The Chara Hit

I know, everyone and their mother has discussed this. I have heard both sides of the story, I have seen the hit over and over.
The first thing I did when I saw the hit was cry. I am a Habs fan, and I know that Pacioretty is 22. I also know that he was the Habs best goal scorer for 2011. But I cried because I am a mother. My little boy is 2 1/2 and and hockey crazed. He has skates when he was in the womb. He skates, has a mean slapshot or "Good little slapper he's got there" as per John Grigg from THN. He is starting ball hockey in a month and taking power skating lessons in July. He starts hockey in the Fall. He eat, sleeps, and breathes hockey, and all I could think of was I bet Max Pacioretty did the same thing.
 I bet his mother was crying over the very hit I was. What got me was the agonizing wriggle he did, and I lost it. Gomez said he can't remember what the hit looked like but he would never forget the sound. We cannot detract that the end result of the hit was gruesome, really gruesome. My heart goes out to him and I wish him a speedy recovery from this injury, and I hope that this does not prevent him from playing further, should he decide that is what he wants to do. My heart also goes out to all of the people like his mother who are probably horrified. 
Which I am. Because I know my Son at the tender age of two is on track to being another guy on the ice, maybe if he chooses in the NHL. 
Everywhere we go, Avery has his gloves and a mini stick with him. He has these sticks what we have cut down for him everywhere. We built him an ice rink in the back yard of my in-laws. Everywhere we go people are shocked at how young he is. I admit it, I am a proud Mama. I love hearing how good he is. But I also know that he thoroughly  enjoys what he does. I woke up one night to a noise, and I looked over to Avery's bed. He wasn't in it. Ryan has joined me and we look past his bed and see him with his hockey gloves on and a stick playing with a road hockey ball. Right now, as I write, he is skating at Joe Louis Arena. I love that hockey makes him happy, and we laugh at how he yells fight, when we go to hockey games. Once he was playing with a friends kid. They were playing mini-sticks, and the kid didn't want to play anymore, so he dropped his stick. Avery, who has been watching lots and lots of hockey games, dropped his gloves and stick and ran towards the kid. Luckily I saw this and we were able to stop anything from occurred, well the kid was 6 Avery is 2, but that's when I realized fighting is a part of hockey. 
Hits are a part of hockey, Now everyone pretty much agrees hits from behind, have no place in the game, and dirty hits are punished. 
When your team is down, a well timed fight, could turn around the game. It can fire up the guys and discourage the other team. There is a tactical approach to fighting. Hits, well hits are and always have been a part of the game. As long as both sides are good sports and don't get dirty, hockey can stay true to its shinny roots and have hits and fighting, and everyone is safe and fine. Hockey is a physical game and all of the player go into the game knowing that, They know there are risks associated with hockey and no one is exempt from this. Its just a fact. 
There are those occasions where things can go wrong. I know not all of you will agree with me on this, or even that fact I like fighting in hockey, but I think they made the right call on Chara. 
Chara is 6'6, he's a big guy. I watched the hit and watched it and watched it. I really feel the hit was legit. There are plenty of other hits in the same area that turn out fine. This was a fluke. If there was intent to harm, Chara would have been looking at what he was doing, not toward the play like he was. There have been hits in that area that turn out fine. He is a big guy and he could have used his strength and shoved him really hard, but he didn't. Chara probably feels really bad of the outcome.
 I really hate to say it, but even if my little Avery was 16, and it was his dream to go to the NHL, and we informed him of all the things that could, might happen, like a really bad injury, moving because of trades, I am still pretty sure he'd jump at the opportunity to live his dream. All of us would, if our dream job had a dark side, and a sparkling side, and we were well informed of both sides, I am pretty sure we would all still go for it.