There’s no shortage of legendary figures in Montreal Canadiens lore.
But this season, the NHL team had to say goodbye to one of its most unsung icons.
In September, after 60 years of service with the organization, thoracic surgeon Dr. David Mulder retired from his role as the team’s head physician. (As an emeritus, he can still act as an advisor.)
As a member of the Canadiens, Mulder has seen it all, from eight Stanley Cup championships to potentially life-altering injuries for players like Trent McCleary and Max Pacioretty.
I will never forget Chara’s hit on Pacioretty.
That was brutal. I know some people think Chara intended to hurt him, but that wasn’t my take on it. It did cause a design change in the glass though.
It was brutal. Patch said he spoke with Chara, who apologized and told him it was an accident … just part of the game.
But at the time it made Chara into Satan himself.
Yeah, I don’t think, in that moment, anyone could have predicted how that would turn out. Chara would have had to know that was a risk ahead of time and then had the perfect setup to execute it. They had been using that shape of glass for how long, and as far as I know nothing like that had happened before.
But, the NHL learned and improved to avoid a repeat occurrence. That’s a good thing.
What do you mean he couldn’t have predicted it? Clearly Chara planned on becoming a Bond villain from the moment he was born, so he snuck into the rink and created a rut in the ice at the exact spot that would cause Pacioretty to end up in front of the stanchion, leaving him vulnerable to a major injury caused by Chara himself.
(Obvious /s for the uninformed)