http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/news?slug=ap-canadiens-pacioretty-protest
So, Zdeno Chara was not suspended for his hit on Max Pacioretty, which resulted in Pacioretty being knocked unconcious and a broken vertebrae in his neck. Montreal fans, like always, blamed their woes on Gary Bettman mainly because they know nothing about hockey. Washington head coach Bruce Boudreau is completely correct in saying that if a Montreal player had severely injured a Boston player Montreal fans would deem the check as clean and legal and call the Bruins player weak. He is also correct in saying that these hockey players know that there is a serious risk in playing the sport and that injuries are an occupational hazard. Gary Bettman's 5 point plan to change the game while keeping the sport intense and players safe was highly thorough and one of the best proposals on the topic of head injuries there has been as of yet. For not being a very eloquent guy as highlighted in the 24/7 Winter Classic series, Boudreau bluntly stated what was being thought by every true and logical hockey fan in North America. Being the fan of a club who won the majority of their championships before goalies even wore masks or heard of the butterfly does not make you an expert on the sport (Canadiens fans). A fan does not simply inherit ice hockey wisdom. If you have ever spoken for more than ten minutes with a Canadiens follower you already know that this is true. Go B's.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjtUTsvcCvc
Not one Penguins fan protested outside games after Crosby was injured from hits to the head. Not one Bruins fan protested when Marc Savard was checked in the head and was injured for extended periods of time, including presently. The Montreal fans feel like they should be treated differently since their team, in their minds, is the most important. Also, if this hit, which Chara was given an interference call for, was anywhere else on the ice it would be no problem and not one fan would think twice about it. But due to the presence of the divider it was turned into a "travesty". Chara was clearly not trying to run Pacioretty into the padded post, all Montreal fans just twisted the video in their heads to make it look that way to every one of them.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree, every other team accepts that these things happen and that they are part of the sport. Canadiens fans just think that they deserve special treatment when this is not even close to one of the worst hits in the history of the NHL.
ReplyDeleteAnd after the initial interference call he received a five-minute major penalty and a game misconduct. Sufficient punishment for a not so terrible transgression.
ReplyDeleteIf Chara had hit him anywhere else in the rink the injury wouldn't have happened, so unfortunately it was a case of Pacioretty being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Checking is part of hockey-always has been and probably always will be. If anything, it seems like poor rink design is the culprit, because a pole really shouldn't be part of an area where checking is going to happen. The Canadiens aren't the first team to lose a player to a questionable hit. They should realize it's part of the sport, and that they aren't exempt from injury!
ReplyDeleteI see both sides of story here, with the fans and Boudreau. The hit was clean and was an unfortunate accident with what happened to the player. However, the fans have a right to protest the hit on the basis that the NHL should try to make a statement by protecting their players. I know it would be hard for players to make judgements with them playing at the speed they are but if the NHL wants its' star players, and players in general, to be safe they need to do something about the hits, other than just suspending the player
ReplyDeleteWell it seemed that the Canadiens fans were protesting the league's action in response to the hit and not the hit itself. There were no chants of "Chara sucks", or "Bruins suck". Only "Bettman sucks". The Canadiens fans have an ongoing feud with the league and they do not understand that the league has been actively improving the sport with reference to head hits and illegal hits in general. Instead the NHL must rely on how accountable a player can be when it comes to borderline, unnecessary contact that can result in injury. Now the league will hold the coaches and organization responsible for repeat offenders which may result in a stricter code of ethics among all teams as it will not just be the player suffering for his transgression.
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