Bertuzzi Reinstated
Aug 13, 2005 6:41:49 GMT -5
Post by M. Beaux-Eaux on Aug 13, 2005 6:41:49 GMT -5
Aug. 12, 2005. 01:00 AM
The long road back
Steve Moore continues to show improvement but has a lengthy battle ahead
by Terry Frei
Seventeen months after Steve Moore lay bleeding and unconscious on the ice in Vancouver, he pulled up to the Thornhill Community Centre this week in a sport utility vehicle with Colorado licence plates.
Though Moore no longer is under contract to the Avalanche and hasn't received medical clearance to play hockey, he hopes the white and green plates represent his place of employment again soon.
Above all, that would mean Moore, who plans to go to Denver this month to work with the Avalanche medical staff, is healthy again.
"I'm better than I was two months ago, better than I was six months ago, and certainly better than I was 17 months ago," he said.
Moore underwent extensive examinations this week at the renowned Cleveland Clinic, as doctors attempted to gauge his recovery from the fractured neck and concussion he suffered in the attack by the Vancouver Canucks' Todd Bertuzzi on March 8, 2004.
The results aren't expected for several weeks. Meanwhile, Moore is back in the spotlight after NHL commissioner Gary Bettman's decision to end Bertuzzi's suspension — which will end up costing him 20 regular-season and playoff games and slightly more than $500,000 in salary — and allow him to play in the 2005-06 season. The replay of Bertuzzi's punch has been a television staple this week.
"I try not to watch it because it's tough to watch it," Moore said. "A lot of times, especially when I first saw it, it was like, `Thank God I'm still alive and able to walk.'"
Because his lawsuit against Bertuzzi is pending in Denver District Court, Moore has been advised not to comment extensively about what happened in Vancouver that night, or about Bertuzzi.
Choosing his words carefully, Moore said of Bertuzzi's reinstatement: "I was surprised to get the news. I am getting better, but I have a long way to go. It's difficult to see that he's able to play again when I still have a long way to go, and not just in hockey, but with my health."
Moore is working out, in the gym and on the ice, often with his brothers Mark, a former minor-league player, and Dominic, who is expected to stick this season with the New York Rangers. But Steve suffers setbacks, such as occasional wooziness.
One thing Moore, a 26-year-old Harvard graduate, hasn't lost is hope. It's as if he won't allow himself to ponder the possibility that by the end of the month, doctors might tell him he shouldn't — or can't — play hockey again because of the possible toll of even a clean hit.
"The concussion is more the issue, for sure," he said. "The neck feels pretty good. I do a lot of exercises on it every day, range of motion and extension and strengthening after having it immobilized for a long period of time. Soft tissue tends to take a while to come back and heal properly, but it's been coming around.
"Most of the time I'm positive that I'm going to get better. I've come a long way and I'm gaining. Things pop in my head every once in a while that shouldn't, but to be honest, I don't think like that very often. If and when I get to the point where I say, `I'm ready to go, what do you think?' and they say, `You might feel you're ready to go, but ...' At that point, I'll have to re-evaluate. It's hard enough not to feel great all the time and try to be pushing it at the same time."
Moore's Toronto attorney, Tim Danson, called him "one of the most remarkable human beings I've ever met.
"Notwithstanding the clear medical challenges ahead of himself, he has exhibited a positive attitude and is incredibly highly motivated," Danson said. "There's no question there are times where I've observed Steve being very depressed. Well, maybe you'll think I'm playing word games here, but a better word than `depressed' is `sad,' because he's so genuine. There's a real sadness, a realization that, `Oh, my gosh, my dream is being smashed.'
"But then he brings himself out of that and gets positive again. In fact, I've had to emphasize to him that when he talks to doctors, he has to be 100 per cent honest."
Moore said he still hasn't heard "privately or publicly" from Bertuzzi. "But I'm not waiting by the phone."
Before the incident in Vancouver, Moore had spent most of his three-season pro career with the Avs' American Hockey League affiliate at Hershey, Pa.
But as the 2003-04 season wound down, he had taken advantage of being summoned to Colorado after Avalanche injuries and seemed to be proving himself as a solid NHL player on the checking line.
