Bertuzzi/Moore trial date finally nears

[yave1964]

The lawsuit brought by Steve Moore against Todd Bertuzzi is finally drawing near, over ten years after the incident on the ice that left Moore with injuries that ended his career and have effected his day to day life.

I am not going to rehash the incident, the short version is Moore lost his career, Bertuzzi was suspended for the balance of the season and the postseason. The following year was lost to the lockout and Bertuzzi was reinstated before the season started up in 2006-07. In essence he missed 20games. Bertuzzi pled guilty to assault and did 80 hours of community service and resumed his career. He is still playing today.

Over the years various attempts by Gary Bettman, Todd Bertuzzi, the Vancouver Canucks and Marc Crawford to end Moore's lawsuit have been derailed. The original lawsuit brought by Moore was for 15 million, Bettman and the league tried vigorously to get Moore to accept a one million dollar offer which his representatives declined. Bertuzzi made an offer of only three hundred and fifty thousand dollars which Moore said was insulting. Bertuzzi countersued the Canucks claiming he did what he did at the direction of the organization. He also sued Crawford stating his coach was to blame, a secret agreement was reached between Crawford and Bertuzzi. The Canuck organization also reached an agreement with Bertuzzi the terms of which are in total secrecy to pay a percentage, nobody knows how much, of what Moore wins in the case.

It has been tied up for a decade now, in September it is going to happen unless Bettman can convince Moore to settle. Moore has been living with constant pain, headaches, disorientation. He still suffers from the three broken vertebrae and concussion symptoms daily. And quite frankly the league and Bertuzzi have attempted to bully and lowball him into a settlement which is sickening.

Moore insists that he wants it to go to trial as he wants the world to know the extent of his injuries and how it has affected his life. The lawsuit is now up to 60 million dollars, roughly the amount that Bertuzzi has earned in his playing career. A jury can award less or even more.

This was a sickening incident for the league, IMHO the NHL and Gary Bettman were shameful in their attempt to get Moore to drop the lawsuit in exchange for a low settlement, the Canuck organization has stonewalled and has been guilty of shameful conduct and the 350,000 offer by Bertuzzi was a sad joke. In essence, the league, the Canucks, and Crawford al closed ranks behind Bertuzzi and left Moore on an island. Bertuzzi has even been accused by the Moore camp of moving his home and as much money as possible to his wife's name to lessen the amount he will be forced to lose in a settlement.

As a Wings fan I have struggled with watching Bertuzzi play for our team. First off, he is a good solid hockey player who since the incident with Moore has lost much if not all of his nastiness from early in his career. Rooting for him has been difficult at best, quite frankly the little piddly 20 game suspension was not enough by a lot.

Steve Moore finally after over a decade of stonewalls and insulting offers finally gets his day in court on September 8th. The trial is expected to last for several months. Bettman is saying all the right things about his willingness to participate, as if he has a choice.

I am rooting for Moore. Bertuzzi, the league and the rest had the chance to do the stand up thing for a decade and the day of retribution is finally coming.

[idahophilly]

Not much to ad, but indeed you are correct. The only fair thing is to make a reasonable projection of what he would have earned if his career had it continued and then add damages for quality of life, physical and mental... Oh, and lawyer fee's also. 

[TropicalFruitGirl26]

Good info, @yave1964

And I can't imagine what it's like as a fan to have a thug, let's face it, that's what Todd Bertuzzi is, a common thug, play for your team and watch him enjoy moments on your team's successes.

 

IMO, whatever negatives Bertuzzi has coming are well deserved.

I don't care about how since then 'he has played the game the right way', or about that he already did his penance, etc...that is all NONSENSE.

 

He changed a man's life, took away his career....THEN has the nerve to say "...but, but, Crawford made me do it" , or "The Canucks said I had to go do it..".

 

Grow a set Mr. Bertuzzi.

If you really are the tough SOB you were always made out to be, and all that stuff was true, then you would have told the Canucks AND Marc Crawford to shove a hockey stick up their you-know-whats.

 

So the team cuts you, releases you, buys you out...flat out throws you off for that? Big effing deal.

