Bertuzzi Assault

[insomnius]

HabWest said:

Update- Vancouver police are looking into laying charges against Bertuzzi. Good, I hope they do it.

Damn right! Moore just finished a check on someone who was lunging for the puck - Naslund was in a terrible position to take a hit and happened to be hit by someone wanting to impress his coach etc etc...

Nothing illegal - either by NHL's rules or society's laws...Hockey players need to understand that even on the ice society's laws still apply. There is no bubble that surrounds the ice that makes their playing surface immune.

To stalk someone deliberately as Bertuzzi did, from the corner boards, follow him for 20 feet and yank on his shirt to get a better punch to his head?

And then to "fall" (nudge nudge wink wink) on a guy 4 inches shorter and 40 lbs lighter?

Assault with intent to injure - ABSOLUTELY...

Even if the NHL DOES play next year, the closest Bertuzzi should get to the NHL is the TV in the prisoners' ward.

And, as was suggested above, not to play a second in the NHL (damnit no contact with his teammates - ESPECIALLY his bum-buddy he was protecting) until Steve Moore can come back.

I have thought that way for a long time and THAT more than anything will stop the madness...You gave Eric Lindros a concussion? (granted it ain't hard ) You're out until he is dumb enough to try coming back. Your slash caused (pick one - MacInnis, Berard etc etc) to nearly lose an eye? You stay out until they come back...

Watch how quickly the incidents of high sticking and hits to the head disappear...when the PERPETRATOR has to stay out as long as his victim, the perpetrators will thjink long and hard before doing anything of the kind...

McSroley would never have tried to hit Brashear with his stick above his shoulders...

[zenseeker]

The police getting involved with hockey always makes me nervous. Once involved this will set precedence and forever change the sport we love. The change can be for the good or bad, i would just rather see changes made internally rather than by police.

[CentreHice]

Moore's hit on Naslund was a clean open-ice tough, hard bodycheck. If Naslund had hit Moore that way, everyone would be applauding Naslund's grit. "Steve Moore....who's that? Shoulda kept his head up."

Star hockey players should NOT be "protected". They're making millions of dollars and can't expect to skate around the ice in a protective barrier. Lafleur, Hull, Howe, Orr, Esposito, Richard...they all took their fair share of clean hits and tough checks. It's this "Gretzky-Semenko" phenomenon that exists now, and it sickens me.

Yeah, if Moore elbowed Naslund in the head...then he should have been suspended. But he didn't and he wasn't. Mark Crawford isn't innocent in all this....yelling and screaming for Moore's head on a platter. And he almost got it. A shot to the side of the head....knocked cold before he hit the ice....then 2 broken vertebrae in his neck as Bertuzzi's 245 pounds landed on him....will he ever play again? Nothing less than a suspension for the rest of the regular season and the playoffs will do. The message has to be sent.

Bill Watters, on MOJO saying, "I feel sorry for Moore...but I also feel sorry for Bertuzzi...he's not like that." Tell me that if your kid is Steve Moore, Billy.

I don't feel sorry for Bertuzzi, for Crawford, for the Canucks, and especially not for Naslund who is such a wuss, he needs his teammates and coach to come to bat for him for a CLEAN HIT!!! Keep your head up Markus! You're in the NHL...you could get hit cleanly.

[insomnius]

zenseeker said:

The police getting involved with hockey always makes me nervous. Once involved this will set precedence and forever change the sport we love. The change can be for the good or bad, i would just rather see changes made internally rather than by police.

You mean you TRUST any of them? Bettman? Goodenow? Campbell?

I do not...the police need to get involved...this is not hockey, this is retribution and there is no place for THAT kind of flagrant bull****...

[franko]

I'm hesitant to get the police involved just because they are police. I'm especially uncomfortable with involving the Vancouver police

Accountablility is needed. Bertuzzi: you blew it. Admit it, take your lumps, sit out on suspension, and learn from it.

