no subsequent punishment for Chara's hit on Pacioretty.
Canadiens fans are positive it was a planned hit, that Chara meant to severely injure Max.
as a non-biased, impartial observer, i don't think it was. Chara is not Matt Cooke. he doesn't purposefully target players and set them up on dangerous hits.
yes, it was a bad hit, and yes, Chara could have let up. but Pacioretty would have beaten him to the puck and broken free. so, Chara did what he's supposed to do, he played the man to keep him from the puck.
the thing that hurts Chara the most here is his size. if that was Cal Clutterbuck who hit Pacioretty, the injury would not have been as severe. surely his neck would not have been broken.
i don't buy that Chara did it on purpose and i don't buy that he needs to be suspended for it. it was an accidentally bad hit that happened at the worst possible spot.