Chara Relieved Montreal Investigation Over
BOSTON (CBS) - There will be no criminal charges laid against Boston Bruins captain Zdeno Chara over his hit on Montreal's Max Pacioretty last March.
In a statement released Thursday, Quebec's director of criminal prosecutions says it does not believe a court would find Chara guilty of a crime and it has closed the case.
"Good news. Good news," Chara said after the Bruins 2-1 shootout win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. "It was somewhere back of my mind but it wasn't like I was thinking about it every day. It was just something that I was waiting on to hear from and finally that day came so it's good news."
"The Bruins organization respects the process that the Quebec prosecutors office undertook regarding Zdeno Chara and we are satisfied with their announcement today. We now consider this matter closed and the organization will have no further comment," Bruins president Cam Neely said in a release.
Chara checked the Candiens forward into a stanchion, breaking a vertebra and ending his season during the Bruins 4-1 regular season loss in Montreal. The defenseman received a game misconduct but was not suspended for the hit, causing an uproar in Montreal that prompted law enforcement to look at the case.
Montreal police met with various witnesses and concluded their investigation in August after meeting with Chara himself. The investigation was delayed because police held off on interviewing Chara during the Bruins' lengthy championship run last spring.
The Bruins and Canadiens meet next on Monday, November 21.
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