Three of the most violent plays over the last 20 years all happened on this day, in 2004, 2007 and 2011
Over the years, we have witnessed some very violent and graphic incidents in the NHL. From Marty McSorley slashing Donald Brashear in the head, to Mike Milbury beating a fan in the stands with a shoe to Richard Zednik having his neck cut with a skate - all of these incidents were scary and/or infuriating. Over the past 20 years, March 8th has become an especially violent day in the NHL as there have been three very dangerous incidents that have occurred on this day, dating back to 2004.
First, on March 8th, 2004, Vancouver's Todd Bertuzzi ended Colorado's Steve Moore's playing career by sucker-punching him from behind and driving his head into the ice as a retaliation for Moore's elbow on Markus Naslund in their previous meeting. Moore ended up with a concussion and three fractured vertebrae from the incident. Moore attempted to make a return, but after years of trying, he continued to battle post-concussion symptoms and was never able to make a full recovery. Bertuzzi was suspended for 20 games as a result of his actions and was eventually sued by Moore, which they settled out of court.
Fast forward three years to the day in 2007, the Rangers and Islanders were playing in Nassau. Ryan Hollweg of the Rangers and Chris Simon of the Islanders had been battling each other all game and late in the third period, Hollweg hit Simon from behind into the boards. After Simon got back to his skates, he immediately swung his stick at Hollweg's face, sending Hollweg to the ice before being attacked by the remaining Rangers on the ice. Simon was thrown out of the game and subsequently suspended for 14 games by the NHL for the incident. 14 games wasn't nearly enough if you ask me.
Finally, another four years after that incident, late in the second period of a game between the Bruins and Canadiens, Max Pacioretty was attempting to get around Zdeno Chara for a loose puck in the neutral zone. In his attempt at squeezing Pacioretty out of the play, Chara guided Pacioretty into a steel stanchion at the Bell Centre. Pacioretty laid motionless for a lengthy amount of time before being taken out on a stretcher. The hit was viewed as criminal by those in Montreal and a police investigation was opened to determine if it was in fact a criminal offense. No charges were ever laid against Chara and he was not suspended following the hit either. Following the incident, the league and Players' Association agreed that the stanchions should be replaced with curved glass and those that separate the benches would be pushed back away from the boards to prevent further injuries like the one Pacioretty suffered from happening again.
March 8th has become a dark day in hockey with regard to dangerous incidents, and with just 3 games on the schedule tonight, let's hope that we're not talking about a 4th incident at this time next year.
| POLL | ||
MARS 8 | 138 ANSWERS Three of the most violent plays over the last 20 years all happened on this day, in 2004, 2007 and 2011 Which of these 3 incidents was the worst, in your opinion? | ||
| Bertuzzi on Moore | 107 | 77.5 % |
| Simon on Hollweg | 9 | 6.5 % |
| Chara on Pacioretty | 22 | 15.9 % |
| List of polls | ||