If you ever were a true man of honor and refused to participate in criminal behavior like that, some other team would have realized that and given you a job ASAP!

 

But no...Todd Bertuzzi did what Todd Bertuzzi does...play the bully.

Whether he did what he did on his own or at the behest of either his coach or organization is irrelevant (ok, perhaps in a legal sense it matters), because from a moral standpoint, and a being-a-man standpoint, it doesn't matter a damned bit.

He either was an animal with that premeditated attack (or impulsive attack...which actually shows weak will and nature), or was a mentally weak man led around by those who "outrank" him....yea, the ol "Just following orders" excuse...uh huh...

 

Bertuzzi's actions go so far beyond the scope of hockey that it's not even funny.

This is a criminal incident. Make no mistake.

My husband is a former Army Ranger...fully capable of seriously injuring, maiming, or killing a fellow human being with his bare hands if need be.

 

Had my husband been the kind of weak minded individual to do such a thing to someone else, on the street, or in a bar, because, say some other guy said one or two words that he deemed inappropriate to his wife, he most CERTAINLY would be looking at not only jail time but the incident following him around reputation-wise and financially the rest of his life.

And no one would feel sorry for him, rightly so, for his animalistic actions.

 

So excuse me if I don't feel sorry in the least for Todd Bertuzzi and his legal and financial plight.

The way I see it, the man got off easy....very easy.

And even though things may get tougher for him legally from here on out with the looming court case, compared to what Steve Moore and his family went through, and continue to go through, it just doesn't compare.

 

Just the kind of society we live in where if you have enough money, enough status, enough star power...oh and hey, being a dumb jock is good enough too...then you can either get away with, or at least seriously lessen the amount of repercussions for infinitely stupid and/or Neanderthal behavior towards your fellow man.

 

I am not sure what exactly the Moore family hopes to get out of all this.....the obvious things would be financial compensation...but it is pretty clear that family has wounds, physical and otherwise, that won't be healing any time soon.

For all intents and purposes, Todd Bertuzzi has already played a full career.

 

So if this circus now takes him away from hockey, for the here and now, we as NHL fans can finally say "Good riddance" to an eyesore on the sport.

But part of me hopes this continues to haunt the man well after he is gone from the NHL.

So he can see what it is like to live day after day with the results of someone doing something to him that irrevocably changes HIS life.

Edited May 4, 2014 by TropicalFruitGirl26

[yave1964]

@TropicalFruitGirl26

To me one of the worst aspects of this whole mess is the way that Bettman and the league drug their feet while Bertuzzi still played. This has been drug on until Bertuzzi is at the end of his career and now that he is likely done it will go forward and Bertuzzi will discuver just how quick he gets booted off the bus and is left alone by the league. Not that I would in any way shape or form consider Bert the victim in this case, but his protection will come to an end now that the league no longer has an interest in doing so.

I am a fan of what happens on the ice and try to avoid the extracurricular off ice stuff as much as possible. Ryan Malone? Get the help you need, good luck big boy but I care about hockey. That goes for all things along those lines. But this happened on the ice and the league has played a shameful role in its dealing with the incident. I almost feel like I need a shower.

[J0e Th0rnton]

Not much to ad, but indeed you are correct. The only fair thing is to make a reasonable projection of what he would have earned if his career had it continued and then add damages for quality of life, physical and mental... Oh, and lawyer fee's also. 

This. Moore suing for 60 million is a bit laughable. He was a cup of coffee call up, never projected or expected to earn much more than league minimum in any season, or play in the NHL for any real length of time. If he got 3 full seasons in, most would have been surprised, and he was never going to be good enough to be above league minimum. He was a marginal AHL 3rd liner.

 

Even the Avs pretty much jumped ship on him because they knew it was a cash grab as soon as that phone video of him taking off the neck brace as soon as he was out of sight of the cameras surfaced. His lawyers somehow got all traces of those videos removed from the internet. None of the Avs really talk about Moore in a positive light.

 

So while I sympathise with him on some level, I think if he won even 3 million he would make more than he would have in his NHL career. He realized this and went for the cash grab.

