General

Montreal police to investigate Chara’s hit on Pacioretty

Meanwhile, Air Canada threatens to pull sponsorship from NHL over head-shots

Montreal police have launched an official probe into Tuesday’s violent incident between Boston Bruin’s defencemen Zdeno Chara and Montreal Canadians forward Max Pacioretty during Tuesday’s game at the Bell Centre. In the last seconds of the second period, Chara and Pacioretty raced after a loose puck towards the boards. Chara checked Pacioretty as he collided headfirst into the glass, leaving the 22-year-old forward with a severe concussion and a fractured fourth cervical vertebra. Quebec’s Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions advised the ministry of Public Security to launch an investigation into the incident on Thursday, and Montreal police Constable Olivier Lapointe said it would commence immediately. Meanwhile, Air Canada, one of the NHL’s largest corporate sponsors, has reportedly threatened to withdraw support of the league if it did not take “immediate” and “serious” action on the issue of head-shots. In a letter to NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, Air Canada’s director of marketing/communications Denis Vandal wrote “from a corporate social responsibility standpoint, it is becoming increasingly difficult to associate our brand with sports events which could lead to serious and irresponsible accidents; action must be taken by the NHL before we are encountered with a fatality.”

Montreal Gazette

Ottawa Sun

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