Zdeno Chara ‘Had No Idea’ Max Pacioretty Was Player He Was Hitting
BOSTON — Zdeno Chara was relieved that the league chose not to suspend him for his hit on Max Pacioretty and stands by his statement that he never intended to injure the Montreal forward.That doesn't, however, mean he isn't troubled by the situation.
"He definitely thinks about it," fellow defenseman Dennis Seidenberg said after Thursday's morning skate at the Garden. "He hasn't been himself these last couple days, but I think he's going to be able to put it aside for the game and play like usual."
Chara did not participate in the optional skate but will play in Thursday's game against Buffalo. He addressed the media briefly in the morning, expressing relief that no suspension was handed down and continued concern for Paciorettty's condition.
"Obviously I'm satisfied," Chara said of the league's decision. "I'm happy about it. The league looked at it and made that decision. Either way I would respect that, but obviously I'm relieved.
"It was just a hockey play that developed," Chara added. "I know deep down I didn't do it intentionally. I said it before, it's not my style. It's not what I try to do. I never try to hurt anybody. I play physical. I play hard, but that's not what I attempted to do."
Understandably, Pacioretty did not agree with the league's decision. On Wednesday night, he told TSN's Bob McKenzie, "I am upset and disgusted that the league didn't think enough of [the hit] to suspend him."
Chara took no issue with Pacioretty's statements.
"I totally understand," Chara said. "He's in the hospital. He's got the right to be emotional and I respect that. I obviously feel bad that he got hurt. As a hockey player, we all feel bad when something like that happens. It doesn't matter if you're on the home team or visiting team. I'm wishing him a fast recovery and hopefully he can be back on the ice soon."
That's a sentiment shared throughout the Bruins organization.
"We're supportive of our player," Claude Julien said. "We know he didn't do it on purpose. It wasn't intentional. But at the same time I understand their frustration at the other end because we've been on the other side of the coin, and it's normal to be frustrated and I understand that as well."
Chara also stated that he did not know it was Pacioretty he was hitting at the time of the play. Chara and Pacioretty do have a history, with Pacioretty upsetting the Bruins' captain when he shoved Chara after scoring the game-winner in overtime on Jan. 8.
"It was the faceoff and we tried to set up a play and the puck went to the other side," Chara said. "We were racing for the puck and I had no idea he was on the ice. I had no idea it was him."
Chara also insisted that the incident won't change the way he plays.
"I'll still be playing the same way," Chara said. "I have to focus on my game and I have to play the same way."
There still will be distractions to that focus. Even with the league's ruling, Chara could still face further punishment as authorities in Montreal have opened a criminal investigation into the hit.
"I got some media information on that this morning, but right now I'm focusing on my game and playing hockey and we'll see," Chara said in his only response to those reports.
Julien did admit that this situation isn't over yet.
"There's still things hanging over our heads right now," Julien said. "It doesn't seem to want to disappear, and those situations are unfortunate and they're not easy to deal with for anybody, whether it's the organization, the players and everybody involved here. It's not an easy situation because we understand that there's a player that's injured at the other end. We've had that happen to us. It goes past the game itself. We're talking about individuals. We don't wish that on anybody. And that stuff doesn't disappear overnight because it's still there."
