Zdeno Chara Hit on Max Pacioretty Was 100% Deliberate Intent To Injure...

Anyone who says that Zdeno Chara didn't intend to do exactly what he did to Max Pacioretty, which was essentially take his head off using the glass divider on the boards, either knows nothing about hockey, or is just a blatant liar.

It's not like players don't know about that glass divider. It's not like players don't slam each other into that divider all the time (though obviously not with the same criminal intent that Chara had). Ok, come on... Chara's team was down 4-0, Pacioretty didn't even have the puck anymore when Chara went for him, and Chara had been wanting to get revenge on Pacioretty for his shove the other night. This was his best opportunity to completely obliterate Pacioretty in pure vengeance, and he did exactly that (as was his plan).

Chara should be thrown in prison for what he did, and I really don't see any difference between what he did, and what Todd Bertuzzi did to Steve Moore, except I would say that it was much worse.

...Idiots pretending like Chara didn't intend not only to injure Pacioretty, but to absolutely destroy his life...

Chara, though he may not have a history of being a dirty player, definitely was exposed to those kinds of scumbag tactics during his time in Ottawa with his buddy Daniel Alfredsson (one of the dirtiest players to ever play the game). As such, this move by Chara should come as no surprise.

Here's the video in case you wanted to analyze it for yourself. As you will see, Chara purposely pushes Pacioretty's head into the divider (as is shown in the screenshot above from the YouTube video).

--jackandcokewithalime

PS: And yet again we had another catastrophic failure by an official who was standing right there and saw the entire thing... 2 minutes for interference... What a joke.

PPS: Don Cherry on HNIC tonight (for the video, see: Coach's Corner: March 12) agreed with the NHL's decision to not suspend Chara. When it comes to hockey, I respect Don's opinion more than anyone elses (except for Mario Lemieux, who I would say I give equal weighting). All I have to say about Don's comments is that Don sees that type of hit (the turnbuckle-hit) as a normal part of the game, and he blames the arena design moreso than the intent of the player (Chara) who made the hit for the injury. Don is worried that if Chara was suspended, then next time he may refrain from making that type of hit. I completely see his point, but, just because the hit is legal, doesn't mean that Chara's intent to injure was legal as well. There's a reason why so many players get hit on the divider and don't end up with a broken neck... That's all I'm saying. Don's really just trying to protect the physical aspect of the game (which I totally understand, as it's a key part of the game), and any attempts to try and regulate it can end up in a slippery slope which may remove the physicality entirely. I completely understand that. But this argument that it's a fast paced game, and there's no way that Chara could have intended to do what he did, especially since he's been playing for 13 years and has never tried to end players' careers (as he could have been doing it left and right due to his size)....I'm not buying it. Yes it's a fast paced game, but these players are professionals at it, and have been playing at this fast pace their entire lives... Ok, so don't feed me that crap. Anyone who says that Chara didn't intend to do exactly what he did is just lying. Next, whether Chara hasn't injured anyone in 5 years, 10 years, 20 years or 50 years, when you are in the heat of the moment and you are looking for revenge, it doesn't matter what your track record is. Do murderers have their murder trials automatically dismissed because in their entire lives they've never been convicted of a crime? Come on... Give me a break.


(Image:
Screenshot from video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unZ5Iw2s-iE by halorocker465 on YouTube
)