The Hockey Stop

The result of Zdeno Chara's hit on Max Pacioretty was horrific. The Montreal Canadiens winger slammed his head against the stanchion between the bench and plexiglass. The 22-year-old was carried off in a stretcher and suffered a severe concussion and a fractured vertebra that will keep him off the ice indefinitely. His parents were among the 20,000 stunned fans at the Bell Centre who were all hoping and praying that the young player would be all right as the result of the check by Chara.

After this gruesome incident, there is no doubt that when the NHL Board of Governors meets next time they will vote to require every arena to install new padding on their stanchions to protect players from this type of event.

The debate right now is not about whether there should be more padding on the stanchions, but whether Chara should have been suspended. The NHL decided not to suspend Chara and predictably Montreal fans are in an uproar about the decision. Air Canada has even threatened to pull its sponsorship unless the league takes action to punish Chara, saying this in a statement:

"We are contacting you (Wednesday) to voice our concern over (Tuesday night's) incident involving Max Pacioretty and Zdeno Chara at the Bell Centre in Montreal. This is following several other incidents involving career-threatening and life-threatening headshots in the NHL recently."

"From a corporate social responsibility standpoint, it is becoming increasingly difficult to associate our brand with sports events which could lead to serious and irresponsible accidents; action must be taken by the NHL before we are encountered with a fatality."

"Unless the NHL takes immediate action with serious suspension to the players in question to curtail these life-threatening injuries, Air Canada will withdraw its sponsorship of hockey."

"While we support countless sports, arts and community events, we are having difficulty rationalizing our sponsorship of hockey unless the NHL takes responsibily to protect both the players and the integrity of the game."

Additionally, the AP is reporting that the Montreal police are opening up a criminal investigation into the hit at the request of Quebec's director of criminal and penal prosecutions, Louis Dionne.

Here is the video of the incident.



What do you think? Was this hit intentional by Chara? Was it just a tragic accident after a clean hit? Even if it wasn't intentional, should Chara have been more aware of the stanchion when he delivered the check?

The National Hockey League earlier this season finally took decisive action against hits to the head by adding a rule against blind-side elbows to the most vulnerable part of the human body.

But if that wasn't enough of a message to send about this dangerous tactic (and no, skating with your head down is not an excuse), then this news story out of Quebec hopefully should make some of these hockey players think twice before knocking an opposing player out cold or possibly killing them.

According to the L.A. Times' Fabulous Forum blog, junior hockey star Patrice Cormier, 19, has been charged with assault for an on-ice hit to the head. That means the former captain of Canada's world junior hockey team and a highly touted prospect of the Atlanta Thrashers faces up to 18 months in jail if convicted. His court date is set for July 12.

It's about time the authorities stepped in because a suspension and fine (Cormier was already suspended for the rest of the season and playoffs) is not enough. Not when these reckless and unnecessary hits to the head continue.

A player's life should not be put in danger simply for lacing up his skates and stepping onto the ice. It sickens me when I see players crumple to the ice like marionettes after a a vicious hit like Cormier's or Pittsburgh player Matt Cooke's horrific blindside hit on Boston's Marc Savard that knocked him out.

I hope the NHL and every other league strongly enforces rules against blindside hits to the head, or as in Cormier's case, law enforcement will step in. Perhaps if Cormier sits in a jail cell for a while, it will send a strong and clear message before the day comes when we have to watch a victim never make it off the ice after being the recipient of the most vicious type of hit the game has ever seen.

Washington Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin has been suspended two games for his hit on the Chicago Blackhawks' Brian Campbell in the first period of Sunday's game at United Center.

The game, in which the Ovechkin-less Capitals came from 3-0 behind to stun the 'Hawks by winning 4-3 in overtime, was televised to a national audience on NBC and evidently since Ovechkin is a repeat offender the NHL wanted to send a message.

But is this the right instance to send that message? I don't think so. I watched the hit live and on replay several times and there is nothing malicious about the hit. Yes, it is unfortunate Campbell took a bad spill and knocked hard into the boards. He will reportedly miss the rest of the season with a broken clavicle and ribs. I wish Campbell a full and speedy recovery and I know Ovechkin wishes the same.

But the hit was from the side, not the back. It should have been a double minor or five-minute major for boarding, but not a game misconduct and certainly not a two-game suspension.

What is clear, however, which has nothing to do with the NHL's wishy-washy decision making, is that Ovechkin at times doesn't seem to realize his own physical power. Ovechkin loves to hit and that isn't going to change, nor should it. He is a complete player who can score goals and plays a physical game. However, Ovechkin needs to be more aware of his enormous physical advantage over most players. As Don Cherry says, he is a "pit bull" out there on the ice and he needs to stay physical but be more mindful of his raw power.

I saw that firsthand last year in a game I attended at the Verizon Center against the Tampa Bay Lightning when a Tampa Bay player had to be carted off the ice on a stretcher and sent to the hospital after a similar crushing hit by Ovechkin against the boards.

Ovechkin should not change his game one bit. But part of growing and maturing is being aware of your strengths and weaknesses and unless Ovechkin, who I consider the best hockey player in the world, wants to get more suspensions and possibly seriously injure another player, he needs to be aware of his awesome physical power.

And the National Hockey League needs to get their act together when it comes to enforcing penalties and setting proper guidelines. The way the rules are set up right now makes it confusing for referees, players and the fans.

The Caps proved in front of a national audience and against the best team in the West that they are more than Ovechkin. They are a complete team and a legitimate Cup contender this year.

But we fans sure want Ovechkin on the ice to share in the celebration when our Washington Capitals are hopefully hoisting Lord Stanley's Cup in June.