On March 8, 2011, Zdeno Chara drove Max Pacioretty into a metal stanchion at 36 km/h. What happened next was unprecedented in NHL history.
Air Canada threatened to pull millions in sponsorship. Montreal Police launched a criminal investigation for attempted murder. And the NHL was forced to rebuild every arena in North America.
This is the story of 15.8 seconds that exposed how the league knowingly let players risk their lives in a spot they called “the guillotine” – until the world was watching.
In this video, I break down:
The personal grudge that led to the hit
Why police investigated for attempted murder
How Air Canada almost destroyed the NHL’s sponsorship model
The diagnosis that nearly ended Pacioretty’s career
Why every NHL arena was secretly rebuilt after this incident
The cover-up that protected Chara from suspension
This wasn’t just a dirty hit. This was the moment professional hockey was forced to confront its most uncomfortable truth.
What do you think – should Chara have been suspended? Let me know below.
#NHL #Hockey #Pacioretty #Chara #Canadiens #Bruins
37 Comments
FYI guys I am not a canadiens or bruins fan, just wanted to make a video on this hit. Have a good day everyone and thanks for watching!
Chara knew EXACTLY what he was doing!!! POS
4:18–4:37: "the player hasn't previously received supplementary discipline, so we decided not to apply supplementary discipline in this case, either". Does NHL keep records of incidents not resulting in disciplinary actions, or is this just a bizarre and arbitrary cop-out?
That was an attempt to injury if not kill.
I'm not too familiar with hockey since I'm Nigerian but I just saw this video randomly in my algorithm and was curious. The only other hockey incident I know of is the one where a player had his neck accidentally sIit by another's hockey shoe but he survived. Thank God Pacioretty wasn't paralyzed or worse🙏 As for the aggressor, Chara, what a genuine POS! I can't believe he wasn't punished! But at least he eventually apologized and changed for the better
I had a major concussion back in 16U from the damn corner glass at the benches. Broke my fishbowl and cut my forehead on impact. Many rinks around me STILL haven’t rounded off the corners near benches. Makes me sick
I was pissed at Boston for this. Then, Max told everyone: "oh yeah, it's normal to be injured, etc", so now, im pissed he is quadraplegic.
Attempted murder
Boston getting murdered by Florida in the playoffs the past few years is karma for this
The one that stands out to me was December 7, 2013, where Boston Bruins forward Shawn Thornton punched Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Brooks Orpik after Orpik did not respond to a challenge for a fight post whistle. Orpik was blind-sided and taken off the ice on a stretcher with a concussion, and Thornton was suspended for 15 games for his actions.
Underrated channel, quality content
That was nasty, i remember watching this. Im from montreal, he went for the kill. Unforgetable
>they're obsessed with proving intent
As any authority should wtf
If that was my family member I would’ve ended Chara.
Full disclosure, I'm Leaf fan, but I have always loved Pacioretty, he's a class act. At the same time, I've never been able to stand Chara and Bruins as a team, they are one of the dirtiest teams in NHL and they always get away with their garbage. It's almost like the the weasel Bettman has instructed the refs how to call the game.
as someone who knows next to nothing about hockey and havent even watched any, so fucked up that the only time the NHL budged was when a big company with deep pockets threatened to stop paying them ON TOP of actual police trouble, not recognizing when one of their players lives almost got ended.
So now what? We supposed to skate with magical blades that doesn’t cut players? Pucks that are soft as a baby’s bum? This video is extremely biased & im not even a fan of either teams or players.
I remember watching this as a kid it terrified mr
It's 100% the leagues fault…They knew that was a accident waiting to happen and they waited till someone LITERALLY broke their f*ckin neck… That hit was NOT dirty at all…You have to protect YOURSELF at a ALL times on that ice… Especially if your gonna be a cocky bastard
Chill dude you made me think he died
2:45 he should have gone to jail for that without a single doubt
Gary Bettman is and has always been a joke.
Actively shoving someone’s head into that specific place at high speed, breaking his neck? There was no way Chara didn’t know exactly what he was doing.
That man is dangerous. If he’s willing to commit acts in front of hundreds of thousands of people watching so violent it could easily kill someone, just because that person lightly tapped him on the shoulder, then I shudder to think of what he would be willing to do behind closed door to a spouse who he gets pissed at or a child who is too loud for his taste.
And yet they drove poor Randy Jones out of the league for a clean hit on Pussy Bergeron.
Bettman was a disaster from day one.
Boston is the worst sports city in the world. They deserved the marathon bombing. Those kids were heroes. Fuck Boston and everyone who's ever lived there or supported their teams.
Would it have killed you to learn how to pronounce Quebec properly lol
The biggest crime is the stupid turnbuckle design, obviously it was going to happen sooner or later. And of course the fans of a rival team drool at the thought it was on purpose.
9:00 lol they went so damn easy on him after this. Lame af
his number is 67 0:08
2:38 This guy takes forever to get to the point and show the hit. Skip to 2:38 if you don't need preamble.
My brother when playing in 18u got hit there. This was about 5 or 6 years ago now. I dont think the kid meant to do it. But my brothers head hit it directly and he windmilled across the ice. Luckily though, he was okay. The kid who hit him was ejected and im pretty sure he got a few game suspension as well as a fine. You gotta watch the guillotine man…
Completely changed Paci's career forever
No wonder Air Canada sold the ACC to Scotiabank.
air canada went woke in 09 anyway 6:30
And people say that the Bruins weren’t dirty players that year. Totally did this kind of stuff (not to this extreme) in the finals and it was let go most of the time
Please stop telling me to let it sink in, or pay close attention. I’ll make my own decisions on how to interpret these quotes
Good report but your audio is dog doodoo