Should Chara be suspended for this hit on Tommy Wingels?
It just isn't a National Hockey League game without a dirty, suspension-worthy headshot.
Having to write this post over and over again sure gets frustrating but the first three weeks and change of the 2013-14 NHL season has featured more headshots than a talent agency. The latest occurred in yesterday's game between the Sharks and Bruins when Zdeno Chara, less than 24 hours after witnessing teammate Loui Eriksson fall victim to a vicious elbow from super-goon John Scott, administered a late, high hit on Tommy Wingels. Here's the video evidence, courtesy CSN Bay Area:
The puck has long left Wingels' stick when Chara comes in for the hit and the principal point of contact is clearly Wingels' head. This is as close to a textbook violation of Rule 48 as it gets and essentially a more egregious version of Brad Stuart's hit on Rick Nash earlier in the season for which the Sharks defenseman received a three-game ban. Like Nash, Wingels didn't return to the game following the hit. Chara deserves at least that long of a suspension for this check but he's a marketable star, the best defenseman in the league and the captain of an Original Six team while Wingels is a third-liner so he won't get one.