[yave1964]

@J0e Th0rnton

The sixty million is based off Bertuzzi's career earnings. I do not believe anyone for a single moment expects him to win anywhere near that amount, including Moore.

IMHO the league chose to smear Moore because he refused to simply take their small settlement and go away. If he had, he would be welcome back at Avalanche games dropping ceremonial first pucks to standing ovations and all the hoopla. Instead this college educated man knew that the offers were lowball offers and dug his heals in. The league closed ranks behind Bertuzzi, Crawford and the Canucks and the battle lines were drawn. To me while I agree with you that the amount requested is absurd at least as absurd if not more so was the leagues handling of things for a decade. Now that Bertuzzi likely is at the end of the road, watch the league drop him like a hot potato and duck and cover. Bettman was a clown with the way he dealt with this incident. Whether he was a fourth liner or a superstar to me is irrelevant in the scheme of things, it was a tragic incident that should have been properly put to bed a long, long time ago.

[Polaris922]

This. Moore suing for 60 million is a bit laughable. He was a cup of coffee call up, never projected or expected to earn much more than league minimum in any season, or play in the NHL for any real length of time. If he got 3 full seasons in, most would have been surprised, and he was never going to be good enough to be above league minimum. He was a marginal AHL 3rd liner.

 

Even the Avs pretty much jumped ship on him because they knew it was a cash grab as soon as that phone video of him taking off the neck brace as soon as he was out of sight of the cameras surfaced. His lawyers somehow got all traces of those videos removed from the internet. None of the Avs really talk about Moore in a positive light.

 

So while I sympathise with him on some level, I think if he won even 3 million he would make more than he would have in his NHL career. He realized this and went for the cash grab.

 

@yave1964

 

 

Is it really a ridiculous amount??   Think about this...  Steve Moore may never have been an all-star forward... but the Sharks paid a guy like Tyler Kennedy $2.35 million to be a healthy scratch.  Who knows what Moore may have gotten?  Let's say for the purpose of the argument he hit an average 4th line player's salary of 1.25 million per year.  Let's say he played for the past ten years he's been waiting for this to come to trial.  That's $12.5 million.  Add to that an average market growth of 10%... and you're at almost $14 million.  Now add pain and suffering (headaches and disabling vertigo for the rest of his life)...  lawyer's fees...  and the always present punitive amount which Bertuzzi MORE than deserves.  How much is your health worth to you?  How much will this affect Moore's life?  Add the insults from Bertuzzi and the Canucks to top it all off... not to mention the NHL and Bettman....  Moore's initial lawsuit was for a total of $19.5 million.  Bertuzzi countered at the NHL's behest with a whopping $350k.  Really?  That IS an insult.  Your health and lifestyle are worth half of your annual salary.  Moore's lawyer reports that "neurosurgeons working with Moore had determined Moore had suffered a "permanent brain injury" so severe that it had done "serious damage to his post-NHL career."

Who's to say Moore wouldn't have earned much more than that?  How can you say he was a career AHL 3rd liner when he never even completed his rookie season?  

 

Is it still a ridiculous amount?  The man's dream was taken away from him by a goon.  He'll spend the rest of his life battling the aftermath of that assault.  Bertuzzi SHOULD be in jail.  He should NOT be allowed to go on to make $60 million while the man he assaulted struggles to get by.  Like Moore or not.  

[J0e Th0rnton]

@yave1964

 

 

Is it really a ridiculous amount??   Think about this...  Steve Moore may never have been an all-star forward... but the Sharks paid a guy like Tyler Kennedy $2.35 million to be a healthy scratch.  Who knows what Moore may have gotten?  Let's say for the purpose of the argument he hit an average 4th line player's salary of 1.25 million per year.  Let's say he played for the past ten years he's been waiting for this to come to trial.  That's $12.5 million.  Add to that an average market growth of 10%... and you're at almost $14 million.  Now add pain and suffering (headaches and disabling vertigo for the rest of his life)...  lawyer's fees...  and the always present punitive amount which Bertuzzi MORE than deserves.  How much is your health worth to you?  How much will this affect Moore's life?  Add the insults from Bertuzzi and the Canucks to top it all off... not to mention the NHL and Bettman....  Moore's initial lawsuit was for a total of $19.5 million.  Bertuzzi countered at the NHL's behest with a whopping $350k.  Really?  That IS an insult.  Your health and lifestyle are worth half of your annual salary.  Moore's lawyer reports that "neurosurgeons working with Moore had determined Moore had suffered a "permanent brain injury" so severe that it had done "serious damage to his post-NHL career."