Now he may be marked as physically suspect, and another question arises: Will he face the stigma of having filed suit against not just Bertuzzi, but also the Canucks and their coach, Marc Crawford, plus former general manager Brian Burke and former Vancouver winger Brad May, now with the Avalanche?
"I guess we'll see," Moore said. "I don't think so. I think anybody who understands the situation that I was in, and that I am in, would probably do the same thing. ... I'd like to think that part of putting this whole ugly incident behind me is that I would hope to be back with the Avalanche. And I hope that they realize I've done everything I can to make this not more of a spectacle.
"I haven't done any type of interviews, other than what was really needed when I came out of the hospital or at the time of the criminal charges (against Bertuzzi) and things like that. I have not done a single interview, and I hope that the NHL and the teams recognize that that's something I purposely did, and instead have been concentrating on what I'm trying to do, and not drawing more negative attention to the sport. I've been trying to focus on getting better, and I hope that they're aware of that."
Danson, in fact, said he believes Moore would drop the lawsuit "in a heartbeat," if he returns to the NHL. "He doesn't want to be in a courtroom, he wants to be on the ice. That's where his dreams are."
Moore was reticent to comment about the Avalanche's signing of May, who is included in the lawsuit. As a member of the Canucks, May mentioned a "bounty" on Moore because of his unpenalized hit on Canucks captain Markus Naslund in a February 2004 game in Denver.
"I was certainly very surprised to hear that, as I'm sure most people were," Moore said.
Moore's representatives approached the Avs about Moore returning to Denver to work with the team's medical staff, and the team agreed.
Moore and his family have written letters to Colorado general manager Pierre Lacroix, thanking him for the team's support of Moore. But the Avs haven't committed to signing Moore if the results from Cleveland are positive.
"What we know is that Steve has not been cleared medically," team spokesman Jean Martineau said. "Hopefully, that will happen. But until then we can't speculate on what we would do."
Moore, though, said he considers himself a member of the organization — and not just because of those licence plates.
"The support has been amazing from the people of Denver, the people of Colorado," he said.
"It's really been something that has inspired me to come through it, that people cared enough to write a card.
"That's something I'm very aware of and it's been incredibly uplifting in a situation that could very much be the opposite."
DENVER POST
The long road back
Steve Moore continues to show improvement but has a lengthy battle ahead
by Terry Frei
Seventeen months after Steve Moore lay bleeding and unconscious on the ice in Vancouver, he pulled up to the Thornhill Community Centre this week in a sport utility vehicle with Colorado licence plates.
Though Moore no longer is under contract to the Avalanche and hasn't received medical clearance to play hockey, he hopes the white and green plates represent his place of employment again soon.
Above all, that would mean Moore, who plans to go to Denver this month to work with the Avalanche medical staff, is healthy again.
"I'm better than I was two months ago, better than I was six months ago, and certainly better than I was 17 months ago," he said.
Moore underwent extensive examinations this week at the renowned Cleveland Clinic, as doctors attempted to gauge his recovery from the fractured neck and concussion he suffered in the attack by the Vancouver Canucks' Todd Bertuzzi on March 8, 2004.
The results aren't expected for several weeks. Meanwhile, Moore is back in the spotlight after NHL commissioner Gary Bettman's decision to end Bertuzzi's suspension — which will end up costing him 20 regular-season and playoff games and slightly more than $500,000 in salary — and allow him to play in the 2005-06 season. The replay of Bertuzzi's punch has been a television staple this week.
"I try not to watch it because it's tough to watch it," Moore said. "A lot of times, especially when I first saw it, it was like, `Thank God I'm still alive and able to walk.'"
Because his lawsuit against Bertuzzi is pending in Denver District Court, Moore has been advised not to comment extensively about what happened in Vancouver that night, or about Bertuzzi.
Choosing his words carefully, Moore said of Bertuzzi's reinstatement: "I was surprised to get the news. I am getting better, but I have a long way to go. It's difficult to see that he's able to play again when I still have a long way to go, and not just in hockey, but with my health."
Moore is working out, in the gym and on the ice, often with his brothers Mark, a former minor-league player, and Dominic, who is expected to stick this season with the New York Rangers. But Steve suffers setbacks, such as occasional wooziness.
