Vicious hockey hit

Yves Larose · Mar 10, 2011

this happened Tuesday night ( US Time ) during the game between my home town team the Montreal Canadians Vs the Boston Bruins.

the Boston Bruins player that hit Max was expulsed from the game and after reviewing the incident the NHL haven't suspended the Zdeno for that hit. Max have a severe concussion and have a fracture cervical vertebra and will be away from the rest of the season and probably half of the next season and he might even never return to play. it was announce today that the general attourney of Quebec have ask for a police investigation and depending the outcome there might be criminal charges against Zdeno.

in my mind its clear that it was intentional, Zdeno knew exactly where they were on the ice and that the glasses was coming and he still procede with the final push that putted Max head first in it with no chance for him to protect himself. we see that kind of hit more and more in the NHL and at one point the NHL management will have to take mesures to stop that, the best player of the league is presently not playing due to a hit on the head resulting in a concussion and still the league do nothing, i'm wondering if they are waiting for someone to die before doing something about it.

Omer Said · Mar 11, 2011

What th... I agree with you. That guy takes it as a war instead of a sport? It's ridicilous if they let him continue to play in NHL.

Very sorry for the guy injured, that was a nasty hit, he could even die there! I hope he recovers soon.

William Levesque · Mar 11, 2011

It wasn't intentional... And it happened soooo fast... You could see that Chara didn't know what happened after, and he's sure not a vicious player, even as big as he is... The problem is this very place, not the player... I mean, he wasn't even looking at the spot, unlike a real vicious player who aim at where he wants to hit to injure...

Actually he was trying to push him on the glass instead of the post but it missed by a few centimeters... It was an accident...

GAIAjohan · Mar 11, 2011

I disagree a bit with the whole NHL showfactor. imo they should kill the showfactor which allows fighting etc.. And imo also that behaviour is not really fair. They better take the rules from the Olympic games.

I also don't believe he tried to push him on the glass, he wanted to push him over the wall, but was too late so the guy hit the post. Also a player KNOWS where he is on the pitch. A player can just feel such a thing. No I haven't played Ice hockey, but as a former football player I know this is true. A player doesn't have to look where to commit a foul. As a football player I also knew exactly where 'the box' is and I shouldn;t make a foul in there. That's why you defend in front of the box. And try to maintain that position as long as possible if you're 1-on-1.

Rob Butler · Mar 11, 2011

Don't know how things roll in NHL but i'd be saddened if this even goes to a criminal trial. The same way certain tackles have done in association football, things begin to spiral out of control, what next referees in court for not stopping a boxing fight soon enough? Things look so much worse in slow motion, and all that a court can do is slowly ruin these sports we all love, through interference.

If that resulted in a life threatening incident, would Schumacher be up for death by dangerous driving, or manslaughter?

And if that was found a criminal offence, surely this incident is also a legal matter, even if it was done with force.