by: CoachK, AllHabs.Net
SAINT-LAZARE, QC — After watching tonight’s game, the blogger world is up in arms. It’s great news that Max Pacioretty is awake and has feeling in his extremities. One can only imagine what Boston Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara was thinking. Was it revenge? We can never know. It certainly looks that way, considering the events that led to this gruesome hit.
My question is this. Shouldn’t the NHL have a maximum height for their players? Sure, you can laugh all you want. But I’ll make my argument anyway.
The players in this league range in size and shape. You have players like Martin St. Louis, who is 5 feet 7 inches (according to the league), and the neanderthal named Zdeno Chara, who is excess of 6 feet 9 inches. There are guys than weigh under 180 pounds, others in excess of 250 pounds. When you start playing the game of hockey as a youngster, it’s more or less a level playing field, as far as these factors are concerned. But when you hit the pro ranks, it’s a crap shoot.
But think about it. If Chara hits someone like Brian Gionta like he hit Max Pacioretty tonight, he would be dead. Pure and simple. So what can the NHL do to fix the problem over super-sized athletes? Well, other physical sports, like Mixed Martial Arts and Boxing, have weight classifications. They are in place to avoid unfair advantages in size, weigh and reach by the athletes that are competing. Why can’t the NHL?
Coming out of the lockout, the league has always maintained that they want to be a sport built on speed and skill. If that’s the case, then why are these super-human goofs still allowed to play the game? Because they have the hardest shot? Because they have the longest reach?
While players like former NHLer Kjell Samuelsson and current Habs defenseman Hal Gill are much bigger than most of the players they match up against, it is a choice they made a long time ago. Their choice to play a physical, but responsible style is a testament to their understanding of their height advantage, and the possible implications of an over-physical style of play.
With concussion issues running rampant in the league, height-restrictions would be the first step in protecting their smaller, skilled players. We are not talking about much. Perhaps a maximum height of 6 feet 5 inches would help reduce the head shots. By the same token, there should be a minimum height restriction of 5 feet 9 inches. That’s a disparity of 8 inches. While the new head-shot rule is a step in the right direction, the height-restriction would be another way to protect our skilled athletes. It may sound unfair to more diminiative players, but their health is more important than anything else.
Photo source: Getty Images
I don’t know how this would ever be legislated, or how any workplace laws would prevent a small or large man from earning a career, but I see where you’re coming from.
When I was in bantam I had a teammate who was my age, but was a clumsy 6’4″ and a bruising 240lbs. Not only was it his first year in organized hockey, it was his first few weeks on skates.
One day during that season he collided with an opponent who was about 5′ tall and 100lbs if he was lucky. To make a long story short, the smaller kid was paralyzed from the collision. The larger kid was obviously devastated, but the point is he was not in control of his body while on ice. He had no idea how to stop himself, and was literally powerless to stop himself from flattening the smaller boy.
The big guy was thrown out of the league and banned from hockey. This speaks to what you were talking about.
Being from the area, Kosta, you may have heard this story from around 93-94. It was a very sad time indeed.
Definitely did.
And I’ve seen it first hand as well. This type of stuff hits close. Being a smaller player, I had to be in the gym all the time, to be as strong as I could be. Not that it would protect me from a headshot or paralysis, but being able to protect myself physically was paramount to staying healthy.
I tweeted a similar thought tonight. Rules are in place for player’s to be in control of their sticks. They should be accountable for their relative size and weight as well. I believe Hal Gill has been quoted and I’ll paraphrase. “On any given night I’m aware I can injure an opponent with excessive force. You have to be responsible.” I may be dreaming but I’m sure he has addressed this.
That’s why I referenced him. He’s one of the classiest players in the game. A gentlemen.
As a captain too, you should be responsible for your actions, and play with class. Chara is a captain. He should know that he was going to interfere with Pacioretty and saw the glass partition coming up. Okay its your job to not let the offensive player get the break away, but play SMART hockey damnit. and if you ended this kids career how do you as a player, let along a captain stand up for your team. Nope, Chara thinks throwing his weight around is what a captain should do.
Sorry if i deviated from the actual post, but its my thoughts on tonight. I pray for Pacioretty tonight.
No apologies necessary, Jason. I totally agree with your SMART hockey assessment.
Chara coudl have bumped him earlier instead of riding him. Like Gill, he could have wrapped his stick around him, or grabbed his jersey to slow him down. And one can only speculate as to what was actually going through Chara’s mind at the time.
I agree with what you’re proposing, but I can only imagine the mess the league would be if they tried something like that. Also, who was the genius who put a post that close to the game area? One would think NHL rinks were made as safe as possible and designers were careful with that.
As far as the hit is concerned, I can’t imagine Chara didn’t know that hit was going to be crazy dangerous: the man’s not a rookie, he’s a seasoned veteran and an expert of physical play. Guys like him are aware of their on-ice location and of the speed of the game. I don’t believe he intended to severely injure Max (he doesn’t seem to be that kind of player); but he definitely intended to rough him up quite a bit.
On a lighter note, that 5’9″ minimum wouldn’t mean half of the current Canadiens roster would have to start writing their CVs? :)
Thanks Carlos.
I know 5′ 9″ is a terrible thing to say, and unjust to those players who have worked really hard to get to the NHL, liked Desharnais and St. Louis, but their health is much more important than the game.
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