To sum up the thread:
Campbell Wheel of Justice gonna Campbell Wheel of Justice and Habs fans gonna Habs fans.

To the non Quebec natives, you do know that the Montreal fans flooded the 911 line so much after the game that the police had to tell them to stop right ?

Kostitsyn would bulldoze Chara so that's a moot point.

Chara insists he didn't know who it was

So now you're suggesting he knew it was Pacioretty but he would have acted the same had it been someone else?

You appreciate, of course, that that's something different than saying he didn't know it was Pacioretty?

Impossible.

If you believe that
(a) you've never played hockey, or
(b) you're lying to yourself.

No third option.

So many pussies in this thread, unbelieveable.

You guys should've seen some of the hits Sylvain Lefebvre used to deliver. You people make me sick.

I've never played hockey, but this just seems rather improbable to me. I don't necessarily think he fully intended to ram his head into the staunchion, but it wouldn't surprise me to know that he gave the guy a little push into the wall, and just because of the speed of the play, didn't take into account where he was shoving the guy.

Wat

I've said the player, and the location of the stanchion, were inconsequential in Chara's decision to angle out an opposing player chipping a puck past him instead of peeling off and trying to retrieve the puck. And I've remained extremely consistent in this argument throughout.

KneeCo, there are people itt who've both played hockey and haven't played hockey. Some agree with you, some agree with me, some aren't sure. There's a myriad of opinions. So stop using that ****ing awful line "I guess you've never played." It is threatening to inhibit any chance at intelligent dialogue.

Hey everyone I used to not really like posting on this site I kinda took it as a joke... but after being to all the other forums and reading how stupid people are I am really proud at how right most of you are...


I played hockey since I was 5 years old... This was a coward move big time.... These people have familys/children to go home to, it is not a fight to death. I think chara is a such a dishonourable and selfish player.... For him to have a C on his jersey is such a disgrace... For him not to get suspended is an even bigger disgrace... IMO, the video shows chara acknowledge the turnbuckle, and then gracefully, sly-fully, hit max perfectly so his face would smash into the turnbuckle.... I hope chara literally gets killed one day for this... John lennon was killed for way less... And I am not a fan of the montreal canadians whatsoever...


I think gary bettman is a shylock nose spineless filth troll gremlin who deserves to be tied to a goalie net and pucked to death during a fastest shot compeition.... Heres someone who never played hockey raping the public for obsence amounts of money, praying one of the players he doesn't like gets killed, DOWNRIGHT STEALING MONEY FROM PEOPLE (JIM BALSILLIE, CEO OF RIM, BLACKBERRY) and he gets to continue his charade of gypsyism...



Die Gary Bettman, Die Chara.

See ya later, shalom.

You're right, I haven't played hockey

However, the video shows no indication that Chara checked his number, and he really has no reason to lie, since that play was standard no matter who his opponent was.

shalom beeeyatch!

Death wishes and a Shylock reference all in one post, well played

I guess if you're gonna go, might as well go in style

Steve Kampfer > Andy Greene

Sick handwaving.

All I'm saying at this point is he knew it was Pac.

In this post, imo, you suggested there is something less than certainty on issue.

We can debate:
1 - whether he knew the partition was there and intended to injure
2 - whether he intended to injure
3 - whether the history between Pac and Chara played a role
4 - what the proper course of the action is for the league
5 - lol criminal investigation
6 - wtf Air Canada???
etc...

However, as a starting point, we should at least agree that he knew it was Pac. This isn't debatable imo, and, yes, I genuinely believe that a hockey player who is being honest knows that is not debatable.

correct.

I really don't understand why there isn't a unanimous consensus that;

-Chara knew it was Pacioretty and doesn't personally like him which, when you're on the ice, increases the chances you're going to troll the player a bit (slash him, chirp him, ride him out harder than you would, finish a late hit, whatever)

-Chara knew where he was on the ice and knew the stanchion was there.

-Chara drove Pacioretty's head into the stanchion.

-Chara wanted to hurt Pacioretty and make him remember never to **** with him again. "Hurt" does not mean injure. If I flick your earlobe or 5-star your back I am hurting you, but not injuring you. I am also being a dick.

-Chara did not want to give Pacioretty a concussion and a fractured 4th vertebrae which is not, whatever Jacques Martin said.

-Chara did something illegal while trying to "get back" at Pacioretty, injured him, and should have been suspended 3-5 games.

-Chara did not get suspended because he is an all-star (0 RANGZ and 0 MEDALZ tho.)

Anyone who has ever played or coached the game at a competitive level should agree on all of these points.

i mean, given the past two pages, it's the very definition of debatable.

Regarding this article, a friend of a friend said:

"I'm really on the fence on this hit. I don't know that I believe that 680 out of 700 players would really say Chara knew exactly where they were and what he was doing at the speed of life. That seems like a stretch to me -- but these guys are pro athletes and operate on a different level than I do, so maybe there's something to it.

I think it's a tragic situation, but I still don't know that you can actually suspend him for it. The problem here is the NHL-- not only in the way they waffle on suspensions and whatnot, but in the culture of the game itself. If you go to a game at the arena here, there's invariably a break in the action where a "big hits" clip is shown on the jumbotron. Invariably, over half of those hits that people ooh and ahh over are illegal and dangerous. Charging, interference, elbows...this is what the clip celebrates. I counted one night and at least 17 of the 25 were borderline illegal if not outright penalties. Are we shocked that this stuff happens when the league celebrates those things every night?

The NHL is run by a bunch of guys like Colin Campbell, who made a career not on talent but their ability to be a goon. Expecting a no-talent neanderthal like that to actually take the goonism out of the game and protect star players is a lot like expecting an embezzler to run your bank and not steal the money."

Suggest Rapini style escalating infractions every time somebody uses this "argument"

Trololol.

apparently the wiz is pretty angry. he got 8 games for giving Seabrook a headache...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o8vhXmCwt5w

and chara gets nothing for a vicious hit that wasn't to protect a teammate? The wiz plays for Montreal now so look for some fireworks the next time they play.

Think about it this way.

Zdeno Chara is a top 10 dman in the league. Pronger and Lidstrom are better. Chara could be #3. He's definitely top 10 though. He has also been in the league for 10+ years.

There is NO WAY Chara does not know that stanchion is there. There is a 100% certainty that he has let up on other players before because he knew he would be riding them into that dangerous object. He's played around that thing his whole life. He's well aware of it.

Saying that Chara didn't know the stanchion was there is like saying a goalie of 10+ years doesn't know where the goal crease is, and while this might be true of a few like Vesa Toskala and Ty Conklin, it is certainly not true of an all star goaltender comparable to Zdeno Chara.

I think it's debatable but regardless of either stance, my argument past "step 1" is still concurrent with either side. Chara would've done the same thing to Guy Lafleur or Pierre Mondou, which is begin the process of angling out the opposing player and neutralizing him from the play when he loses the race to the puck. The initiation of contact starts immediately after the puck is chipped past him.