Surprise! The Wheel of Justice is still broken

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.

So, apparently the incident in last year’s playoff series against the Sabres where the league let him off of an automatic suspension has been officially forgotten.

Mike, the reason Chara has not been involved in a supplemental discipline incident is because you deliberately violated your own by-laws to keep him on the ice during the playoffs last year.

The Chara hit was simply an illegal hit, that had catastrophic consequences. Period. Was it cheap? Yes. Was it much different then the hit on Ennis Tuesday night where he hit the stanchion (sp?) with his ribs? Only by a few feet. So let’s break down a few points that are being made, and being thrown out there by the brilliant minds of Mike Milbury, etc:
First of all, I do not buy for one second that Chara didn’t know where he was on the ice. That partition is there in 99% of all ice rinks from San Jose to Quebec City. If you didn’t “realize” it, then you are a giant idiot, Chara. So, Chara is either a cheap shot for intentionally hitting a player into that glass, or completely oblivious to where he was on the ice. I think the first is far more likely for a veteran player like Chara who has logged as many minutes as he has.
The next point on this is that Chara knew damn well who he was hitting, especially since he has a history with Max Pac. Anyone who has ever played sports and had a fued or any sort of ongoing thing with an opposing player knows that when that player steps on the field, ice, court you know damn well he’s out there and when he has the puck right in front of you, you realize it is him. On top of that, in an instance when you may just let a guy off with a slight bump, if it’s a player you have “history” with, you are definitely gonna give a little extra so that he knows it. Now, don’t get me wrong: it isn’t Chara’s fault they have a history. They were both involved in that. But to know that that is what is going through his head clearly points to him knowingly putting Pac into the boards in a dangerous part of the ice.
Now, as far as the NHL is concerned, they have a situation where a player was severely injured on an ILLEGAL play. No one in their right mind would argue that that was not an interference penalty. So, a serious injury occured from an illegal act. How is that different from a player getting hurt from a boarding penalty? Did Hjalmarsson intend to hurt Pominville? I don’t think so, especially from this quote:

“It was too hard of a hit, I guess,” Hjalmarsson said Wednesday. “I should have considered him being in a vulnerable position a bit more and not hit him as hard. That’s what they said.”

Nonetheless, Hjalmarsson was suspended 2 games for injuring a player with an illegal hit. Now people will argue that if Chara makes that same hit a thousand other areas on the ice, it is not remotely dangerous, and I will agree. But it didn’t happen against the glass in the zone, or just against the player’s bench away from the stanchion. If Hjalmarsson hits Pominville in the open ice, no injury. A player is responsible for knowing where he is on the ice, and acting accordingly. Therefore, Hjalmarsson was suspended for making a dangerous play as such.
So what are we really saying? It is worse to hit with the shoulder instead of the forearm? It is worse to hit a player right before he gets the puck then a few seconds after? It’s ok to do whatever you want if you are too big to control yourself? It’s ok if you haven’t been suspended before? Oh wait, Hjalmarsson was a first-time offender and that didn’t stop the league from taking action.
Now, let’s go to that point: Chara is not a repeat offender. That is a load of complete BS. Chara is a repeat offender, he is not however a repeatedly suspended player. Are we forgetting that this is the same Chara that put Kaleta into the boards from behind last year? Or the one that was apparently excempt from the “automatic” suspension in the first round last year? Let’s review, not only did Chara receive the fighting major, he also got an instigator 2 and 10 for the incident as well. Here is what the NHL rulebook says:

“the suspension shall be served unless, upon review of the incident, the Director of Hockey Operations, at his discretion, deems the incident is not related to the score, previous incidents in the game or prior games, retaliatory in nature, ‘message sending,’ etc.”

That was a joke at the time and more of a joke now. Chara is an absolute goon, that is repeatedly let off the hook because of his size. I’m not even talking about NHL discipline here. He is let off about 5 times in every single game I’ve ever watched of his, for a play that any other player would get a penalty for, but because he is huge and “not dirty” (HA!) he is let go. Then it comes the the NHL’s so-called discipline, where he is always let off the hook, because he is not a repeat offender…really? He is a repeat offender. Even if you aren’t suspended, if your name keeps coming up in these situations, you are a repeat offender. The NHL is a joke because they are inconsistent with their discipline. Dangerous plays should be disciplined, regardless of the track-record of those involved. Gillies gets 10 games for punching Clutterbuck in the head, but Chara puts Max Pacioretty’s career and at the time, life, in jeopardy and he is skating in the next game? Joke.
The saddest thing about this, is that Chara will never even see his justice, because no one will fight him because he’s a giant goon with a 7’ wing span.