The Chara Hit on Pacioretty

I'm sure you have all heard the news about Zdeno Chara's hit on young Montreal Canadiens forward Max Pacioretty, which caused the latter a severe concussion and a non-displaced fracture of the fourth cerebral vertebra in his neck.


The good news is that Pacioretty was released from the hospital as of Friday March 11th, therefore we can conclude the injury is not life-threatening.  One can only hope he recovers quickly and fully; all of my best wishes go out to Max.


Still, the hit has caused a veritable buzz of controversy in the hockey world.  Especially so because the league ruled Chara's hit was "a hockey play" and elected not to suspend the towering defenseman.  This really ruffled Canadiens owner Geoff Molson's feathers, as he sent out a strongly-worded letter to his fans in which he called out the NHL's lack of discipline and preventative measures.  Air Canada, a big sponsor of the NHL, sent out a letter to the league threatening to revoke its sponsorship if the league does not better police its sport to limit career threatening and life endangering head injuries.  Even crazier, the Montreal police started a criminal investigation on Chara.   


Are Mr. Molson's and Air Canada's claims substantiated by evidence?  Are head injuries truly that high in the NHL?  I did some digging to find out.


The league has been tracking concussions since 1997 and says there are usually about 75 reported each season.  That number is absurdly high; there is no reason why an average of 75 players per season should be getting concussed.  The league can, and should step up its protection of players' health.

The NHL tried to do just that when it implemented a new rule this season against hits to the head.  The exact rule is:

"Illegal checks to the head, defined as 'a lateral or blind side hit to an opponent where the head is targeted and/or the principle point of contact is not permitted,' will now be subject to a five-minute major penalty and automatic game misconduct, as well as possible supplemental discipline if deemed appropriate by the League."       

How effective has this rule been?  Well, according to The Concussion Blog, there have been 72 concussions in the NHL so far this season.  With a month to go in the season, this season is on pace for more concussions than the average of 75 for the past 13 years.  Clearly, while this rule is a step in the right direction, it is not enough.


The game has gotten faster and its players have gotten bigger and stronger.  The NHL needs to implement new regulations to prevent these devastating head injuries.  Hopefully the hit Chara threw on Pacioretty can serve as the catalyst for this process.