The 2010-2011 Suspension Thread

[Chadd 916]

Disclaimer: I'm a Habs fan to the bones

Now that this out of the way, my view on the hit is that it was not intentional and as Chara described it after the game, it was an unfortunate ending. I hate Chara and his sometimes belligerent attitude towards other players which are all smaller and lighter then he is. However, on that hit he drove Pacioretty the same way he would have done if he was along the glass anywhere else on the rink. Were his elbows high? Perhaps.

That's exactly how I see it. An unfortunate result to be sure, but it's a routine play that you see in every game when a defenseman is going to get bet to the outside.

[chippa13 1844]

Disgusting hit. Nothing else to say about this one. Got beat by Patches speed for like the 5th time in that game and decided he had enough. What a disgrace.

No bias in this statement.

[hamstercaster 2]

No bias in this statement.

This is nothing compared to the outcry from most of the Habs fans interviewed right after the game, those in social medias etc. Not to mention about half of the RDS crew or more.

Bob McKenzie got a shitload of insults when he said to wait till today before analyzing or commenting on the hit so the emotion level would come down and people would be in a better position to judge wether it was a dirty hit or not.

I think that there is no doubt that he will be suspended for a couple of games or so but I still believe that there was no malicious intent on his part.

[skeeter14 0]

Update: According to the Fan590 in Toronto, Max has a fractured 4th Vertebrate, and Severe Concussion.

[hamstercaster 2]

Update: According to the Fan590 in Toronto, Max has a fractured 4th Vertebrate, and Severe Concussion.

Just saw that on RDS. Looks like he'll be out for quite a while. I wonder how this will impact the league's decision.

[hamstercaster 2]

Interesting article from a Boston Journalist.

http://www.boston.com/sports/columnists/massarotti/2011/03/chara_hit_difficult_to_defend.html

[Chadd 916]

We really should be talking about how many games we expect Smid to get for his hit on Powe. He took several strides and hit a stationary guy directly in the numbers and put him head first into the boards.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZIz8D-7_b0

[hamstercaster 2]

Wow, too me this hit is worse than the hit Chara put on Pacioretty for the simple fact that Smid had plenty of time to see that Powe was in a vulnerable position and he still skated towards him and sent him flying face first into the boards. Should be a suspendable hit IMO. Fortunatly, Powe didn't seem to be injured on the play so they may not come down too hard if at all on Smid. Pacioretty on the other end was not so lucky so they may come harder on Chara for a hit that was questionnable to an extent but still... After the Pacioretty frenzy is over, perhaps the league will look at this hit too.

[Habs21 0]

No bias in this statement.

Did you happen to watch the whole game or just that little youtube video?

Exactly. Chara has been on Paciorrety for the last couple of games and he decided that at that moment, he was going to get him.

Am I saying that Chara wanted to break Paciorrety's neck and give him a concussion? No way. He wanted to go for a big hit and prove his point...the rest was bad luck.

But this bullshit of: yeah but if it was anywhere else on the ice..." is ridiculous. If Chara doesn't know he's next to the bench and the turnbuckle, he's 100% retarded.

I would have expected this kind of play from someone like Lucic but never from Chara. I respected the guy.

"yeah but he said he didn't mean to hurt him...". Yeah and I'm sure Bertuzzi didn't want to break the other dude's neck but this is the kind of stuff that happens when you make a bad decision.

I would have loved to see the reaction if it was a habs player that did this to a Boston player. Boston fans would be saying the exact same shit as the habs fans. It was a dirty and un-necessary hit, end of story.

[chippa13 1844]

That Smid play is a by-product of the league's allowance of those hits from behind that straighten up a player and gets him pinned to the glass.

[Habs21 0]

[chippa13 1844]

Did you happen to watch the whole game or just that little youtube video?

Exactly. Chara has been on Paciorrety for the last couple of games and he decided that at that moment, he was going to get him.

Am I saying that Chara wanted to break Paciorrety's neck and give him a concussion? No way. He wanted to go for a big hit and prove his point...the rest was bad luck.