[habwest]

Well I'm afraid whether some of us like it or not the NHL has failed miserably to rid itself of these kinds of incidents so if it can't police itself then someone else (ie the police and justice system) has to.

And as someone has already said hockey should not be immune to the laws of the country. Who granted it that privilege?

If I was Moore I would sue Bertuzzi and the NHL.

As to Moore's hit, it was within the rules. Having said that I think that a good case can be made for protecting players when they are exposed or particularly vulnerable.

To that end I would support a move by the NHL to make hitting a guy, at least purposefully, in the head illegal and drawing a 5 minute penalty (man advantage) and a game misconduct with review by the NHL to follow. After all, if the NFL can make hitting a guy in the head or spearing a guy with a helmet illegal I don't see why something couldn't be worked out in the NHL.

[insomnius]

Even though I think that the Moore hit was "legal" by the letter of NHL law I think it violated the spirit of NHL law and for that reason, I think there should have been a penalty on the play. Some allowance has to be made for a player who is not in the proper position to take a check...

That was why the Canucks felt disrespected - because they were...but Naslund was playing four games later...Moore will be out for a year and may never be in shape to play NHL hockey again...

SHould only sue Bertuzzi - the NHL did nothing to Moore (and HAD they, this might not have happened)...

[Madhabfan]

I feel that this was much, much worse than the McSorley incident.

Even when you think about it without the sucker punch and ramming his head into the ice, it's still sickening. Think how how premeditated it was, how the canuck players all said they were going to "get him". And how he followed him around the ice like that. But tough-guy Bertuzzi didn't do this when they played in Colorado last week. Oh no, he had to wait until he was on his home turf and for when an attack on Moore wouldn't cost his team 2 points. (It was like 8-2 when it happened)

If I'm the NHL, the lightest punishment I would give him would be the rest of this season + the playoffs.

[Cranky]

Bertuzzi has to go easy on the roids........

3 to 6 months jail time for assault. 1 year suspension. Enough already!

Yes, the police BETTER get involved and I hope Bertuzzi is sued for everyhting he has.

[MC Habber]

Guys, I feel things are being a bit misrepresented here. Say what you want about Bertuzzi, but don't blame Naslund for this. You might not like what Naslund said after he got hit, I suppose, but really, the worst he said was that he feels there's a lack of respect between players in the league, a statement which I think a number of people here would agree with. Naslund is an extremely classy person and there's no way he would have wanted this to happen.

As far as the claims that the whole Canuck team said they were going to get Steve Moore, I think that's completely inaccurate. Brad May I believe said something to that effect, but I never heard anyone else say it. Prior to the previous game between the 2 teams, there was no talk of retribution, the players on both teams said they were going to concentrate on the 2 points, and they did. I think what Ken Hitchrooster said after Recchi was hurt was at least as much of a threat as what was said after Naslund was hit.

Also, to suggest that Crawford sent Bertuzzi out to cheap-shot Moore is far-fetched at best. Do you really think he wanted to lose one of his top players to a lengthy suspension with the playoffs approaching?

[Skilly]

HabWest said:

If a guy had jumped somebody unsuspecting on the street, knocked him out and left him with a broken neck you can bet that guy would be charged with assault, especially if he had a history of violence like Betuzzi does. There's no room in hockey at any level for this kind of BS. Let's face it, the guy is a thug and should be treated accordingly.

If someone on the street comes up to you and says "Let's Go" face to face with you and won't let you pass until you crack and agree to fight it is also assault for the two parties involved. One could argue Duress, but they will still be charged with assault.

I don't see the Vancouver police charging May with assault, could have sworn he was fighting in that game, what about those slashes, hmmmm that is assault with a weapon.

The law, and courts, have no grounds to be in sports unless they treat everyone with the same rules of law!!

[razor]

Hi Everyone, just wanted to add my two cents.

