SB Nation - Max Pacioretty

Kris Letang To Return To Practice For Penguins

Charlie Wilmoth — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 22:35:56 -0000

Penguins defenseman Kris Letang will practice with the Pens on Tuesday, Bob Pomepani reports:

Kris Letang returns to practice tomorrow after skating in Pittsburgh by himself the last few days...

Letang has been out since late November due to a concussion he suffered on a hit by the Montreal Canadiens' Max Pacioretty, who was suspended for three games.

The Penguins have played uneven hockey in Letang's absence, which has partially corresponded with the absences of Sidney Crosby, Jordan Staal and others. Getting Letang back soon would be a big boost to the Penguins, who are now dusting themselves off after a six-game losing streak that began December 29. The Penguins broke that streak with wins over the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning last weekend.

Letang had eight goals, 42 assists, and a +/- of 15 in 2010-2011, during which he was also and All-Star.

Via The Pensblog.

For more on the Penguins, check out PensBurgh.

Video: Max Pacioretty Suspended Three Games For Kris Letang Hit

Charlie Wilmoth — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 00:58:29 -0000

In the video after the jump, the NHL's Brendan Shanahan explains the league's decision to suspend the Canadiens' Max Pacioretty three games for his hit to the head of Kris Letang in Montreal's game against the Penguins last week. You can see the play in great detail. Letang, of course, returned to the game despite suffering a broken nose and scored the game-winning goal.

Via Dejan Kovacevic.

For more on the Penguins, check out PensBurgh.

Video: Kris Letang Speaks After Breaking Nose, Winning Game

Charlie Wilmoth — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 04:52:12 -0000

Kris Letang scored the game-winning goal in overtime for the Penguins shortly after a hit by Max Pacioretty broke his nose. After the jump, you can check out a post-game interview with Letang, whose nose looks badly mangled. He notes that Pacioretty apologized for the hit.

Via Emptynetters on Twitter.

Bruins' Cam Neely On Zdeno Chara Investiagion: 'We Are Satisfied'

Gethin Coolbaugh — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 01:46:07 -0000

Boston Bruins president Cam Neely issued a statement prior to the team's game against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday night regarding captain Zdeno Chara, who was under investigation for his hit on Montreal Canadiens winger Max Pacioretty during the 2011 Stanley Cup playoffs. Today, Quebec officials ruled that they would not press charges on Chara.

"The Bruins organization respects the process that the Quebec prosecutors office undertook regarding Zdeno Chara and we are satisfied with their announcement today," Neely said in his statement. "We now consider this matter closed and the organization will have no further comment."

Chara has played in 16 games this season and has one goal and 12 assists for 13 points. Last season, the B's captain recorded 14 goals and 30 assists for 44 points and had two goals and seven assists in the Cup run.

For more Boston Bruins coverage, visit our team page and blog, Stanley Cup Of Chowder.

Bruins Fans Plan On Chanting '9-1-1!' After Canadiens Hits Thursday; Are They Going Too Far?

Travis Hughes — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 19:05:33 -0000

I'm all for making fun of the ridiculous zealotry of Montreal Canadiens fans at any point, but does this campaign by fans of the Boston Bruins take things too far?

As you're likely well aware of at this point, the Bruins will play host to the rival, hated Canadiens tonight at TD Garden in Boston, and for fans of the team, it's much more than just a hyped up game that could turn into another blood bath.

It's a chance to answer the outrage Habs fans showed over Zdeno Chara's hit on Max Pacioretty with some sarcastic jabs of their own.

The idea here, according to Bruins blog Days of Y'Orr, is to chant "9-1-1!" right after the first Canadiens hit in tonight's game. Of course, the reference is to the claims from Habs fans that Chara should've been locked up after his hit on Pacioretty, which we agree would've been rather routine had it come at any other point on the ice but right at the stanchion.

We also agree that any calls for Chara to be arrested are absolutely absurd, and we certainly reserve the right to make fun of Canadiens fans for those calls. In that sense, this sign is totally okay. In fact, it's hilarious.

But somebody always takes it too far, and that's what @BosBruinsFan on Twitter did earlier Thursday.

Yes, that's Max Pacioretty of the Canadiens on the ice in those glasses there. Yes, that photo is from after the Chara hit, and yes, Pacioretty suffered a broken vertebra and a severe concussion on the play. Yes, this is taking it too far.

It's clear this guy agrees with Mark Recchi on the subject -- that the Habs "embellished" on the play and that Pacioretty's condition isn't as severe as originally reported. Following Recchi's pretty deplorable comments on Boston sports talk radio Wednesday, other fans have gone to Pacioretty's Wikipedia page to alter the history.

(It changed back about four seconds after I posted that image on Twitter, for the record.)