Who's to say Moore wouldn't have earned much more than that?  How can you say he was a career AHL 3rd liner when he never even completed his rookie season?  

 

Is it still a ridiculous amount?  The man's dream was taken away from him by a goon.  He'll spend the rest of his life battling the aftermath of that assault.  Bertuzzi SHOULD be in jail.  He should NOT be allowed to go on to make $60 million while the man he assaulted struggles to get by.  Like Moore or not.  

To the first part. Kennedy only got that amount because he had shown the ability to be a 21 goal, 45 point forward at NHL level if he had good linemates. Nobody expected him to fall to Steve Moore levels when they gave him that contract. Steve Moore was a career 3rd line AHL player, being used as a call up as a 25 year old rookie, who had not been improving at AHL level and not likely to every grace the NHL for anything more than he had done.

 

And sorry, I saw the phone video of him hobbling a the press conference with the neck brace on a day or two later, and then ripping it off as soon as the press was out of sight and acting normal.

 

This is a cash grab, and IMO he is faking the extent of his injuries.

 

And no, Bertuzzi should not be in jail. Effectively, he is being punished for the supposed result, rather than the crime itself. I have seen WAAAAAAY worse attacks in Hockey than a blindside punch. Moore's own teammates told the press Bertuzzi's actions were not as bad as advertized and the injury likely came from everyone jumping on top of both of them. That it just looks bad due to the result.

 

This is a sport full of glorified Alpha males, who have been chided at the time for not being like the good old boys of hockey and attacking in retribution. His own coach made him go do it, and Vancouver actually signed a contract with Bertuzzi to pay most of the damages if he dropped the suit against them(Bertuzzi sued the canucks).

[yave1964]

@J0e Th0rnton

 

 I have a hard time understanding the animosity towards Moore from you.

 

I get that he was a meh player, i get that it was a crazy absolutely not the worst thing ever in hockey. I get that you view it as a cash grab. I may disagree with some of the points but i respect your opinion.

  My biggest thing is:

I do not feel a 20 game suspension was enough for Bertuzzi. I felt that for the egregious damage he deserved more, at last a whole season.

 

 I feel that bettman and the league, as well as the Canucks and crawford and Bertuzzi could have and should have put this to bed a looooooooong tome ago. Did he want more than he should have been asking? Sure. But they lowballed him to the point of absurdity and allowed no reasonable middle ground. This incident properly handled would have been put to bed along time ago instead of the court decision coming up around the time of the season next year. I think it has hurt the game by closing ranks with Moore on the outside instead of finding a middle ground and/or even overpaying him a bit to make it finally go away. This was so poorly handled by Bettman and his people as well as the Canucks as to be near laughable.

[idahophilly]

This. Moore suing for 60 million is a bit laughable. He was a cup of coffee call up, never projected or expected to earn much more than league minimum in any season, or play in the NHL for any real length of time. If he got 3 full seasons in, most would have been surprised, and he was never going to be good enough to be above league minimum. He was a marginal AHL 3rd liner.

 

Even the Avs pretty much jumped ship on him because they knew it was a cash grab as soon as that phone video of him taking off the neck brace as soon as he was out of sight of the cameras surfaced. His lawyers somehow got all traces of those videos removed from the internet. None of the Avs really talk about Moore in a positive light.

 

So while I sympathise with him on some level, I think if he won even 3 million he would make more than he would have in his NHL career. He realized this and went for the cash grab.

He is still has the right to damages, however meager. If someone clipped you with a car you would be. I don't care if you lost 10K or 60 million, your entitled to that. Never mind if it was on purpose or not.

 

If fraud is involved then a prosecutor should tell him to back off, or at least his own lawyer.