The precedent for police involvement here in Saskatchewan was set quite a few years back when Kory Kocur (drafted 1st round by Detroit) messed up a cop in one of the senior leagues. Seems to me he got beat up in a fight with the guy and later in the game came up behind him and cross checked him in the face. I couldn't find anything on the web about the incident so I'm a little fuzzy on the details. Kocur was convicted, but I can not recall what the sentence was.

Taking part in a sporting event does not place you above the law. When taking part in a sport you do agree to a certain level of physical contact/violence, that is normal for that particular sport. But when that violence exceeds what can be reasonably expected, the person committing the violent act must be accountable to society.

Let's face it, this was a premeditated attack on this person by the entire Canuck team, they were going after him the whole game, they were not going to stop until they hurt him. Mission accomplished. I hope Bertuzzi feels good about himself.

[Boston_Habs]

The obvious comp is Marty McSorley on Donald Brashear, which was a full year suspension without pay. It's hard to argue the McSorley incident was worse; in fact it's pretty easy to argue that the Bertuzzi hit was worse.

The starting point for punishment should be the balance of the season and the playoffs, minimum. Then I think he should be suspended for the balance of the next as well.

The NHL should come down hard on this. It's a shame for Canucks fans that it happens to be one of the best players in the league, but that can't be a factor in doing the right thing.

[Skilly]

razor said:

Hi Everyone, just wanted to add my two cents.

The precedent for police involvement here in Saskatchewan was set quite a few years back when Kory Kocur (drafted 1st round by Detroit) messed up a cop in one of the senior leagues. Seems to me he got beat up in a fight with the guy and later in the game came up behind him and cross checked him in the face. I couldn't find anything on the web about the incident so I'm a little fuzzy on the details. Kocur was convicted, but I can not recall what the sentence was.

Taking part in a sporting event does not place you above the law. When taking part in a sport you do agree to a certain level of physical contact/violence, that is normal for that particular sport. But when that violence exceeds what can be reasonably expected, the person committing the violent act must be accountable to society.

Let's face it, this was a premeditated attack on this person by the entire Canuck team, they were going after him the whole game, they were not going to stop until they hurt him. Mission accomplished. I hope Bertuzzi feels good about himself.

1) I believe you mean Joey Kocur.

2) In a court of law you would have to prove it was premeditated. Nobody knows what Bertuzzi was thinking when he went on that shift only Bertuzzi.

3) Where are the courts when a slash breaks someone's arm, or an elbow causes a concussion. Is that a resaonable event to expect to happen to you. No.

4) I am not condones what Bertuzzi did. The NHL is self policing. He, and I, will have to live with whatever Colin campbell decides. The only problem I have is thatthe NHL is not exactly "fair" when they hand down suspensions.

Mats Sundin: Throws jagged stick into stands. Could have potentially killed someone, or taken an eye out. No police. 1 game suspension.

Matt Johnson: Attacks/Blindsides a player. The player was out cold before hitting the ice. No police. 10 game suspension.

Dale Hunter attacks Turgeon: Turgeon missed some playoff games, Hunter's suspension 21 games. Again no police.

It seems to me thatthe only time the police get involved is when it happens in Vancouver. What he did was wrong. But jail time?

[razor]

Certain it was Kory not Joey Kocur. I grew up in Quill Lake and played with Lyle Odelien, Kelvington was our toughest competition with Kory being their best player. Check hockeydb.com for his draft postition and career (or lack therof) stats.

I would have to argue that when you are playing hockey you fully expect that you may be slashed or checked into the boards and injured. You certainly do not expect to be jumped and punched from behind.

As an engineer our profession is self regulating=self policing, the same for doctors, lawyers etc. This means that we control the practice of our profession, set standards for those who want to practice, and discipline those who violate our standards. This does not put us above the law. If for example, I design a building that collapses due to my negligence/incompetence, my profession will revoke my licesnse, perhaps for life, and maybe fine me. The police will also charge me with criminal negligence.