The Bruins and Canadiens hate each other, and that's wonderful and everything and it makes for great hockey, but we have to know our boundaries. Zdeno Chara doesn't belong in prison for what amounts to an unfortunate hockey play and, sure, the Habs have the motive to embellish an injury to get Chara out for several games, but that doesn't mean it actually happened.

Mark Recchi Says Max Pacioretty, Canadiens 'Embellished' Concussion To Get Zdeno Chara Suspended

Travis Hughes — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 20:43:32 -0000

Canadiens forward Max Pacioretty hasn't stepped on a hockey rink since his head collided with the stanchion at Bell Centre back on March 8, when he suffered a fractured vertebra and a severe concussion after being shoved by Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara.

The hit caused a firestorm around the NHL, and when Chara wasn't suspended for the infraction, Montreal almost burned to the ground with outrage.

That outrage is about to get a whole lot louder.

Speaking on Boston's 98.5 The Sports Hub on Wednesday afternoon, Bruins forward Mark Recchi said that the Habs "embellished" the concussion in order to get Chara suspended. You can hear the interview right here, but we've taken out the midday sports radio annoyance factor in this transcription below:

RECCHI: We're very thankful that he's okay and that he's getting better. We know that he was Twittering at a movie four days later, five days later, and obviously if you have a bad concussion like they said, you're not going to be at a movie.

HOST: Well Mark, let me be more direct. Does it bother you that they embellished it, obviously?

RECCHI: Well obviously, yeah. When there's an injury -- he does obviously have a fractured vertebrae, but the concussion was obviously -- really a non-factor. Maybe a day or two, maybe a day he felt it, and then he was fine couple days later. I believe that yeah, they were trying to get Zdeno suspended. And they embellished it a little bit. I guess in terms of that side, I guess they were trying to do what they could to get him suspended.

Remember: Pacioretty spent a few nights in the hospital after the hit with a severe concussion and a fractured vertebra. He might be back for the playoffs. Maybe. The Bruins and Habs meet up for one last regular season duel on Thursday night, so in the wake of these comments, that should be... um, fun?

Did Zdeno Chara Escape Suspension Because He Plays With Colin Campbell's Son?

Mike Chen — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 23:10:46 -0000

A few interesting quotes out of San Jose today, as San Jose Mercury News beat writer David Pollak got a few players to chime in on the infamous Zdeno Chara / Max Pacioretty incident -- and the ensuing lack of suspension for Chara.

Sure, all players will have their opinions one way or another, but it's not too often you have them openly questioning the integrity of Colin Campbell because of where his son plays (Gregory Campbell skates for the Boston Bruins).

First up, here's Joe Thornton:

"Something about Boston and disciplinary action, they’re on their side," Thornton said. "I’m not sure why that is. I’m not assuming Colin’s kid is on the team and that’s why, but it’s really bizarre."

And Ben Eager, who was just suspended a short time ago while with the Atlanta Thrashers:

"I wasn’t surprised (at no suspension) because he plays for Boston. I know there’ve been a few incidents with that team and no suspension," Eager said. "It’s kind of ironic because his son plays for that team."

Conspiracy theory? Plain old wishy-washiness?

It's worth noting that Campbell recuses himself from decisions that involve his sons team and that Senior VP Mike Murphy made the call on the Chara non-suspension, but are these guys implying that despite that, his influence is still there?

If Thornton or Eager are mysteriously suspended tonight for no reason, we'll know the answer to that. And five years from now, we might even find an email from Campbell with his true thoughts on the situation.

Air Canada Threatens To Pull NHL Sponsorship, Cites Max Pacioretty Injury As Reason Why

Travis Hughes — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 13:00:39 -0000

If there's one thing that I've learned in the last few years of watching hockey, it's that for every beautiful, incredible, exhilarating moment in this sport we love, there's one that makes your stomach turn. It's a nasty, violent game -- and that sucks a whole bunch.

The folks at Air Canada get these feelings as well, and in the aftermath of Max Pacioretty's horrifying Tuesday night injury, they've reportedly threatened to pull their sponsorship of the sport. Via QMI:

"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.

"Unless the NHL takes immediate action with serious suspension to the players in question to curtail these life-threatening injuries, Air Canada will withdraw its sponsorship of hockey."

While opinions may differ on whether or not Zdeno Chara deserved a suspension (if you haven't heard, he was let off without a fine or a suspension), most of those opinions aren't of the folks at one of the NHL's largest corporate sponsors.

There's no doubt that this sort of outrage from such a big time sponsor will cause the NHL to rethink things a bit. Losing a sponsor like Air Canada would be a huge black eye, and when the League's general managers gather in Boca Raton, Fla. next week, you can be sure this will be on the agenda.