But this bullshit of: yeah but if it was anywhere else on the ice..." is ridiculous. If Chara doesn't know he's next to the bench and the turnbuckle, he's 100% retarded.

I would have expected this kind of play from someone like Lucic but never from Chara. I respected the guy.

"yeah but he said he didn't mean to hurt him...". Yeah and I'm sure Bertuzzi didn't want to break the other dude's neck but this is the kind of stuff that happens when you make a bad decision.

I would have loved to see the reaction if it was a habs player that did this to a Boston player. Boston fans would be saying the exact same shit as the habs fans. It was a dirty and un-necessary hit, end of story.

Before you go so far as to demonize Chara, perhaps you should take a look at the guy's history in the league, look at his disciplinary history, or lack thereof, look at his reputation around the league. Here is a guy who with his size and strength could destroy a guy in any game that he wanted at any time. A guy who has spent 12 years in the league without a sniff of something like this to tarnish his reputation. Do you honestly think that in those 12 years he hasn't had a beef with some other opponent. What makes Pacioretty so special that now he decides to take such action? It was a poor decision in a dangerous part of the rink, nothing more and nothing less.

Comparing Chara to Bertuzzi is pure folly. Unlike Chara, Bertuzzi did have a history or disciplinary run-ins, dating back to his days in juniors. Make no mistake, Chara will likely be suspended, more because of the result than then intent, but he will miss likely 2-4 games. But, seriously, let's not make him out to be the next Matt Cooke.

Edit: one moment in time out of context does not tell the story. Chara was pushing at Pacioretty's shoulder and, law of physics, when the glass stops Pacioretty then Chara's hand will continue onward. What I would like to see is that same moment in time from directly in front of the players.

[Habs21 0]

like I said in my post, I never thought Chara would be able to do something like this. The guy is a beast and could destroy anyone, anytime...and never has.

It's a known fact that Paciorrety and him have a bit of history and at that moment, Bruins we're getting destroyed on the scoreboard and outskated, Paciorrety chipped the puck past Chara and had him beat (he's probably the fastest skater for the habs...and it's an already fast team)...and Chara, being mad, decided to hit him. He in no way wanted to break Paciorrety's neck, he just wanted to throw a big hit, whether there was a penalty on the play or not, he didn't care because they were going on a 2 on 1 anyway and it was 4-0. He knew he was close to the bench and it would be a bigger hit but again, he's not Matt Cooke, he didn't want to kill the guy...just wanted to make a big hit, take his interference penalty and that's it.

I will never say that Chara is a dirty player, he just made a really bad and dumb decision. Not demonizing him in any way...it's something he will regret forever probably. But eventhough he feels bad about it or whatever, the league still needs to stop this kind of bullshit.

And I'm tired of hearing about "blame the rink"...the rink is the same as everywhere else, it's been like that since forever. That excuse is just pathetic to me. Let's just call it like it is...a player that made a bad decision because he was angry. We all made dumb decisions on the ice when losing a game...this one is just that much dumber because of the size of Chara...(and Paciorrety is pretty damn big himself).

[fastbrother7 0]

I hear that off the ice Chara is a great humanitarian, and as someone mentioned before, his overall disciplinary record is pretty much non-existent. Unfortunately, he personally has recent (as in this season more than once) history with the individual he severely injured. Having said that, this could be viewed just as retaliatory as Bertuzzi's hit on Moore back in 04 ( which was team-retaliatory ). For example, if I beat beat up the same person a few times, then I break their legs a month later, and its documented, Im pretty sure they are going to take into account the recent history I have with that person when it comes to sentencing. While the NHL isnt a court of law, the logic makes sense. Even if he didnt mean to do it, it looks really bad. Its like saying I didnt mean to drive drunk and kill someone. Either way, I wish Pacioretty a speedy recovery, and while I dont think Chara should be put under the ice, I dont think an exception should be made in this case. He needs to miss a few games.