Self policing is fine for the small stuff, but there is a point where the justice that they can meter out does not match the crime. This is when the police should become involved.

[Skilly]

Insomnius said:

I have thought that way for a long time and THAT more than anything will stop the madness...You gave Eric Lindros a concussion? (granted it ain't hard ) You're out until he is dumb enough to try coming back. Your slash caused (pick one - MacInnis, Berard etc etc) to nearly lose an eye? You stay out until they come back...

There is one problem with this. What standard do you set for being defined "able to play".

I mean if I were a coach, I would send my worst player out all night to shadow the opposition's best player. I would tell him get as tight ot him as you can. Then I increase my chance of him clipping him with a high-stick, or receiving an elbow. Then when it happens (especially this time of year) I would tell the doctors to not pronounce him ready for the playoffs. In fact I bet it would be encouraged to say he is gone for the season if the "perpetrator" is an elite player.

Why not .... it is an easy way of making sure you don't face him in the playoffs.

[habitant]

CentreHice said:

Moore's hit on Naslund was a clean open-ice tough, hard bodycheck. If Naslund had hit Moore that way, everyone would be applauding Naslund's grit. "Steve Moore....who's that? Shoulda kept his head up."

Star hockey players should NOT be "protected". They're making millions of dollars and can't expect to skate around the ice in a protective barrier. Lafleur, Hull, Howe, Orr, Esposito, Richard...they all took their fair share of clean hits and tough checks. It's this "Gretzky-Semenko" phenomenon that exists now, and it sickens me.

Yeah, if Moore elbowed Naslund in the head...then he should have been suspended. But he didn't and he wasn't. Mark Crawford isn't innocent in all this....yelling and screaming for Moore's head on a platter. And he almost got it. A shot to the side of the head....knocked cold before he hit the ice....then 2 broken vertebrae in his neck as Bertuzzi's 245 pounds landed on him....will he ever play again? Nothing less than a suspension for the rest of the regular season and the playoffs will do. The message has to be sent.

Bill Watters, on MOJO saying, "I feel sorry for Moore...but I also feel sorry for Bertuzzi...he's not like that." Tell me that if your kid is Steve Moore, Billy.

I don't feel sorry for Bertuzzi, for Crawford, for the Canucks, and especially not for Naslund who is such a wuss, he needs his teammates and coach to come to bat for him for a CLEAN HIT!!! Keep your head up Markus! You're in the NHL...you could get hit cleanly.

I don't know about calling Naslund a wuss. Who are you to say he asked his teammates for help. I don't think he was too concerned about the issue either way. It was his teammates decision.

[MC Habber]

Naslund publicly asked his teammates not to try to get retribution.

[CentreHice]

habitant said:

I don't know about calling Naslund a wuss. Who are you to say he asked his teammates for help.

Where in my post did I say he "asked his teammates for help"? I said he "needs his teammates and coach to come to bat for him". And obviously that's true.

The only way I'll retract that statement is if, as the captain, he tried to quell the locker room and
bench buzz that Moore was going to get it and get it good. It was a clean hit they were avenging, for god's sake. If it was a dirty hit, Moore would have been suspended for it...it was reviewed and declared a clean hit. Case closed. And so the "code" says...get him back, but do it clean.

Naslund's not responsible for Bertuzzi's attack...but as his best buddy, if he didn't try to calm him down, he, like the coach and his fellow players, was part of the problem.

[PTH]

What I don't get is why Bertuzzi didn't just go face to face with Moore, drop the gloves and beat him up fair and square. Sure he'd take an instigator penalty, but it was by far the lesser evil. Just losing it like he did was sure to lead to bigger problems...

[MC Habber]

According to a Gary Mason article in today's Vanouver Sun, Bertuzzi has a history of poor judgement in the heat of the moment, losing sight of what's best for his team.

