Chara Charred
Written by hockeyheidi, Monday March 14 2011
Shock and disbelief engulfed the hockey world when Zdeno Chara delivered a downing hit to Max Pacioretty. The league was quick yet dainty in their punishment, yet many players are unhappy with the league’s light sentence. Called a bruiser and a man ready to hit; a man whose hits are described as flattening and crushing is a man who would deliver that hit at his size and ability. It shouldn't be a surprise to anyone that Chara can crush and flatten without hesitation. The captainship of the Boston Bruins has fans forgetting that this seemingly gentle giant was a bone cruncher prior to taking the helm. Chara was known in fantasy hockey leagues for his fighting and penalty minutes accrued. He's back to roughing, boarding and misconduct. The tiger was tamed briefly, but is roaring back as the role of defensemen becomes more physical. But isn't this a tough sport? Hasn't the league addressed this over cocktails and manager meetings? Apparently, not enough.
Chara's reputation has been soiled again. The concern is if he can bounce back after decisive splits among the players who have encountered Chara. Matt Cooke is still a dirty crook as Don Cherry reminds us repeatedly. Todd Bertuzzi's career is taking the heat off of him slightly as the Red Wings have become his redemption from the Steve Moore hit. Despite the attacks for or against Chara, or the increasing hits, the meeting between the managers should be the focus. And the heat should be put on the guys in the suits making the league rule changes and handing out suspensions. As we have seen from the Savard-Cooke incident, punishments have been delivered in bias.
The Arenas are not all brand spanking new either. Dangerous boards and rickety glass partitions add an additional catastrophic element to ice, blades, pucks and sticks. Now the players have to watch their boards. This is a multi-dimensional problem not unique to the NHL. Right now, this problem has to be unique to the NHL because it is the height of the playoff push, and fans of all ages will be cheering for their teams. No one wants to see tragedy during the playoffs, so let's not wait until summer to figure this crap out. Most players don't play that dirty anymore- the fans won't accept it.
Tragedy and concussions plague the world of hockey often. Every sport has blunder and blame. For Chara, he's the topic of choice, the flavor of the month and a chance for the NHL to address issues that impact the game. So let's get some shit done about this before another young eager player gets his noggin nearly knocked off.
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2 comments
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Chara is a defensman- he's gonna hit people. Never said he was a dirty player, but when you're that big all players are going to be crushed. The NHL is split on Chara. Some players have heavily criticized Chara and other have supported him. I've been following Chara for over 10 years and would never think he was mean, but if you look at his PIMs- he's racked up over 100 PIMs each year from 2000-07. I never recommended his suspension at all. The punishment was clear, but Max P. was very outspoken on the hit- and he has every right to voice his opinion on the hit. There is bias in the league, and Chara is not considered to be a Cooke or Bertuzzi- but many feel he is. It's a free country buddy!
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This is a disappointing article! Anyone who follows hockey closely knows that Chara is NOT a dirty player. I've been watching him since his days in a NY Islanders uniform. This hit you are talking about was a clean hit and a clean hockey play. The previous game between the Habs vs. Bruins was an OT win for the Habs. When the winning goal hit the back of the net several Habs were celebrating with the game over. Chara was then shoved into the boards with no time left on the clock. Next game Chara delivers a clean hit and now folks like you are calling for him to be disciplined. The NHL decided not to suspend him because it was a clean hit. Please learn more about the game of hockey before you make anymore stupid comments!