Chara has a blast - with good cause
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MONTREAL - On Friday, Zdeno Chara issued the challenge by putting a grand of his own money on the power of his 65-inch Easton hammer.
The notion proposed by Chara: $1,000 from each of the six shooters, matched by each of their clubs, and matched once more by the NHL and the NHLPA for a $24,000 total, payable to the charity of the winner's choice.
Last night, representing Right To Play, Chara put his stick behind his dough.
After Nashville's Shea Weber set the standard with a 103.4-mile-per-hour blast, Chara shattered the mark. After his first shot was timed at 103.3 m.p.h., Chara brought the hammer down on his second attempt at 105.4 m.p.h. Even the Bell Centre crowd, which directs some of its loudest boos toward Chara during the season, gave the Boston strongman a cheer.
"I saw him in the gym this morning working out," said teammate Marc Savard. "I knew he was pretty serious about it."
Chara barely beat the mark set by Washington's Al Iafrate (105.2) the last time the All-Star Game was in Montreal, in 1993, at the Forum.
Chara, wearing a yellow Right To Play stocking hat before he took his shot, was his usual reserved self after the record-setting cannon. But when he saw Mark Brender, the organization's deputy director, Chara broke out a smile and gave his friend a hug.
"It gives us so much credibility," Brender said. "Sometimes when an athlete-ambassador gives his name to the cause, it's in and out. But with a guy like that, he's so committed. It's huge."
Right To Play, according to its website, is an international humanitarian organization that uses sport to improve the lives of children in some of the world's most disadvantaged areas.
Chara has been involved since last summer, when he visited Mozambique.
"Today is a very special day," said Chara, now the three-time defending champion. "Hopefully, we can spread this even further in the future.
"I'm very, very thankful to all the players, the hockey clubs, the NHL, and NHLPA for donating money. Hopefully, we can do this every year. It's for a good cause."
With his usual sticks at the ready - his pieces didn't arrive until yesterday morning - Blake Wheeler ripped home three goals in the YoungStars Game to win MVP honors and lead the rookies to a 9-5 win over the sophomores.
"It was awesome," Wheeler said. "It was fun to be out there in front of all those people. That was the best part of this whole experience, just seeing the atmosphere of the Montreal fans."
In the elimination shootout event, Savard was the runner-up to Phoenix's Shane Doan. After Doan beat Anaheim's Jean-Sebastien Giguere five-hole, Savard's final attempt was busted up by the Rangers' Henrik Lundqvist. One round earlier, Savard tucked a shot behind Tim Thomas when the Bruins netminder appeared to give up the blocker side on purpose.
"He just made a good move," Thomas said with a smile. "That's my story and I'm sticking to it."
When asked how much chirping he expected from Savard to be deployed in the shootout, Claude Julien feigned disgust.
"Let's see how he does when the pressure's on," said his coach.
"We are having a good season under the circumstances," said Bettman, estimating growth this season of 1 percent, factoring in the weakness of the Canadian dollar.
Although the economic downturn has dealt a major blow to at least one organization (Bettman acknowledged that the Coyotes, who announced the resignation of chairman and CEO Jeff Shumway Friday, need an infusion of capital), the NHL's most immediate challenge was the possibility of the Players Association opting out of the collective bargaining agreement.
But Thursday, after the player representatives voted unanimously not to terminate the CBA, the NHL is guaranteed labor peace through at least 2010-11.
"It's important because it's an endorsement by the players of the system that we've been operating under," Bettman said. "That bodes well for the future."
