Hockey suspensions have been a hot topic as of late, thanks to Zdeno Chara‘s hit on Montreal’s Max Pacioretty.
Chara avoided suspension despite the gruesome hit, which left the Canadiens forward with a severe concussion and a fractured vertebrae. The decision to not suspend the Bruins captain was made by the NHL’s vice president of operations, Mike Murphy.
“After a thorough review of the video, I can find no basis to impose supplemental discipline,” Murphy said in a league statement. “This hit resulted from a play that evolved and then happened very quickly — with both players skating in the same direction and with Chara attempting to angle his opponent into the boards. 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.
“This was a hockey play that resulted in an injury because of the player colliding with the stanchion and then the ice surface,” Murphy added. “In reviewing this play, I also took into consideration that Chara has not been involved in a supplemental discipline incident during his 13-year NHL career.”
Almost a year ago to the day — following Matt Cooke‘s hit on Marc Savard — NESN’s Bruins play-by-play man Jack Edwards referred to the “dartboard justice” that’s going on in the NHL regarding suspensions. On Monday, Yahoo!’s Greg Wyshynski dug up the NHL’s Wheel of Justice, which was created by Puck Daddy reader Pindar Johal and can be played by clicking here.