Actually, Mason wrote 2 articles, one where he really ripped into Bertuzzi, and not just for the attack - he called him selfish and lazy, saying he often doesn't work hard in games and he gets no sympathy because he is so grumpy with the media. I found it a bit unfair to attack him in that way when he's already under-fire, considering I've never heard Mason say anything like that about him before. The other Mason article took a much softer stance... it was hard to believe they were written by the same person on the same day. BTW, I think Mason is an excellent sportswriter - he's got the humour of Jack Todd without the crassness and he's usually balanced and interesting. (Hey look, I went off on a tangent...)

[Montrealer]

I love the fear of the courts of law getting involved, as if absolutely anything goes on the ice. Listen, if Bertuzzi had pulled a gun and blasted away, would you sing the same tune? No? Well, go sit in the corner.

The guy sucker-punched a player from behind, and then grabbed that player by the top of the back of his jersey and drove his head into the ice.

I know, Bertuzzi is obviously distraught over what he did. I'm sure he was seeing red and not reason that night. No matter.

The law is the law is the law, wannabe barristers of the board. You will not escape the law by stating that you weren't thinking clearly when you decided to use your shopping cart to smash that smart-aleck to the ground at the grocery. You will not escape the law by stating that you weren't thinking clearly when you decide to settle a bar fight by using the sharp end of a broken beer bottle, because you were too drunk to realize that you were wielding a deadly weapon when you stabbed that guy that was hitting on you girl.

You will have to face the law.

So should Bertuzzi.

They take your history into account, as they should in this case. I'm a big believer in reforming criminals, not locking them up for seventeen gazillion years like our slighly inept cousins to the south.

Perhaps in this case, a month in jail, plus 600 hours of community service, plus 100 hours of anger management classes.

Or no jail and 1200 hours of community service.

Where will he find the time, you ask?

The league suspension for the rest of the 2003-04 season and the full 2004-05 season.

Considering the McSorely case as a benchmark, a 16 month suspension is fully warranted.



I wish my 1000th post was more cheerful, but there it is.

[habmeister]

Montrealer said:

I love the fear of the courts of law getting involved, as if absolutely anything goes on the ice. Listen, if Bertuzzi had pulled a gun and blasted away, would you sing the same tune? No? Well, go sit in the corner.

The guy sucker-punched a player from behind, and then grabbed that player by the top of the back of his jersey and drove his head into the ice.

I know, Bertuzzi is obviously distraught over what he did. I'm sure he was seeing red and not reason that night. No matter.

The law is the law is the law, wannabe barristers of the board. You will not escape the law by stating that you weren't thinking clearly when you decided to use your shopping cart to smash that smart-aleck to the ground at the grocery. You will not escape the law by stating that you weren't thinking clearly when you decide to settle a bar fight by using the sharp end of a broken beer bottle, because you were too drunk to realize that you were wielding a deadly weapon when you stabbed that guy that was hitting on you girl.

You will have to face the law.

So should Bertuzzi.

They take your history into account, as they should in this case. I'm a big believer in reforming criminals, not locking them up for seventeen gazillion years like our slighly inept cousins to the south.

Perhaps in this case, a month in jail, plus 600 hours of community service, plus 100 hours of anger management classes.

Or no jail and 1200 hours of community service.

Where will he find the time, you ask?

The league suspension for the rest of the 2003-04 season and the full 2004-05 season.

Considering the McSorely case as a benchmark, a 16 month suspension is fully warranted.



I wish my 1000th post was more cheerful, but there it is.

So swinging and hitting a guy in the head with a hockey stick isn't as bad as hitting him with a gloved hand?? What if moore's neck wasn't broken, and he just had a concussion as bad as naslund's was?? Would everyone be calling for his head then.

What if brashear broke his neck when it snapped back after mcsorley hit him in the head with his stick. Would mcsorley have deserved more??

It was very bad luck that his neck broke, but saying to suspend him for 16 months is ridiculous. I say he gets 25 games.

