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Montreal police investigation on Zdeno Chara completed; Will he be charged for hit on Max Pacioretty?

Max Pacioretty, Zdeno Chara

FILE - In this March 8, 2011, file photo, Montreal Canadiens’ Max Pacioretty is hit by Boston Bruins’ Zdeno Chara in Montreal. The teams meet in the first round of the NHL hockey playoffs. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Paul Chiasson, File)

AP

Perhaps closure is finally coming soon for both Zdeno Chara and Max Pacioretty. The Montreal Police Department has completed their investigation into Chara’s hit on Pacioretty that broke his vertebra and gave him a season-ending concussion back in March.

With the police investigation completed, it’s now up the Canadian authorities to decide whether or not there’s enough there to charge Chara with a crime for the on-ice play. Doing such a thing is extremely rare and in the case between these two with how the hit played out, they’d have to figure out if Chara had the intent to injure Pacioretty and that he acted in malice towards him to put his health at risk for the hit.

Good luck figuring that out. Chara didn’t speak with Montreal authorities until after the Bruins won the Stanley Cup, so the investigation couldn’t press on faster than this. Chara spoke to police last month and while Pacioretty was upset that Chara wasn’t suspended for the hit, he in no way endorsed police action in the situation.

The sooner this can be settled out and everyone can just move along with their lives the better. The fact that this freakish but ugly scenario made it this far to get the police involved is embarrassing on its own. It’s understandable that Habs fans would be upset about seeing their players seriously injured at the hands of a rival opponent, but this isn’t as if Chara did this on purpose. The rules and how they’re handled on the ice are different from real life for a reason. After all, if the police got involved any time something went afoul on the ice, everyone would get investigated for something during their career.

Here’s to hoping the Canadian authorities close the book and tell everyone to go get ready for the new season.