Edited May 5, 2014 by idahophilly

[idahophilly]

a follow up. I was a firghter/emt and did ALLOT of time in the emergency trauma room. You can take off a neck brace after xrays show its ok. That DOES not mean you are not suffering other injuries. Head issues for one. So lets say he had a few (3-4) years of call up duty at 550K, he should get that as compensation and a wee bit of life long compensation for medical and such... I had a severe chemical burn to my lungs as a fire fighter 25 years ago. I was in the hospital. They released me and said all was fine. 25 years later I have breathing problems and asthma. Just think out side the box on other peoples problems is all I'm saying. It's not always what you expect.

Edited May 5, 2014 by idahophilly

[B21]

FWIW, it's likely Moore's camp does not expect $60,000,000.  You pick a large number in an effort to convince/"scare" the other guy into a settlement.

 

I agree $60,000,000 is ridiculous...but I doubt it's the expected end game by either party.

[J0e Th0rnton]

@J0e Th0rnton

 

 I have a hard time understanding the animosity towards Moore from you.

 

I get that he was a meh player, i get that it was a crazy absolutely not the worst thing ever in hockey. I get that you view it as a cash grab. I may disagree with some of the points but i respect your opinion.

  My biggest thing is:

I do not feel a 20 game suspension was enough for Bertuzzi. I felt that for the egregious damage he deserved more, at last a whole season.

 

 I feel that bettman and the league, as well as the Canucks and crawford and Bertuzzi could have and should have put this to bed a looooooooong tome ago. Did he want more than he should have been asking? Sure. But they lowballed him to the point of absurdity and allowed no reasonable middle ground. This incident properly handled would have been put to bed along time ago instead of the court decision coming up around the time of the season next year. I think it has hurt the game by closing ranks with Moore on the outside instead of finding a middle ground and/or even overpaying him a bit to make it finally go away. This was so poorly handled by Bettman and his people as well as the Canucks as to be near laughable.

My animosity is about his cash grab and faking injury more than anything else. IMO, he was going to have a 1-3 year career in the NHL at BEST. Being paid league minimum. Around $500000 a year. In the AHL, the good veterans make around $100000 a year max. And Moore was a 3rd liner, not a good player even in the AHL.

 

Do I think he should get a few million? Sure. But no more than 3-5 at MOST.

 

He is still has the right to damages, however meager. If someone clipped you with a car you would be. I don't care if you lost 10K or 60 million, your entitled to that. Never mind if it was on purpose or not.

 

If fraud is involved then a prosecutor should tell him to back off, or at least his own lawyer.

I never said he did not have a right to damages. Just that he is trying to milk the cow.

 

a follow up. I was a firghter/emt and did ALLOT of time in the emergency trauma room. You can take off a neck brace after xrays show its ok. That DOES not mean you are not suffering other injuries. Head issues for one. So lets say he had a few (3-4) years of call up duty at 550K, he should get that as compensation and a wee bit of life long compensation for medical and such... I had a severe chemical burn to my lungs as a fire fighter 25 years ago. I was in the hospital. They released me and said all was fine. 25 years later I have breathing problems and asthma. Just think out side the box on other peoples problems is all I'm saying. It's not always what you expect.

His doctors claimed his neck was broken in 3 places and a bad concussion at the time he made the statement(Then out of sight, ripped the neck brace off). Sorry, that's bogus. Steve Moore has a law degree from his time at Harvard and he is using it to go full tilt to cash in.

 

That in combination of seeing things like Moore's parents also suing for a few million for  "negligent infliction of nervous shock" and "mental distress" on top of everything else. Why did Moore refuse to let anyone but his own doctors examine him? They tried to force him to get examined by second opinions and he said no.

[yave1964]

@J0e Th0rnton

I believe and I admit this is strictly speculation on my part, but I feel if Moore had not been lowballed by the league and by Bertuzzi with his 350,000 settlement offer and been offered a fair deal from the get go this would have went away a long time ago. Not saying anyone is a hero here but the black hat IMHO belongs on the league and upon Bertuzzi, not for what happened on the ice but for closing ranks after the fact and making an insulting offer.

