Chara Was Reckless

I, like all other Montreal Canadiens fans sat in shock and disbelief after Zdeno Chara of the Boston Bruins lambasted Montreal Canadiens forward Max Pacioretty on Tuesday night.

Had the hit taken place anywhere else on the ice it wouldn't have been as severe but because it happened near the benches where Pacioretty's head made contact with the glass partition, the play resulted in the Montreal forward being knocked out and left motionless on the ice.

Did Chara intend to cause such a horrific impact which could have turned out even worse? Only he knows for sure but watching the countless replays I have to think Chara knew what he was doing and where he was going to check Pacioretty. In fact it appeared as though Chara made sure he was going to contact the pole.

I'm not suggesting Chara was trying to cause injury despite the fact the same two players had a run in the game before. I don't think Chara is a dirty player but his size as the biggest player in the league does come with some added responsibility.

He has to be aware that he can inflict a lot of damage if he wants to and in a situation like this where it was clearly a late hit to begin with, he should have backed off. He didn't and that is why the league must step in and punish him so he will maybe think twice before doing something so reckless in the future. Next time the player could leave the ice in a body bag instead of a stretcher.

UPDATE: The NHL decided no suspension was warranted. In my opinion the NHL made a colossal mistake and have now set a precedent that they will have to stand by in the future. To say that because the 6' 9" Chara "didn't leave his feet" to finish the illegal play is insane. He wasn't checking Shaquille O'Neal. Safe to say the Zdeno Chara will be Public Enemy #1 in Montreal for a long time.