March 10, 2004

Making sure blood isn't spilled again.: The NHL should suspend Todd Bertuzzi for a year — or be held responsible for incidents in the future.

Just like every other hockey fan on the continent, I winced when I saw Avalanche center Steve Moore go down Monday night. His hands never went up to break his fall. His head bounced sickeningly off the ice, even with Canuck winger Todd Bertuzzi pushing against it with all his might. We all hoped for the best for Moore, and we received mixed news later — two broken vertebrae in Moore’s neck, no apparent paralysis. But it shows that something is seriously wrong with hockey when we all breathe a sigh of relief simply because a player might walk again after a blatant cheap shot. Immediately after the game, the rationalizing started. The intimation was that this all happened because Moore had laid his own supposedly questionable hit on Canuck winger Marcus Naslund earlier in the season. Whether or not retribution for that hit was in order is not in question. Hockey players like Moore understand one immutable rule — hit the other team’s top scorer and you’ll be a target yourself. Moore knew Bertuzzi was gunning for him, but chose not to turn and get a fight started in a game being dominated 9-2 by Colorado. That’s just intelligence. Naslund’s half-hearted apology after the game was no better. He said “as weird as it seems, I don't think that was Todd's intention. He obviously gave him a sucker punch, but he feels really awful about it right now.” It’s difficult to say Bertuzzi didn’t intend to injure Moore when: • Bertuzzi skated nearly half the length of rink to attack Moore with his back turned; • Bertuzzi deliberately drive Moore’s head into the ice; • Vancouver and the Avalanche had played a game in the interim, a 5-5 tie in Colorado where Naslund made nice with Moore and there was no serious altercations. • Moore had already been challenged in the first period of the most recent game, a weak fight with Canuck winger Matt Cooke. Saying Bertuzzi feels badly or regrets his actions doesn’t make less culpable for what he did. It’s called remorse, and to say it somehow forgives what Bertuzzi did is just wrong. If he didn’t feel it, he’d be a psychopath. What is really in question is what the National Hockey League will do to keep other players from repeating Bertuzzi’s indefensible action. League officials postponed a hearing with Bertuzzi on Wednesday, but there should be no rush to settle this matter. The indefinite suspension should be extended through the remainder of the year, including the playoffs. In the offseason, the NHL should take the opportunity to play to the media and pick up the incident again, making a big show of suspending Bertuzzi for an entire season. If Gary Bettman, Colin Campbell and the rest of the NHL brass handle this correctly, it could go a long way to ensuring Moore’s blood will be the last spilled by this sort of attack. If they don’t, they’ll be just as guilty as Bertuzzi.

posted by wfrazerjr to at 04:56 PM - 0 comments