The talk around NHL locker rooms across the league was the hit on Tuesday night by Boston defenseman Zdeno Chara on Montreal’s Max Pacioretty that left the 22-year-old forward with a fracture of the fourth cervical vertebrae in his neck, a severe concussion and his future as an NHL player in doubt. The ugly hit generated immediate reaction from fans, coaches, players and media throughout North America and even a prosecutor’s office in Quebec calling for an investigation. The Caps’ room was no different this morning after Chara was not fined or suspended on Wednesday by the NHL. Washington forward Brooks Laich called it a “questionable” hit.
“As players you know where a player is vulnerable and you know if he’s a couple of feet from the boards. You’re aware of that,” Laich said. “And if his back is turned you’re aware of that. If a guy’s got his head down you’re aware of that. You know where the stanchions are. I don’t know whether the intent was there to hurt him or not. I can’t say that. But certainly a questionable hit and I’d rather not see that stuff go on in the league.”
Laich, though, also know Chara – or at least his reputation as a gentle giant. The 6-foot-9 defenseman has long been one of the league’s elite blueliners, first in Ottawa and then in Boston. He’s never been sanctioned by the NHL for supplementary discipline in a 13-year career. Laich was a 20-year-old first-year pro just trying to make an impression in training camp with the Senators organization when he first encountered Chara in 2003. He isn’t know as a dirty player – even if the hit on Paccioretty itself has generated intense criticism. Chara is almost 7-feet tall on skates and weighs 255 pounds.
“I know from playing against Chara that there’s been times where he’s let up on me personally,” Laich said. “He’s a big man, he’s head and shoulders above everybody and he could really hurt guys if he wanted to. And there’s been times where he’s let up on just creaming me – and other guys in the league. We’ve seen that side of him. But we also see that he’s an aggressive player and a physical player.”
Caps coach Bruce Boudreau said yesterday Chara’s hit “looked like a hockey play to me and unfortunately Max got hurt.” That’s exactly what Mike Murphy, NHL senior vice president of hockey operations, ruled. Boudreau did acknowledge that a serious injury inevitably draws demands for punishment, but thought league officials got the call correct by not suspending Chara or even fining him.
“The circumstances come into it. [Boston is] down 4-0 against a rival team, a division team battling for the title,” Laich said. “You can twist the circumstances any way you want to make the incident look good or bad, whatever you want to do with it. At the end of the day it’s just a very, very unfortunate incident and we hope Max is all right.”
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