[MC Habber]

Montrealer said:

I love the fear of the courts of law getting involved, as if absolutely anything goes on the ice. Listen, if Bertuzzi had pulled a gun and blasted away, would you sing the same tune? No? Well, go sit in the corner.

Exactly who decides in which cases the police should get invloved? Why is what Bertuzzi did a crime but what Marchement did is not? What about the cross-check by Suter on Kariya? I'm not saying the police necessarily shouldn't get involved or that Bertuzzi shouldn't be charged, but come on, it's not a black and white issue. It's a slippery slope - how long will it be before we have law suits or criminal charges anytime a player gets injured on an illegal hit? Think I'm exaggerating? Have you seen the stuff that people get sued for, and lose? Sombody actually broke in to someone else's house and tripped over a loose piece of carpet and sued them and won! The more the law gets involved in the game, the less respect players will have for each other.

Again, I'm not against the police investigating this incident, but IMO there have been other incidents over the last few years that could easily have merited an investigation as well, yet nobody even suggested it.

Sorry to rant, but to suggest that it's ridiculous to be concerned is, well, ridiculous.

[BadCompany]

habaroni said:

So swinging and hitting a guy in the head with a hockey stick isn't as bad as hitting him with a gloved hand?? What if moore's neck wasn't broken, and he just had a concussion as bad as naslund's was?? Would everyone be calling for his head then.

What if brashear broke his neck when it snapped back after mcsorley hit him in the head with his stick. Would mcsorley have deserved more??

It was very bad luck that his neck broke, but saying to suspend him for 16 months is ridiculous. I say he gets 25 games.

Rightly or wrongly, our entire criminal system, our sense of right and wrong, of crime and punishment, is based on the severity of the damage done to the victim.

For example, if I point a gun at somebody, and shoot them in the leg, just to hurt them, I will be charged with, at worst, attempted murder. But, if I hit an artery, and that person dies, I will be charged with murder. The punishment is different, and more severe, even though my act, and intent, was the same in both cases.

Similarily, if I drive drunk, and injury somebody while doing so, I will be charged with something like driving while impaired and causing bodily injury. However, if that person dies, I will be charged with vehicular manslaughter. Again, the severity of the punishment is different, even though in both cases my act - driving drunk - was the same, and even though I never had any intention of hurting anybody.

Steal $200, get a fine. Steal $200,000, go to jail.

I like Todd Bertuzzi as a player. We all do. I like the Vancouver Canucks, and I wanted them to come out of the West, perhaps setting up an All-Canadian Stanley Cup. But you can't ignore the actions. Todd Bertuzzi broke somebody's neck. It may not have been what he wanted to do (most certainly wasn't) but that's what he did. And he has to be punished for breaking somebody's neck.

What Bertuzzi did wasn't "in the heat of the moment." He didn't attack Moore the second after Moore hit Naslund, or for the remainder of the game. He didn't even attack Moore the next time the Avs and Canucks played - this is the second game they have played since then. He didn't even attack Moore at the start of the game. He waited until the end of the game, when his team had no chance of winning. That's premeditated. That's deliberate. That's "I'm going to wait for the most opportune time, when it won't cost my team the game." That's NOT heat of the moment.

I've been calling for stiffer suspensions for years now, ever since the McSorely incident. If it were up to me, Bertuzzi would get a year. As it is, anything less than the rest of the season AND the ENTIRE playoffs will be considered weak, by me.

[Habs_fan_in_LA]

BadCompany said:

Rightly or wrongly, our entire criminal system, our sense of right and wrong, of crime and punishment, is based on the severity of the damage done to the victim.

For example, if I point a gun at somebody, and shoot them in the leg, just to hurt them, I will be charged with, at worst, attempted murder. But, if I hit an artery, and that person dies, I will be charged with murder. The punishment is different, and more severe, even though my act, and intent, was the same in both cases.