[idahophilly]

@J0e Th0rnton

I believe and I admit this is strictly speculation on my part, but I feel if Moore had not been lowballed by the league and by Bertuzzi with his 350,000 settlement offer and been offered a fair deal from the get go this would have went away a long time ago. Not saying anyone is a hero here but the black hat IMHO belongs on the league and upon Bertuzzi, not for what happened on the ice but for closing ranks after the fact and making an insulting offer.

Can't say anything but..............yep!!!! Give the guy his half mil and call it good. They will eat up way more in litigation otherwise and maybe lose. Then they'll owe 10-20 million...

[idahophilly]

My animosity is about his cash grab and faking injury more than anything else. IMO, he was going to have a 1-3 year career in the NHL at BEST. Being paid league minimum. Around $500000 a year. In the AHL, the good veterans make around $100000 a year max. And Moore was a 3rd liner, not a good player even in the AHL.

 

Do I think he should get a few million? Sure. But no more than 3-5 at MOST.

 

I never said he did not have a right to damages. Just that he is trying to milk the cow.

 

His doctors claimed his neck was broken in 3 places and a bad concussion at the time he made the statement(Then out of sight, ripped the neck brace off). Sorry, that's bogus. Steve Moore has a law degree from his time at Harvard and he is using it to go full tilt to cash in.

 

That in combination of seeing things like Moore's parents also suing for a few million for  "negligent infliction of nervous shock" and "mental distress" on top of everything else. Why did Moore refuse to let anyone but his own doctors examine him? They tried to force him to get examined by second opinions and he said no.

Those points are for the court to decide but the claims seem fare so long as the "fee" is fair. I'm more disturbed about the anti-right to sue. You have a right. 60  million is dumb but some compensation should be in order. As Yav said, give a fair settlement and it all goes away.

[Polaris922]

I bet if they'd offered 8 or 9 million being close to half was Moore was seeking in the first place, this would all be over.

And forget defending Bertuzzi and blaming injuries on the pile on after. That's pure BS. Watch Bertuzzi drive Moore's head into the ice again then tell me he was reluctantly following orders. That's aggravated assault anywhere in North America. And he should have been charged as such. If McSorley can be charged for hitting Brashear, this is right there next to it. Pure malice. Bertuzzi is an embarrassment to the league. Then and now.

[J0e Th0rnton]

I bet if they'd offered 8 or 9 million being close to half was Moore was seeking in the first place, this would all be over.

And forget defending Bertuzzi and blaming injuries on the pile on after. That's pure BS. Watch Bertuzzi drive Moore's head into the ice again then tell me he was reluctantly following orders. That's aggravated assault anywhere in North America. And he should have been charged as such. If McSorley can be charged for hitting Brashear, this is right there next to it. Pure malice. Bertuzzi is an embarrassment to the league. Then and now.

It's amazing that even Moore's own teammates claim Bertuzzi grabbed him to cushion his fall after the blow and the way he went over on top of him just made it worse. Yes, Moore's own teammates say that.

[pogomutt]

Where's Don Cherry when we need him? 

[Polaris922]

It's amazing that even Moore's own teammates claim Bertuzzi grabbed him to cushion his fall after the blow and the way he went over on top of him just made it worse. Yes, Moore's own teammates say that.

That's rallying to the league's defense. Watch the video. He drives him into the ice a a rail spike.

[J0e Th0rnton]

That's rallying to the league's defense. Watch the video. He drives him into the ice a a rail spike.

Seen the video a hundred times. I still say it looked unintended. The extra thousand pounds of teammates piling on top did not help either.

 

In any case,ill just agree to disagree. I saw the video of him acting like he was too stiff to move during the press conference then ripping the neck brace off like it was nothing. Then he always dodged allowing second opinions to examine him.

 

Cash grab.

[Polaris922]

Seen the video a hundred times. I still say it looked unintended. The extra thousand pounds of teammates piling on top did not help either.

In any case,ill just agree to disagree. I saw the video of him acting like he was too stiff to move during the press conference then ripping the neck brace off like it was nothing. Then he always dodged allowing second opinions to examine him.

