By Richard Obrand
In the midst of yet another vicious check in the NHL, fans, bloggers and media pundits across the hockey community have been left divided.
And the recent announcement that Zdeno Chara will not be disciplined for his hit on Max Pacioretty has separated them even further.
On the left, we see the hyperactive and all-knowing Montreal-based fans who view the defenceman Chara’s hit on Canadiens forward Pacioretty as a malicious, obvious and deliberate attempt to injure the young and burgeoning power forward.
On the right, we see the equally as energetic and jagged supporters of the Boston Bruins who have been supportive of Chara, yet, have also been offering their care and good-wishes for Pacioretty.
Finally, somewhere in the middle of all the mayhem created by the Blogosphere and Twitterverse are the pundits who have been attempting to remain as politically correct and inoffensive as possible. With the exception of a few credible journalists from both sides of the spectrum, including Boston Globe writer Tony Massarotti, most writers have been tip-toeing around the issue at hand.
Simply put, as brutal or as incidental as you may have viewed it, this was an opportunity for the NHL that was once again shoved aside.
It was an opportunity for the Gary Bettman and company, to finally make their mark on the most pressing problem to face the post-lockout NHL. Ask Marc Savard, a five-year teammate of Chara, how he feels about Pacioretty’s current situation, better yet, ask Sidney Crosby.
While the NHL clearly missed the boat on defending their meal plan in Crosby, they once again blew a second golden chance of making their situation and reputation across the North American sports world relatively better.
There’s no arguing from this Montreal fan that Chara is a superstar. He strikes fear into opposing forwards and goaltenders alike and is the shutdown defenceman that every general manager across the league would gladly place on their rosters. His unique combination of size, skating ability and offensive prowess is one that is rarely seen from an athlete of his stature and he clearly makes an impact every time he skates onto the ice.
Which is why suspending him for an elongated period of time would have sent a very blunt and stern message to every single player in the league.
No more messing around, no more headshots, no more blindsides, no more technical and verbal confusion of Rule 48.
Problem is they didn’t.
With Colin Campbell sitting this one out because of his son Gregory’s involvement in last night’s game, his assistant, Mike Murphy, was the one to bang the gavel and decide what to do with the NHL’s latest head injury.
In what was arguably the most complicated situation faced with the league’s disciplinary committee, they allowed a man who put a 23-year old kid in a hospital and out of commission until likely next season to play in his team’s next game, Thursday night against Buffalo.
The most updated status of Pacioretty’s health is that he suffered a severe concussion and a fractured fourth cervical vertebra that is not displaced.
As saddening as it is to ask, will it take death for the NHL to finally end the growing crisis that is the head shot?
You stay classy, NHL.
And the recent announcement that Zdeno Chara will not be disciplined for his hit on Max Pacioretty has separated them even further.
On the left, we see the hyperactive and all-knowing Montreal-based fans who view the defenceman Chara’s hit on Canadiens forward Pacioretty as a malicious, obvious and deliberate attempt to injure the young and burgeoning power forward.
On the right, we see the equally as energetic and jagged supporters of the Boston Bruins who have been supportive of Chara, yet, have also been offering their care and good-wishes for Pacioretty.
Finally, somewhere in the middle of all the mayhem created by the Blogosphere and Twitterverse are the pundits who have been attempting to remain as politically correct and inoffensive as possible. With the exception of a few credible journalists from both sides of the spectrum, including Boston Globe writer Tony Massarotti, most writers have been tip-toeing around the issue at hand.
Simply put, as brutal or as incidental as you may have viewed it, this was an opportunity for the NHL that was once again shoved aside.
It was an opportunity for the Gary Bettman and company, to finally make their mark on the most pressing problem to face the post-lockout NHL. Ask Marc Savard, a five-year teammate of Chara, how he feels about Pacioretty’s current situation, better yet, ask Sidney Crosby.
While the NHL clearly missed the boat on defending their meal plan in Crosby, they once again blew a second golden chance of making their situation and reputation across the North American sports world relatively better.
There’s no arguing from this Montreal fan that Chara is a superstar. He strikes fear into opposing forwards and goaltenders alike and is the shutdown defenceman that every general manager across the league would gladly place on their rosters. His unique combination of size, skating ability and offensive prowess is one that is rarely seen from an athlete of his stature and he clearly makes an impact every time he skates onto the ice.
Which is why suspending him for an elongated period of time would have sent a very blunt and stern message to every single player in the league.
No more messing around, no more headshots, no more blindsides, no more technical and verbal confusion of Rule 48.
Problem is they didn’t.
With Colin Campbell sitting this one out because of his son Gregory’s involvement in last night’s game, his assistant, Mike Murphy, was the one to bang the gavel and decide what to do with the NHL’s latest head injury.
In what was arguably the most complicated situation faced with the league’s disciplinary committee, they allowed a man who put a 23-year old kid in a hospital and out of commission until likely next season to play in his team’s next game, Thursday night against Buffalo.
The most updated status of Pacioretty’s health is that he suffered a severe concussion and a fractured fourth cervical vertebra that is not displaced.
As saddening as it is to ask, will it take death for the NHL to finally end the growing crisis that is the head shot?
You stay classy, NHL.
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