Major sponsor warns NHL on headshots

MONTREAL, March 10 (UPI) -- One of the National Hockey League's major sponsors is threatening to pull funding if the league doesn't clamp down on headshots and concussions.

In a letter Wednesday from its Montreal headquarters, Air Canada told NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman the league's response to a serious injury in a Tuesday night game was unacceptable, the QMI Agency reported.

In that game, Montreal Canadiens forward Max Pacioretty was slammed into the boards and a Plexiglas stanchion by Boston Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara. Pacioretty was carried off with a broken neck and major concussion.

NHL officials declined to suspend Chara, saying video replays showed no "intent" to injure.

Air Canada said it expected policy changes after NHL governors meet next week in Florida.

"Unless the NHL takes immediate action with serious suspension to the players in question to curtail these life-threatening injuries, Air Canada will withdraw its sponsorship of hockey," the letter said.

The airline sponsors all six of Canada's NHL franchises and owns naming rights to the home of the Toronto Maple Leafs, the Air Canada Center.