Bertuzzi pleads guilty to on-ice assault

[HocChe]

December 23, 2004

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (AP) -- Vancouver Canucks star Todd Bertuzzi pleaded guilty to assault, more than nine months after slugging Colorado's Steve Moore in the head from behind during a game.

Bertuzzi, who faced a maximum of 18 months in prison, was given a conditional discharge Wednesday, the sentence prosecutor Garth Loeppky recommended after Bertuzzi agreed to plead guilty.

Bertuzzi received a year's probation in which he is not allowed to play in a game against Moore, who was hospitalized with three fractured vertebrae, facial cuts, post-concussion symptoms and amnesia after the March 8 hit.

Bertuzzi also must perform 80 hours of community service. If he complies and meets probation requirements, he won't have a criminal record.

``I have concluded that the imposition of a discharge is not contrary to the public interest,'' Judge Herb Weitzel said.

Now Bertuzzi has to repair his reputation in hockey circles.

Bertuzzi was suspended indefinitely by the NHL, missing 13 regular-season games and seven postseason games while losing nearly $502,000 in salary. On Friday, he was barred from playing in Europe by the International Ice Hockey Federation.

Bill Daly, the NHL's chief legal officer, said the league expects Bertuzzi to ask for a quick hearing to reinstate his playing status despite the ongoing lockout that threatens to wipe out the season. The players' association will not stand in the way of a hearing with commissioner Gary Bettman.

Moore, who does not have an NHL contract and still has health issues from Bertuzzi's punch, was not in the courtroom, but delivered a statement that was read before the sentence was handed down.

``I have no desire to interact with (Bertuzzi) in any way,'' Moore said. ``If I'm ever able to play again, I would ask that Todd Bertuzzi never be permitted to play in any sporting activity I'm involved in.''

Tim Danson, Moore's Toronto-based attorney, became aware of the plea bargain Monday, and neither he, nor Moore, had a chance to travel to Vancouver to address the court. A request by Moore to delay sentencing until January was denied.

In his statement, Moore's first since March 29, he described how most of Vancouver's players threatened him during the game. He said they told him they were going to get him and that he was dead.

Moore angered the Canucks three weeks earlier when he knocked captain Markus Naslund out of the game with a hit that was not penalized. Naslund was sidelined for three games with a concussion.

After he was struck by Bertuzzi, Moore said he didn't know if he was awake or asleep.

``The next thing I knew, I was in a dark room with a neck brace,'' he said. ``I was told I had a broken neck. My heart was in my throat. My parents and brother and girlfriend watched on TV. They waited in terror and prayed.''

The court also heard from Bertuzzi in a videotaped statement. Bertuzzi wished Moore a speedy recovery and said he recognizes what he did was wrong and that's why he pleaded guilty.

``I don't think of myself as a criminal,'' he said, ``but it's important for people to know that certain violent conduct has no place in hockey. I hope I can repair some of the damage I've done.''

Loeppky said prosecutors would have been unable to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Bertuzzi's punch ended Moore's NHL career.

Loeppky said the spinal damage is no longer a factor for Moore, but he still has symptoms of post-concussion syndrome.

``He has good days and bad days,'' Loeppky said.

His physical activity is still minimal, consisting mostly of light workouts. Danson, speaking in Toronto, said a civil suit against Bertuzzi hinges on whether Moore can resume his career.

[Magus Relmyn]

You know, Bertuzzi wasn't why Moore broke his neck. If you think about it, look at all the people who piled onto Moore's back when he was falling on the ice.

[thechadman2]

It was broke before everyone jumped on him. He broke it when he landed head first.

[DONtheGREAT23]

yeah, definitely bertuzzis fault. the sad thing is i honestly believe bertuzzi was trying to retaliate but i dont think he necessarily wanted to hurt him. it was kind of a freak accident

[Avs4ever]

yeah, definitely bertuzzis fault. the sad thing is i honestly believe bertuzzi was trying to retaliate but i dont think he necessarily wanted to hurt him. it was kind of a freak accident
How the hell would this be an accident? He *grabbed* Moore's jersey with one hand and then used the other hand to *sucker punch* Moore to the side of the head! THen he *drove* Moore's head straight down into the ice and *forced* his face to be lacerated. This cannot be described as an accident, I'm sorry.

I also saw on ESPN.com today that Bertuzzi now wants back into hockey, where he is banned internationally right now. This is the biggest bunch of bull**** ever! Bertuzzi shouldn't be allowed to play any kind of hockey untill Moore is back on the ice. He ruined Moore's life.. his life should be ruined just as bad or even worst.

