Bertuzzi reinstated for start of season

[Canadian'eh!]

http://images.tsn.ca/images/stories/20040310/bert_1828.jpg

Canadian Press



8/8/2005 4:48:34 PM

NEW YORK (CP) - The NHL has reinstated Todd Bertuzzi.

The Vancouver Canucks star, who was suspended indefinitely by the NHL on March 8, 2004, for attacking Colorado Avalanche forward Steve Moore, is "immediately eligible" to return to the ice, the NHL announced Monday.

Bertuzzi was suspended for the remaining 13 regular-season games of the 2003-04 season and the playoffs, which lasted only seven games for Vancouver after the Canucks lost to Calgary in the first round. But Bertuzzi's suspension also cost him a chance for play for Canada in the September 2004 World Cup of Hockey and the May 2005 IIHF world hockey championship. The IIHF respected the NHL's suspension and wouldn't let him play in Europe during the lockout.

The suspension also cost Bertuzzi $501,926.39 US in salary.

"A total suspension of approximately seventeen calendar months from the date of the incident is the appropriate sanction to impose in this case given the nature and severity of the act in question and the overall totality of circumstances," commissioner Gary Bettman said in a statement Monday.


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"Subject to the continuing terms of the conditional discharge in Mr. Bertuzzi's criminal case and the`probationary period' which this decision imposes, Mr. Bertuzzi is immediately eligible for reinstatement for play in the NHL."

[pyrrhonist]

:bf1:

The punishment has been served, and it's time to move on, folks.

I imagine that the majority of Avs fans will be howling for blood, with swords in hand. :shutup:

[JD]

:bf1:

The punishment has been served, and it's time to move on, folks.

I imagine that the majority of Avs fans will be howling for blood, with swords in hand. :shutup:
What if that happend to one of our players? I would flip **** too....
It was premeditated and assault with a deadly weapon he should be gone the rest of this year.
:blowup:

Maybe some anger management classes would do him good?

[buffalofan19]

What if that happend to one of our players? I would flip **** too....
It was premeditated and assault with a deadly weapon he should be gone the rest of this year.
:blowup:

Maybe some anger management classes would do him good?

While I do not condone what Bertuzzi did in any way, Steve Moore wasn't entirely the innocent victim in this whole ordeal. Apparently he was a little ***** that kept talking trash and Bertuzzi lost it on him. I don't want to say he got what he deserved, but Moore did somewhat bring this upon himself. To me, it's like that punk in high school who has so many friends that have his back that he can say what he wants despite the fact that he is a wimp and just about anyone could break him in half. When someone does finally attack him, the kid gets his @$$ beat in the worst way. That said, there is still no excuse for suckerpunching anybody. The long suspension is punishment enough, and I don't think it should have meritted a complete ban.

[BuffaloRanger]

I've seen worse. There's the picture at Marcel Dionne's shop in the eastern Hills Mall of a sabre hanging on another players back, his legs completely out sideways, tackling this guy to the ice. I should have bought it when I saw it. It's from the early 70s. It wasn't a big name player. This has happened before - onlt the result was of course never that bad.

Basically Bertuzzi punched him in the face from behind. What Bertuzzi didn't expect is that the punch would knock Moore out cold. Bertuzzi tackled him/fell on him after the punch. If Moore was not knocked out he would have blocked his fall with his hands. Because he was already out cold he fell face first.

Bertuzzi deserved the punishment he got. But ending Moore's season wasn't his intent. But results are what got him suspended, not intentions. Like a guy who punches another guy in a bar fight goes to jail if the the guy he punched falls, bangs his head and dies. A typical punch wouldn't kill a guy. But the guy would still be guilty of manslaughter.

I'd love to see Bertuzzi in a Sabres uniform.

[Canadian'eh!]

What if that happend to one of our players? I would flip **** too....
It was premeditated and assault with a deadly weapon he should be gone the rest of this year.
:blowup:

Maybe some anger management classes would do him good?
Way too much. It was 3/4 accident, 1/4 a bad choice. **** happens, I'm glad Bert is back.

[JD]

Way too much. It was 3/4 accident, 1/4 a bad choice. **** happens, I'm glad Bert is back.
3/4 accident?

Thats like Ricky Williams accidently smoking marijuana for a year....

[BuffaloRanger]

Read my post. Bertuzzi didn't think the punch would knock him out. I've seen guys take much worse punches than that.

[pyrrhonist]

What if that happend to one of our players? I would flip **** too....

I don't think in "us" and "them" terms.

If you watch the incident (And how could we not remember, since ESPN focused on it so much :rolleyes: ), the hit is from behind, and is probably the only dirty thing about the incident. As far as I'm concerned, the dogpile from Avs & Canucks players on top of Bertuzzi, which in turn fell on Moore, is what causes the majority of the injury.

What pisses me off, though, is that this incident is likened to the McSorley incident. That was a far worse thing than this was.

