Zdeno Chara of the Boston Bruins is under criminal investigation after hitting Max Pacioretty of the Montreal Canadiens so hard during a game that Pacioretty sustained a concussion and a fracture vertebra.
The criminal investigation was initiated on Thursday by the Montreal police, who say they are acting on a request by Quebec's director of criminal and penal prosecutions, Louis Dionne.
Chara inflicted the hard hit on Tuesday, and the NHL said on Wednesday that it will not suspend Chara for the hit.
"Obviously I'm satisfied and happy about it. Relieved," said Chara on Thursday. "They [i.e., the NHL] looked at it and made a decision, and I respect that."
Pacioretty was angered by the NHL's decision, saying that he's certain Chara intentionally tried to slam Pacioretty's head into a partition.
"I'm not mad for myself, I'm mad because if other players see a hit like that and think it's OK, they won't be suspended, then other players will get hurt like I got hurt," said Pacioretty.
"I totally understand," said Chara. "He's in the hospital so he's got the right to be emotional and I respect that. I feel bad that he got hurt, as a hockey player we all feel bad when something like that happens. Doesn't matter if it's the home team or the visiting team. I'm wishing him a fast recovery so that he can get back on the ice soon. That's all we like to do, is play hockey. When we go out there, we take risks and sometimes we get hurt. It's just very unfortunate... It was just a hockey play that developed. I know deep down I didn't do it intentionally. I said it before, it's not my style. I never try to hurt anybody. I play physical, I play hard, but that's not what I intended to do."
The Montreal police said that they will determine if there are grounds for prosecution after evidence is collected.
"The police investigation will be held. Like all police investigations, evidence will be gathered and an investigation report will be submitted," said spokeswoman Martine Berube. "[The DCPP] will then evaluate to see whether there's grounds for prosecution."
In reference to the criminal charges that may or may not soon face him, Chara said on Thursday, "I got some media information on that this morning. But right now, I'm focusing on my game, and playing hockey. We'll see."
(Sources: Associated Press, ESPN.com)
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