Similarily, if I drive drunk, and injury somebody while doing so, I will be charged with something like driving while impaired and causing bodily injury. However, if that person dies, I will be charged with vehicular manslaughter. Again, the severity of the punishment is different, even though in both cases my act - driving drunk - was the same, and even though I never had any intention of hurting anybody.

Steal $200, get a fine. Steal $200,000, go to jail.

I like Todd Bertuzzi as a player. We all do. I like the Vancouver Canucks, and I wanted them to come out of the West, perhaps setting up an All-Canadian Stanley Cup. But you can't ignore the actions. Todd Bertuzzi broke somebody's neck. It may not have been what he wanted to do (most certainly wasn't) but that's what he did. And he has to be punished for breaking somebody's neck.

What Bertuzzi did wasn't "in the heat of the moment." He didn't attack Moore the second after Moore hit Naslund, or for the remainder of the game. He didn't even attack Moore the next time the Avs and Canucks played - this is the second game they have played since then. He didn't even attack Moore at the start of the game. He waited until the end of the game, when his team had no chance of winning. That's premeditated. That's deliberate. That's "I'm going to wait for the most opportune time, when it won't cost my team the game." That's NOT heat of the moment.

I've been calling for stiffer suspensions for years now, ever since the McSorely incident. If it were up to me, Bertuzzi would get a year. As it is, anything less than the rest of the season AND the ENTIRE playoffs will be considered weak, by me.

Sorry BC; I have to disagree with two things you said.

1. The "attack" was just a face rub+. Bertuzzi didn't drop his gloves to really injure his opponent. It was an unfortunate misguided part of a hockey game.

2. Steal $200, go to jail, go directly to jail. Steal $200,000, suspended sentence or go to country club incarceration on the fifth offence if your $500,000 lawyer doesn't get you off because the arresting officer didn't have his shirt pressed when he read you your rights.

[habwest]

Just a Face Rub+....Hmmmm.

These gloves are in effect plastic armor on the outside. Without forewarning Moore is hit by a round house right on the temple (which in itself can kill or seriously hurt a person) and is out on his feet as soon as he is hit. Bertuzzi then throws his full weight (he is 55 lbs heavier) on the guy as he is falling, uses his right hand to direct Moore's head into the ice and puts his left forearm across the back of Moores neck as he hits the ice.

Let me get this straight.

Let's draw a parallel. A 245 lb thug mugs an average sized guy at a gas station and leaves him cut up and severely concussed with a broken neck. Although 'full recovery' is projected it is unclear if the guy will in fact do so to the extent that he can resume an active job and life in general (eg continuing effects of the concussion).

Fortunately this is all captured on a security camera and the perpetrator is caught.

But he's sorry for what happened (ie he's sorry the guy got hurt but he doesn't own up to the fact that he was wrong in doing what he did [ in other words if the guy hadn't been hurt it would have been OK], which is basically what Bertuzzi said in his 'apology') and, after all, it was only a 'minor incident' so he should be more or less let off with a slap on the wrist.

Somehow I don't think that this would happen.

So to characterize what Bertuzzi did as an " 'attack'...just a face rub+" and an "unfortunate misguided part of a hocky game" I find an outrageous statement and, frankly, an insult to my intelligence.

It was a true premeditated assault (in criminal terms) pure and simple with serious consequences. The attitude that one is making too much of a fuss of this, that this is just a "misguided" part of a sporting event is, I think, part of the problem. Hockey like any part of society is subject to the laws of the country and this is particularly the case when it obviously has failed to police itself. When players like Mike Modano say (several years ago) that the game is getting too violent and something should be done about it's time to listen, else a player will one day be killed. It has after all already happened.

