Police to investigate Chara hit.
Holy crap!! Really?
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CTV.ca News Staff
Montreal police have announced they will investigate a devastating hit that sent Montreal Canadiens forward Max Pacioretty to hospital with a cracked vertebra, as public outcry over the incident continues to grow.
The police force confirmed Thursday that it has launched a criminal probe at the behest of Quebec's director of criminal and penal prosecutions, Louis Dionne.
"Like all police investigations, evidence will be gathered and an investigation report will be submitted (to the DCPP)," Dionne's spokesperson Martine Berube said Thursday.
"(The DCPP) will then evaluate to see whether there's grounds for prosecution."
When asked what kind of punishment might result from the case, Berube said it was too soon to say.
"That would depend on what charges are laid. That's a little difficult to predict at this point."
Pacioretty remains in hospital recovering from a severe concussion and a fractured vertebra he suffered in a hit by Boston bruins captain Zdeno Chara on Tuesday evening.
During a news conference on Thursday afternoon, Prime Minister Stephen Harper urged the NHL to deal with the growing number of serious injuries in the league.
"I want to express sympathy to Mr. Pacioretty, his family, his teammates," Harper told reporters, adding that he hopes to see the 22-year-old "have a full recovery and get back on the ice.
"I think we're all concerned, and I hope the league is concerned, about the number of very serious injuries we've seen in recent times -- and I do think that is something that they're going to have to address."
The QMI news agency also reported Thursday that Air Canada has sent a letter to NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman saying that it does not want to associate its 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."
The company's letter adds: "…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."
Bettman responded Thursday by saying that Pacioretty's injury is horrific, it's part of the game.
"Our hockey operations people are extraordinarily comfortable with the decision that they made," Bettman said. "It was a horrific injury, we're sorry that it happened in our fast-paced physical game, but I don't think whether or not supplemental discipline was imposed would change what happened."
Bettman also said the league can replace any sponsors that pull out.
On Wednesday, NHL senior vice-president Mike Murphy said Chara will face no further league discipline for the hit, which he called "a hockey play that resulted in an injury because of the player colliding with the stanchion and then the ice surface."
He added, "I could not find any evidence to suggest that, beyond this being a correct call for interference, that Chara targeted the head of his opponent, left his feet or delivered the check in any other manner that could be deemed to be dangerous."
Chara was given a penalty for interference and a game misconduct.
Gary Lunn, the federal minister responsible for sport, has said the league should take action following Chara's hit and put out a clear message that it was unacceptable.
Police in Montreal have had to ask Canadiens fans to stop calling to file complaints against Chara. Police said their emergency lines started getting flooded shortly after the league announced there would be no suspension.
Pacioretty says he's "disgusted" that the NHL didn't suspend Chara for the hit.
"I am upset and disgusted that the league didn't think enough of (the hit) to suspend him," Pacioretty told TSN's Bob McKenzie Wednesday.
"I'm not mad for myself. I'm mad because if other players see a hit like that and think it's okay, they won't be suspended, then other players will get hurt like I got hurt."
"It's been an emotional day. I saw the video for the first time this morning. You see the hit, I've got a fractured vertebra, I'm in hospital and I thought the league would do something, a little something. I'm not talking a big number, I don't know, one game, two games, three games... whatever, but something to show that it's not right."
Dr. Blaine Hoshizaki, an expert in sport concussions at the Neurotrauma Impact Laboratory at the University of Ottawa, says while he doesn't know the details of the injury, there is a very real possibility that Pacioretty will never play for the NHL again.
"Not only the fractured vertebra, but also the severe concussion -- both can be career-ending injuries," he told CTV's Canada AM from Ottawa Thursday.
"Any time you damage the vertebrae, it's a serious injury. Fortunately, it's not displaced, which is very important because often these injuries can be resolved. However, it really depends on the type of fracture that occurred."
Hoshizaki notes that injuries such as this one are not altogether common, but nor is this an isolated case in hockey, since hits are an integral part of the game.
"It doesn't really matter if the hit was illegal or not illegal. The question that has to be asked is: is that risk that is part of the game reasonable for anyone who wants to play hockey to have to accept that sort of injury risk?"
Harper said it may not be up to politicians to deal with the problem at the professional level. Instead, federal officials may "take action" to deal with what Harper said is a growing number of serious injuries in children's sports.
"You are seeing a growing number of head and brain injuries in sports competitions at the child and amateur level, and this is something that we are looking to address," he said.
With files from The Canadian Press
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to those that called 911 because of this.
