved with. It's like Montreal is competing with Campbell to see who can be a bigger joke.
thomas jones – i hit report abuse button by mistake while eating popcorn and reading comments. your comments are fine. sorry about that.
for what its worth – he should have been suspended for 2 games as his illegal hit caused injury.
You should take up soccer – you clearly don't have the grit to play a sport like hockey!!
@ Thomas Jones " not too many sports have hard poles sitting just off the field of play"
you sure? , I can think of , Football, basketball,soccer,baseball,volleyball,hockey, high jump, pole valt, horse racing,motorcross, tennis, right off the top of my head and i'm sure there are plenty more ..... clean hit...
This is just toooo funny. "Mont'real Police"... tooo funny. Knock yourselves out, guys.....
maybe theyll get the pink panther to investigate
What will be REAL funny is when Chara the loser goes to jail for deliberately hurting another player!!! This guy was a jerk before this incident and he's always trying to hurt others!! Chara has been looking for an opportunity to get Pacioretty back ever since Montreal beat them in overtime and Pacioretty unintentionally put his glove on Chara to congratulate his teammate!! What a sore loser!!! Chara has harboured that anger since and was looking for vengeance that night!!! That is why he's going to jail!!! Just wait and see......
hey J-Lo, that's why he has never been suspended and the NHL went out of its way to say how Chara plays the game the right way right...Go sing us a tune you hippie
no team is going to want to come to Canada and play hockey if every hit is going to be investigated as a crime. Hockey is a violent sport....if the hit happens anywhere else on the ice we wouldn't even be having this discussion.
no team is going to want to come to Canada and play hockey if every hit is going to be investigated as a crime. Hello, hockey is a violent sport....if the hit happens anywhere else on the ice we wouldn't even be having this discussion.
Hockey Mom is right, and if it were a Canadien that made the hit all the Canucks would be saying what a bunch of crybabies we Americans were.
I'm sure Hockey Mom would change her tune if it were her son on the stretcher.
Pathetic. Its PART OF THE GAME. This is almost as bad as the cop escorting a coach off the court a couple weeks ago because he was ejected and yelling at the refs. Its PART OF THE GAME.
Mark, with so much puntuation, i would say you need to sit down, take deep breraths and maybe some anger classes of your own. How did we get from a clean hockey hit to beating your wife?
what a joke. Anyone who has played the game knows this wans't pre-meditated... it was just interference in the wrong place at the wrong time.
go ahead and investigate it though
Chara has played the game long enough to know where the divider is located. Of course it was pre-meditated.
Chara and Pacioretty have a history of dislike and anyone who thinks that this was not planned on Chara's part is fooling themselves. He clearly pushed his head into the turnbuckle with his left forearm. No doubt about it. Just look at the still photos of it. This was not a "hockey play". I play hockey and so do my sons. This was a disgusting payback for what Pacioretty did to Chara previously (which was to push him in the back). If my sons did anything close to what Chara did, they wouldn't be playing hockey anymore.
I would whatch more hockey if this stuff happened more. The fights are the best part. They should make a boxing arena with an ice floor and make the combatants wear iceskates. This would be better than all sports put together.
It was most definitely NOT an accident.
Kevin, it is part of the game for somebody to get a broken neck? And anybody who PLAYS the game, as you say, should be aware of their position on the ice AT ALL TIMES. He very well knew exactly where he was when he shoved Pacioretty into the stanchion. He also should be aware that he is 6'9 and be mindful of his strength, vs. other guys. You must be responsible for your actions, intentional or not.
Tripp- you would watch the game more if there were more serious injuries including severe concussions and broken necks? I think that pretty much sums up what kind of sadistic individual you are. Enough said.
HockeyFANattic- Cry baby? Got hit into the boards? He was shoved in the stanchion, not the boards. That is what makes this act deliberately malicious. A hit into the boards would not have resulted in a broken vertebra! And cry baby? I wonder if you'd be singing that same tune if your neck was broken as a result of somebody throwing you somewhere.
In my opinion, Canadiens fans should be proud for pursuing this violent act, to the point where police is stepping in, and big sponsors (i.e. Air Canada) are threatening to withdraw sponsorship from the NHL if nothing is done about this hit. Players must be held accountable for their actions, and if a hit like this gets away without suspension, this could be some other kid's future down the drain, or even worse, could result in FATALITY. THAT IS NOT PART OF THE GAME. A broken neck or severe head injury CAN kill you... is THAT PART OF HOCKEY? We need to draw the line somewhere. This needs to be a turning point in the game.