[Habs21 0]

Well it looks like it's official...no suspension for Chara. Can't even say I'm surprised. This league is a joke. There's one thing that can happen though...it's called karma.

[RadioGaGa 162]

http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=357209

Wow! I didn't expect the League to sit Chara down for a long time...but I figured 2 games were the default suspension for pretty much everything.

[troy 12]

We really should be talking about how many games we expect Smid to get for his hit on Powe. He took several strides and hit a stationary guy directly in the numbers and put him head first into the boards.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZIz8D-7_b0

Kinda forgot about that because I don't think Powe missed a shift. I don't get why Smid was so apologetic afterwards, I mean what result was he expecting with that play?

[zachary 2]

And I'm tired of hearing about "blame the rink"...the rink is the same as everywhere else, it's been like that since forever. That excuse is just pathetic to me. Let's just call it like it is...a player that made a bad decision because he was angry. We all made dumb decisions on the ice when losing a game...this one is just that much dumber because of the size of Chara...(and Paciorrety is pretty damn big himself).

I'm pretty sure not every player pays attention to the stanchions and would go out of his way and ride a guy into it. It's easy for you to make such statements because you're unhappy with the outcome.

[Drewhunz 3]

Hmm. I'm really thinking we need to devise a way of registering members with their favorite team to prevent them from posting emotional homerist crap. That said, keep it civil and stop getting butthurt over others opinions. Pens, Leafs, and Habs fans- I'm looking in your direction.

[chippa13 1844]

http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=357209

Wow! I didn't expect the League to sit Chara down for a long time...but I figured 2 games were the default suspension for pretty much everything.

I figured that he would get a couple just because the league loves to punish the result and I think even B's fans would have been fine with it. I guess his clean record and the fact that he doesn't routinely use his size to blow guys up went a long way with the league.

[fcb51 0]

Obviously it's a very emotional, sobering, almost numbing day here in Montreal, but honestly, if the NHL didn't give Cooke a suspension for hitting Savard, Chara was never going to get a suspension for his hit - no matter how you view each separate incident or what side of the fence you sit on Chara's hit.

[EBondo 233]

Kinda forgot about that because I don't think Powe missed a shift. I don't get why Smid was so apologetic afterwards, I mean what result was he expecting with that play?

Well, Powe missed the five minutes during the power play, which probably was enough. I didn't think the hit was suspendable at first, but after going back and viewing the replay, Powe was facing the boards the entire time he had the puck. Should he be suspended? Yes, but will he? I don't think so...

[hamstercaster 2]

I have to admit that I am surprised at the decision too. In my first post on the subject I "defended" Chara even though I'm a Habs fan but still thought that there would have been a suspension of at least a couple of games. I'm watching the news on RIS (French Sport Channel) and Renaud Lavoie, one of the journalists of the station is saying that it was premeditated on the part of Chara.... It's a guy I respect but I just lost a bit of respect for him with that quote.

[MJDhcky9 0]

Well Cooke never got a suspension because that incident occured before the NHL made changes to the rules. Rule 48 was put in place this past fall and had it been in the books when Cook made that hit on Savard, he would have definitly been suspended.

[jds 20]

There is all this talk about intent and not looking at the result but rather the play itself which was a defenceman angling a player into the boards. As the NHL said, it was a hockey play. Fair enough. However, if a player attempts to clear the puck and it ends up going over the glass, it is an automatic delay of game penalty whether the player intended to or not. In that case is it exactly the result and not the intent that is penalized. Is there perhaps some room for some for of automatic discipline when a hit leads to a devastating injury whether the intent was there or not. I mean, we are dealing with players' health here. Chara admitted he knew he was near the benches but that he did not intend to put Pacioretty into the glass partition. Isn't that enough evidence to elevate Chara's move from a "hockey play" to a "reckless hockey play" and warrant further discipline? I suppose that is what the misconduct was for but given the rash of concussed and severely injured players from these hockey plays would a suspension of some length perhaps make players take a bit more caution? Just musing here. Welcome any feedback.