MONTREAL - A police investigation into Boston Bruins captain Zdeno Chara has been completed and the file has been transferred, as per standard procedure, to criminal prosecutors.
Now that the investigation is over Crown lawyers must decide whether to lay charges over Chara's devastating hit against Montreal Canadiens forward Max Pacioretty.
Montreal police had held off interviewing Chara during the spring, while his Bruins were on their Stanley Cup-winning run. Investigators finally questioned him last month.
Authorities in Quebec got involved in the file last March, amid a public outcry after the NHL announced it would not suspend Chara for smashing his opponent into a stanchion.
Pacioretty has recovered from a cracked vertebra and concussion, and is expected to return to action next season.
Before the hit, the Habs forward had been involved in a series of skirmishes with Chara in an increasingly bitter rivalry.
Pacioretty later said he was disgusted by the league's failure to suspend him, but also added that he disagreed with the decision for law-enforcement to get involved.