Cash grab.

Then you need to watch it again. When you ride a guy's back into the ice there's no in intended to it. I understand your disdain for the neck brace gimmick. But it doesn't change the medical reports by professional neurologists that are a matter of record in the courts. The injuries are real, and to defend Bertuzzi on this blows my mind. He'd be arrested anywhere in the US or Canada and rightly so. That was as cowardly an attack as the NHL has seen.

[pogomutt]

This isn't the first time. I remember reading last year about two early lawsuits involving wrongful injury & death that were heard by the courts on behalf of NHL players/family. These went back to the 40's I think. The case involving wrongful injury was thrown out by the jury. The wrongful death case involving a first degree murder charge was reduced to manslaughter, and the player convicted thereof. He'd slashed another player across the chest who died of a heart attack before he hit the ice.

[J0e Th0rnton]

Then you need to watch it again. When you ride a guy's back into the ice there's no in intended to it. I understand your disdain for the neck brace gimmick. But it doesn't change the medical reports by professional neurologists that are a matter of record in the courts. The injuries are real, and to defend Bertuzzi on this blows my mind. He'd be arrested anywhere in the US or Canada and rightly so. That was as cowardly an attack as the NHL has seen.

Nope. I saw a punch, and him falling over with him unintentionally, then several guys jumping on to the pile.

The difference between this and the McSorely incident is just as wide a gap as the difference between unintentional manslaughter and premeditated murder one as far as I am concerned. McSorely swung a deadly weapon full force. Bertuzzi threw a sucker punch.

 

Bertuzzi was trying to create an incident resembling revenge against Claude Lemieux and the blood game all over again(Which is widely considered awesome by hockey fans and sparked an unforgetable rivalry), and it went horribly wrong. Of that I have no doubt.

 

Both are definitely a different sort of violence than, say, Ulf Samuelsson intentionally high sticking Pierre Mondou in the eye, destroying his career like he did.

 

If Pronger's stepping on another player with his skate cut an artery and he started bleeding out on the ice, the situation would have been 100% different.

 

Imagine if McCarty cracked Claude Lemieux's brain stem when he blindsided him(In the same manner), got a dominant position and threw all those rabbit punches to the back of the head when he was facedown turtling on the ice, then dragged him towards the boards and slammed his head into them and then kneed him in the freaking head. Yes, McCarty of the red wings did all that, but the result was fortunately not the same. hell, Roy was skating over to jump on McCarty while he was on Lemieux, but Shanahan intercepted him with a big check so McCarty could continue to pound Lemieux. If Shanahan did not get to Roy in time, it could have been a mirror situation scrapile.

 

People today call that beginning to the Avs/Wings Rivalry amazing. Incredible. Old time Hockey. Yet McCarty crossed the line beyond anything Bertuzzi did as far as actions go. But it is the result that has people whinning about it being the dirtiest thing ever, not the act itself.

If McCarty can sucker punch Lemieux in the same manner(in fact, McCarty ripped free of a restraining referees grasp to do it), then get on top of him and punch him in the brain stem half a dozen times, then drag him to the boards where he slams is head into them, followed by a knee to the head........and McCarty is considered a hero for it.

Bertuzzi sucked punched a guy the same way and fell on top of him, within 1 second, 5 other guys jumped on the pile, crushing those on the bottom.

 

Are you going to say McCarty should have been thrown out of Hockey too?

 

 

Moore can cite all the medical reports he wants now, but when it comes down to it, the NHL and the Avs asked to have their own physicians examine Moore to get a second opinion when he was complaining about long term effects and he told them "no".  Why would he do that?

Edited May 6, 2014 by J0e Th0rnton

[fanaticV3.0]

Seen the video a hundred times. I still say it looked unintended. The extra thousand pounds of teammates piling on top did not help either.

 

In any case,ill just agree to disagree. I saw the video of him acting like he was too stiff to move during the press conference then ripping the neck brace off like it was nothing. Then he always dodged allowing second opinions to examine him.

 

Cash grab.

 

"That kid's a piece of sh-t." - Todd Bertuzzi.

 

Unintended, right.