Police to Investigate Chara Hit

Quebec’s top prosecutor has asked Montreal police to probe the on-ice incident that left Canadiens’ forward Max Pacioretty with a concussion and fractured vertebra.

The message from prosecutor Louis Dionne to the NHL is clear: police your game, or we will police it for you. There has been widespread outcry over a devastating hit in Montreal Tuesday night in which Boston Bruins’ defenceman Zdeno Chara ran Max Pacioretty into a stanchion, giving him a severe concussion. The NHL ruled that Chara should face no supplementary discipline from league officials because he did not intend to injure Pacioretty, but the incident could prove to be a watershed moment for the concussion-plagued league. Already this year superstar Sidney Crosby has been sidelined indefinitely with a concussion, and Air Canada has reportedly threatened to withdraw its NHL sponsorship unless the league cleans up the game.