[chernobylwraiths]

It is hockey's own fault that hits like this and the McSorley hit (which was 100 times worse IMO) happen. We have a ton of these Moore, Barnaby type of players that suck people into taking penalties and then "turtle" and laugh at those players. Well, revenge is a ***** and since the NHL basically condones this type of behavior (drawing penalties) then they have to live with the results. There are too many of these cheap players who will go out of their way to hurt people and they need to be stopped. I think Moore drilled Naslund in a previous game and injured him and got really nothing for the hit, hence the Bertuzzi hit. Of course he had to wait until the next game and when the game was already decided to make his move and exact revenge. There just is too much headhunting in the NHL and they never did a damned thing to stop it. Even losing a superstar like Pat LaFontaine to a cheap shot TWICE (first time with broken jaw, second time basically cost him his career) hasn't made them give out stiff enough penalties on a consistant basis.

The suspension of McSorley and Bertuzzi were the closest to good enough suspensions. They need to be handed out more often. And they need to hurt the players in the pocketbook.

[SkateZilla]

Vacouver Fans arent even happy about this..

[chernobylwraiths]

Vacouver Fans arent even happy about this..

Really? Why?

[JD]

What pisses me off, though, is that this incident is likened to the McSorley incident. That was a far worse thing than this was.


Wow, can't believe i forgot about that incident... your righ!
:sorry:

[Crisis]

I've heard Steve Moore is an instigating *****. He had it coming, it just shouldn't of been such a cheapshot.

I respect Bertuzzi as a player, not as a human though. Anyone who can be a physical force and a great scorer is a great player, too bad he ruined any good record he had on his career though.

[Dozerdog]

The Vancouver Canucks players publically stated they were going after Moore - and put out a cash bounty on his head.


Then they nearly end his career- possibly his life- coming within whiskers of severing his spinal column in a deliberate attack.


Regardless if Moore is a punk or not- the fact that Bertuzzi spent less games suspended than Kenny Rogers for shoving a camera man is a joke.

[chernobylwraiths]

The Vancouver Canucks players publically stated they were going after Moore - and put out a cash bounty on his head.


Then they nearly end his career- possibly his life- coming within whiskers of severing his spinal column in a deliberate attack.


Regardless if Moore is a punk or not- the fact that Bertuzzi spent less games suspended than Kenny Rogers for shoving a camera man is a joke.


I'll play devil's advocate on this. At the end of a meaningless game, knowing there is a bounty on one of your players, why take a chance and put him out on the ice?

I'm not excusing Bertuzzi at all, but he was hounding him all the way up the ice, he's trying to goad him into a fight, he should have known SOMETHING was coming.

I also don't think he tried to shove his head through the ice as some might suggest. He wanted to pound the piss out of the guy, but I don't think he was trying to kill the guy. He missed the rest of the season, the playoffs and hasn't been able to play any organized hockey since. I guess I wouldn't feel too bad if they had extended his suspension into this season, even halfway through it but that is the NHL's fault. I lay the blame for a lot of this type of stuff at their feet for their inconsistant way they penalize players.

[Dozerdog]

I'll play devil's advocate on this. At the end of a meaningless game, knowing there is a bounty on one of your players, why take a chance and put him out on the ice?

I'm not excusing Bertuzzi at all, but he was hounding him all the way up the ice, he's trying to goad him into a fight, he should have known SOMETHING was coming.

I also don't think he tried to shove his head through the ice as some might suggest. He wanted to pound the piss out of the guy, but I don't think he was trying to kill the guy. He missed the rest of the season, the playoffs and hasn't been able to play any organized hockey since. I guess I wouldn't feel too bad if they had extended his suspension into this season, even halfway through it but that is the NHL's fault. I lay the blame for a lot of this type of stuff at their feet for their inconsistant way they penalize players.
Why should they cave to a bunch of punks? Bertuzzi and the rest of 'em should have spent jail time.

[BuffaloRanger]

Was McSorely really worse? The slash stunned Brashear and he lost his balance and fell back. He got injured when his head hit the ice after his helmet shifted because he was wearing his chinstrap too loose. Again McSorely wasn't intending too hurt, he was trying to instigate a fight. People forget that Brashear ran the goalie in the 2nd period, knocking him out for the season.

[chernobylwraiths]

McSorley should have spent jail time. Bertuzzi gave a sucker punch that went horribly wrong. Again, not defending his actions and he has paid some of the price that he deserved to pay, but it really was only a sucker punch.

How about Danny Heatley? The guy kills his friend screwing around in his car and gets nothing.

As horrible as it looked and however bad the results were, you can't get me much past that fact that it was a stupid sucker punch.

[chernobylwraiths]

Was McSorely really worse? The slash stunned Brashear and he lost his balance and fell back. He got injured when his head hit the ice after his helmet shifted because he was wearing his chinstrap too loose. Again McSorely wasn't intending too hurt, he was trying to instigate a fight. People forget that Brashear ran the goalie in the 2nd period, knocking him out for the season.

:shocked:

Two fisted slash across the head with a potentially dangerous object wasn't as bad as a sucker punch?

[MikeInRoch]

The NHL (and all sports) would be a lot better if they had an easy rule: If you cheap shot someone, and they are injured, you are out AT LEAST as long as they are. In this case, it probably would have meant the end of Bertuzzi's career, just as it very likely means the end of Moore's career. You don't want to get suspended? Don't deliver cheap shots.