[Lyle_Odelein]

One thing about this whole situation that bothers me is the lack of accuracy in the depiction of Steve Moore's injuries. I have heard it reported multipe times that Moore has a broken neck. Not having any knowledge of anatomy or anything like that, I thought this was a life altering, career ending thing. I was talking with a friend who's in Med. School to be a sports doctor, and he stated that Moore's injury is not as serious as it has been made to sound. He said that Moore should be able to return from the neck injury after about two months (depending on his concussion). Initially I dismissed what he said thinking he was just giving his half informed diagnosis. Today, in Brian Burke's press conference, he said that the prognosis he received from a doctor predicted Moore would be able to skate in 4-6 weeks. I guess my buddy actually did know what he was talking about.

This revelation has me both angered and relieved. I'm glad to hear that Steve Moore should come out of this alright. However, I'm furious that the media has been so concerned with the legal, hockey and other ramifications of this incident, they haven't even taken any time to point out that this injury is not as serious as it sounds to an average person. Here's an example:

www.canada.com/sports/hockey/story.html?id=25FE7970-DD93-47DB-9185-341C9B80A18E

There's no mention that this is actually pretty good news for Moore. There's not even an attempt to explain that this means Moore should be able to return in the near future.

I'm not trying to reduce the seriousness of the incident, it is a terrible thing and Bertuzzi deserves to be HARSHLY punished. I am just shocked at the information that has not been put forth in any of the hundreds of news items I've watched and read on this incident. I am angry at the media's unwillingness to give any semblance of the full story here.

[franko]

And here-in lies the problem with the NHL disciplinary philosophy: discipline/punishment is meted out based on result not action. Slash a wrist? 2 minutes. Slash harder? 4 minutes or a game. Slash hard enough to break the wrist? A couple of games. Whack someone over the head? 5 games. Cause a concussion/put a player out of action? 20 games.

If the NHL wanted to make a statement now was the time to do it. Slashing? 5 minutes and a game. Period. For [any] slash. 2nd offense? 5 games. 3rd offense? 25 games. Call it, and how much slashing would there be? Same for crosschecking. Two-hand someone? You're gone. And if it is after a goal scored against (how many times have we seen that?) 5 games.

No leniency, either: star player or hack, you do it you pay.

Odds are, though, that our refs would call it for 3 games, the owners and GMs would complain about too many penalties,a nd that would be it.

[Skilly]

franko said:

And here-in lies the problem with the NHL disciplinary philosophy: discipline/punishment is meted out based on result not action. Slash a wrist? 2 minutes. Slash harder? 4 minutes or a game. Slash hard enough to break the wrist? A couple of games. Whack someone over the head? 5 games. Cause a concussion/put a player out of action? 20 games.

If the NHL wanted to make a statement now was the time to do it. Slashing? 5 minutes and a game. Period. For [any] slash. 2nd offense? 5 games. 3rd offense? 25 games. Call it, and how much slashing would there be? Same for crosschecking. Two-hand someone? You're gone. And if it is after a goal scored against (how many times have we seen that?) 5 games.

No leniency, either: star player or hack, you do it you pay.

Odds are, though, that our refs would call it for 3 games, the owners and GMs would complain about too many penalties,a nd that would be it.

Finally some sense to the arguement.

Bertuzzi's attack is not as bad as Johnson's attack on Beukeboom. Moore "only" (might not be the best word because it could have been worse) had a mild concussion and two fractured (as in hairline) vertebrae. NOT a broken neck! Brian Savage had a broken neck ... he is still playing ... Gary Roberts had his spine fused ... he is still playing. Johnson left his feet and hit Beukeboom with such force that the concussion forced him from the game. In this day and age when players ahve 6-10 concussions in a career and still play ...the ONE that Beukeboom suffered must have been brutal.
Yet JOhnson got 12 games. Bertuzzi might get 41 this year alone.

Then there is the arguement oh he could have killed him. I agree he could have and he should be punished. But Sundin could have killed a fan when he threw his stick in the stands. He only got 1 game. I am not against fining or suspending Bertuzzi, but it should be done fairly and justly and on the rule of precedent.