"Bertuzzi's Timeout"

I am sure that everyone keeps checking my blog every few hours to see if I am going to write about the Todd Bertuzzi incident.

I feel I might have to first set up the back story for my non-hockey fans. A few months ago the Vancouver Canucks forward and NHL ALL-Star was cleanly hit by Colorado Avalanche rookie Steve Moore. Naslund had his “bell rung” and missed a handful of games. Naslund’s frequent line mate and friend along with some other players put a bounty out on Moore. So the next time the played NHL commissioner Garry Bettman and team of “NHL suits” went to monitor the game and nothing happened. So everyone thought it was a dead issue.

Well this past week the teams met up again and Todd Bertuzzi got his revenge. Now there is a code in hockey that if the other team is taking runs at your star players its totally cool to either go after their star players or beat the crap out of the guys who took a run at the star player to begin with. I should make it clear I have no problem with this. However it has to be done with either a clean hit (which Moore’s was) or with the player challenging the other player to a fight face to face. Most times players will have the few seconds to know you are going to fight by dropping the gloves and sizing each other up. Most injuries in hockey fights are actually the hands of the players from throwing the punches. Plus players know they could either turtle like Barnaby or just walk away. Most players know if they are in trouble to just fall to the ice and that’s the end of the fight.


What Todd Bertuzzi did was wait till Steve Moore had his back to him to make his move. He chased behind Moore who likely didn’t even know what was happening and violently took a swing at him. Now I don’t know if Todd intended to land his punch where he did but his fist landed square on the back of Moore’s neck combined with the speed Todd had as he was skating resulting a fractured neck. At this point Moore almost lifelessly slumped to the ice and Bertuzzi jumped on top of him and gave a few more punches one that actually landed. I doubt he realized that Moore was seriously hurt.

Moore suffered a severe concussion from this impact with the ice, and a fractured neck and face lacerations. A little harder or over some more and Moore could have been paralyzed or dead. Most people think it is likely that he will never play again. I am optimistic and point to Bryan Berard who suffered a horrific eye injury at the hands of a high-stick. I saw it on TV live and it’s easily the most blood I ever saw gush out of a hockey player. It was frightening.

Anyhow what Bertuzzi did was cowardly, despicable, gutless, hateful and just plan out wrong. Earlier today the NHL decided to suspend the Canucks super star for the rest of the regular season and the entire playoffs. He was fined a quarter of million bucks and his team was slapped with a fine too. Not a good thing for a small market team.

The NHL’s move was a sly one they have definitely extended the suspension through the 2004-05 season and are requiring Bertuzzi to meet with Bettman before next season. This decision makes both camps happy. The people that wanted to see Todd be ousted for life can’t say they didn’t win, and since there will likely not be a full season next year not making decision on next year makes it a appear his punishment might be over by next year.

I talked to Drew earlier tonight about the matter and no surprisingly he told me if he was running the league Bertuzzi would be banned for life. If I was in the same position I don’t know if I could oust him for life. I would likely keep him out for the first half of next season too, and figure that the time missed would be punishment enough. I don’t mean to say what Bertuzzi did was right, but I don’t think I would oust him from the league.

It is really an important decision by the NHL because banning him for life would be making a huge statement about where the league is heading. It would also create a gray area for what should be considered grounds for a life time ban. But one has to wonder if taking no action could one day result in a player being paralyzed on the ice or worse. I feel just awful for Steve Moore.

One final note is that the media coverage of this incident has been particularly annoying. Tons of people that don’t give a damn about hockey any other day of the week are offering their two cents. That don’t really impress me much. Where was the media coverage when Mark Messier passed Gordie Howe in the all time NHL scoring record books? Where was the national news when Gagne won a game on a penalty shot? Hell the outside game got almost no coverage at all. The paint the NHL as overly violent game yet they don’t mind showing the footage 3 times in an hour. They live for this kind of stuff.

All the fallout of this could lead to rule changes. I really hope they don’t blame fighting for this one. What happened last week had nothing to do with having fighting the NHL. It was just a cheap shot. Far worse has been done with high sticks being carelessly thrown around, just ask Bernie Parent. This situation differs a bit from when Brasher (with the Vancouver at the time) got knocked over the noggin by Marty McCsorley because Marty used his stick as weapon. What makes this such a big story is although tough Bertuzzi is not a good but one of the NHL’s best forwards.

Maybe I just don’t want to see the game have to come to the point that they have to through out players and that’s why I think ousting him is too harsh.