One thing Moore, a 26-year-old Harvard graduate, hasn't lost is hope. It's as if he won't allow himself to ponder the possibility that by the end of the month, doctors might tell him he shouldn't — or can't — play hockey again because of the possible toll of even a clean hit.
"The concussion is more the issue, for sure," he said. "The neck feels pretty good. I do a lot of exercises on it every day, range of motion and extension and strengthening after having it immobilized for a long period of time. Soft tissue tends to take a while to come back and heal properly, but it's been coming around.
"Most of the time I'm positive that I'm going to get better. I've come a long way and I'm gaining. Things pop in my head every once in a while that shouldn't, but to be honest, I don't think like that very often. If and when I get to the point where I say, `I'm ready to go, what do you think?' and they say, `You might feel you're ready to go, but ...' At that point, I'll have to re-evaluate. It's hard enough not to feel great all the time and try to be pushing it at the same time."
Moore's Toronto attorney, Tim Danson, called him "one of the most remarkable human beings I've ever met.
"Notwithstanding the clear medical challenges ahead of himself, he has exhibited a positive attitude and is incredibly highly motivated," Danson said. "There's no question there are times where I've observed Steve being very depressed. Well, maybe you'll think I'm playing word games here, but a better word than `depressed' is `sad,' because he's so genuine. There's a real sadness, a realization that, `Oh, my gosh, my dream is being smashed.'
"But then he brings himself out of that and gets positive again. In fact, I've had to emphasize to him that when he talks to doctors, he has to be 100 per cent honest."
Moore said he still hasn't heard "privately or publicly" from Bertuzzi. "But I'm not waiting by the phone."
Before the incident in Vancouver, Moore had spent most of his three-season pro career with the Avs' American Hockey League affiliate at Hershey, Pa.
But as the 2003-04 season wound down, he had taken advantage of being summoned to Colorado after Avalanche injuries and seemed to be proving himself as a solid NHL player on the checking line.
Now he may be marked as physically suspect, and another question arises: Will he face the stigma of having filed suit against not just Bertuzzi, but also the Canucks and their coach, Marc Crawford, plus former general manager Brian Burke and former Vancouver winger Brad May, now with the Avalanche?
"I guess we'll see," Moore said. "I don't think so. I think anybody who understands the situation that I was in, and that I am in, would probably do the same thing. ... I'd like to think that part of putting this whole ugly incident behind me is that I would hope to be back with the Avalanche. And I hope that they realize I've done everything I can to make this not more of a spectacle.
"I haven't done any type of interviews, other than what was really needed when I came out of the hospital or at the time of the criminal charges (against Bertuzzi) and things like that. I have not done a single interview, and I hope that the NHL and the teams recognize that that's something I purposely did, and instead have been concentrating on what I'm trying to do, and not drawing more negative attention to the sport. I've been trying to focus on getting better, and I hope that they're aware of that."
Danson, in fact, said he believes Moore would drop the lawsuit "in a heartbeat," if he returns to the NHL. "He doesn't want to be in a courtroom, he wants to be on the ice. That's where his dreams are."
Moore was reticent to comment about the Avalanche's signing of May, who is included in the lawsuit. As a member of the Canucks, May mentioned a "bounty" on Moore because of his unpenalized hit on Canucks captain Markus Naslund in a February 2004 game in Denver.
"I was certainly very surprised to hear that, as I'm sure most people were," Moore said.
Moore's representatives approached the Avs about Moore returning to Denver to work with the team's medical staff, and the team agreed.
Moore and his family have written letters to Colorado general manager Pierre Lacroix, thanking him for the team's support of Moore. But the Avs haven't committed to signing Moore if the results from Cleveland are positive.
"What we know is that Steve has not been cleared medically," team spokesman Jean Martineau said. "Hopefully, that will happen. But until then we can't speculate on what we would do."
Moore, though, said he considers himself a member of the organization — and not just because of those licence plates.
"The support has been amazing from the people of Denver, the people of Colorado," he said.
"It's really been something that has inspired me to come through it, that people cared enough to write a card.
"That's something I'm very aware of and it's been incredibly uplifting in a situation that could very much be the opposite."
DENVER POST