I want to see Ice Fencing.
This was not a fight a cheap and dirty hit ......
Also, you can give the combatants machetes. That would be awesome.
Shaun, you've lost it man/woman.
I'd pay to see that
Shaun, that is indeed part of hockey. Everyone who steps on the ice knows there is an increased risk of injury or death by participating in the sport. People die playing sports every year, it is inevitable. Within the last 2 weeks, a highschool basketball player died on the court and no one touched him. He died because he was playing a sport and his heart couldn't take it. Had he just sat on the couch watching b-ball, he would still be alive. When I was younger I played baseball against a guy who a week later died during practice because he was struck in the chest with a ball and it stopped his heart. I participate in martial arts, and everyone on the mat knows that if someone makes a mistake in the wrong place or the wrong time, that mistake could cause paralysis or death. If hockey players can't take the risk, they need to stay off the ice.
But shouldn't the league take measures to minimize that risk, if possible?
You cant be F***N serious? Either play hard or go home...and this is in Canada of all places hahaha
Its not Canada, its Quebec...big difference.
You obviously don't know what playing hard is? While I don't the the Montreal police should be involved, this type of issue needs to be dealt with. These are the kind of injuries that will greatly affect youth development, and let's face it, hockey can do much better without it!
@Matt, Good one. And almost 40% of Quebec's population would agree with you, according to the 2 votes held on independance.
People in Toronto don't recognize anything outside of the GTA as Canada.
I feel as a Canadian that I should point out that most of us would consider "GoLeafs" to be a m*ron.
Doesnt help that colin campbells son plays for the bruins.........kinda makes you wonder
Doesn't make me wonder – Campbell isn't part of any disciplinary decisions involving ANY of the Bruins.
The fact that Colin Campbell is in any way associated with making ANY discipline decisions while his son is an NHL player is ridiculous. The additional fact that his good buddy Mike Murphy has to make this decision because it involves the Bruins is a further joke. This is a conflict of interest any way you look at it and the fact that Colin Campbell is still in a position to make any discipline decisions further shows how bush league the NHL is.
Hey if Todd Bertuzzi is still skating around a free man after what he did to Steve Moore, what do players have to fear?
he plead guilty to the crime and paid the price....everyone needs to get over Bertuzzi already
Cry babies. "This hit was absolutely disgusting....I could only watch it once." What are you a 4 year old? Get real dude, its hockey, wasn't intentional. Lesson learned: Max Pacioretty won't play the boards like that when Chara's within striking distance! Hahaha, sucker.
Actual, "HockeyFan," Pacioretty had every right to play the boards. He'd moved the puck down ice and therefore they were his boards to move on. The play from Chara was illegal. Simply put. It was interference and therefore Pacioretty shouldn't have to think twice about that move.
Exactly the point. Injuring someone on an illegal play should warrant at least some kind of punishment. Not a hockey play when it is illegal. The jury is out on intention, but the act makes it punishable. The league got it wrong
It looks like Zdeno Chara wasnt even looking at Max Pacioretty when the hit was made. Looks like a big deal is being made of an accident.
Watch the video
What a joke.... A game where checking and fighting is commonplace and now there is whining about it. They can get into a fist to fist fight and punch each other in the face but when someone gets elbow shoved into the boards and falls down and hurts himself and it becomes a crime...LOL.. He cant be the first hockey player to get hurt and if you choose to play a sport you choose to risk your physical wellbeing.
why comment when you ahve nothing intelligent to add moron. Did you watch the game?
A typical hit that would not have resulted in injury had it happened anyplace else on the ice. An unfortunate incident in regards to the injury, but certainly not a criminal offense.
Do Quebec lawmakers and police have too much free time on their hands? Aren't there other more pressing issues that taxpayer dollars could be spent on?
Absolutely ridiculous!
Stop playing in Canada is a better solution. This is the second time Canada has tried to pursue criminal charges against a hockey player. Anyone that can't stomach violent sports shouldn't watch them. Allow those of us that do to enjoy them without a bunch of Namby Pamby whining.
We will stop playing hockey in Canada when you guys quit playing football in the USA....deal?...didn't think so