I also cant believe this whole thign abotu the Plea bargain, OMG. Your going to let this guy plead himself guilty, so he doesnt have to serve any time? First of all... How can this even be a question of guilty and innocent? EVERYONE has the tapes that show Bertuzzi sucker punching Moore to the side of the head and driving his head into the ice. I guarantee you that if i was on the ice (thats if cuz i have a broken kneecap right now and i cant really be on the ice lol) but if i was on the ice and i sakted behind someone and grabbed their jersey, sucker punched them to teh side of the head and drove their head into the ice i would get tossed form the league and i would get some jail time, and there wouldnt even be any video tape to prove it. this is just total bullcrap because Todd is a 8 million dollar superstar player and steve moore is what canucks fans call a "player that doesnt metter much". Well let me just tell you this... you guys are lucky that none of you are big Canucks fans or else i would be ripping you big time. But yout not so it's cool ;)

[DONtheGREAT23]

How the hell would this be an accident? He *grabbed* Moore's jersey with one hand and then used the other hand to *sucker punch* Moore to the side of the head! THen he *drove* Moore's head straight down into the ice and *forced* his face to be lacerated. This cannot be described as an accident, I'm sorry.

I also saw on ESPN.com today that Bertuzzi now wants back into hockey, where he is banned internationally right now. This is the biggest bunch of bull**** ever! Bertuzzi shouldn't be allowed to play any kind of hockey untill Moore is back on the ice. He ruined Moore's life.. his life should be ruined just as bad or even worst.

I also cant believe this whole thign abotu the Plea bargain, OMG. Your going to let this guy plead himself guilty, so he doesnt have to serve any time? First of all... How can this even be a question of guilty and innocent? EVERYONE has the tapes that show Bertuzzi sucker punching Moore to the side of the head and driving his head into the ice. I guarantee you that if i was on the ice (thats if cuz i have a broken kneecap right now and i cant really be on the ice lol) but if i was on the ice and i sakted behind someone and grabbed their jersey, sucker punched them to teh side of the head and drove their head into the ice i would get tossed form the league and i would get some jail time, and there wouldnt even be any video tape to prove it. this is just total bullcrap because Todd is a 8 million dollar superstar player and steve moore is what canucks fans call a "player that doesnt metter much". Well let me just tell you this... you guys are lucky that none of you are big Canucks fans or else i would be ripping you big time. But yout not so it's cool ;)

you missed my point. im not saying it was an accident. what im saying is that it was kind of a freak thing, maybe i shouldnt have said accident, that he broke his neck. bertuzzi should be punished severly, but even if he knew already he was going to do what he did, he couldnt have had any clue he would break the guys neck. most people wouldnt figure something like that would break his neck. injure him, yes. but not that severly

[Avs4ever]

Yeah man I get what you mean. Maybe accident isn't the best word to use in a conversation about that with an Avs fan ;) And yes, Bertuzzi should be punished for even trying to hurt him. So what if Moore hit Naslund with his shoulder to his head, thats a legal hit and its part of the game. Maybe Naslund should wear a better mouthguard and a better helmet next time and he wont get a concussion ,lol.

[Bowser]

That's BS and you know it. This all wouldn't have happened if Moore hadn't taken a cheap shot at Naslund, (and yes, it was an illegal hit). The real damage was done by Moore's teammates. Even the Vancouver Sun, who called for Bertuzzi's suspension, said that we will never know how much damage was done before or after the fact. The fact of the matter is, that the fall did not do as much damage as Moore's defence team makes it out to be, but was a consequence of the pile-on afterwards.

[Crun]

You're full of it, Bowser. The Canucks had their chance to retaliate at Moore in the next game they played the Avs. (btw, Moore's shot on Naslund wasn't cheap, it was incidental) They didn't retaliate against Moore because it was a tight game and they couldn't afford the penalty.

It wasn't until they were getting their asses handed to them in a later game that Bertuzzi decided to "retaliate", and even though he had size and experience on Moore, he acted like a little bitch and struck him from behind. Then smashed his face as he used his body weight to drive him into the ground... and continued to hit him until Avalanche players got to him.

In a way, what Bertuzzi did was worse than the McSorley hit on Brashear, or the Domi hit on Neidermeyer. Because he didn't stop when it was clear that Moore was a sack of potatos.

And you'll pardon me if I don't give the Vancouver Sun carte blanche in the credibility department as far as the Canucks are concerned. They gotta sell papers.

http://www.manishin.com/blog/images/040310_bertuzzi_hit_250.jpg

At that point, the damage was done, and nary an avalanche teammate is in the shot.

[David]

I agree that the hit by Moore on Naslund was clean/not illegal. Moore had a chance to get a nice open ice hit on Naslund, the only reason why anyone thinks it was a dirty hit was because Naslund tried to avoid the hit by going down. Even still, Moore hit him with his shoulder, not an elbow or anything nasty like that.

Bertuzzi's shot on Moore was definately a cheapshot, but I don't think he was trying to break his neck. Even so, I don't think he should get reinstated until Moore can at least step back onto the ice. If he ruins Moore's career, he ruins his own career is how I view it.

Edit: Also, I was at the Boston - Vancouver game where McSorley had the vicious stick to the head on Brasher. It definately wasn't pretty to watch(I was about 12 rows up and about 10 feet left of it), but at least Brasher didn't have a serious injury come out of it.

[Bowser]

You're full of it, Bowser. The Canucks had their chance to retaliate at Moore in the next game they played the Avs. (btw, Moore's shot on Naslund wasn't cheap, it was incidental) They didn't retaliate against Moore because it was a tight game and they couldn't afford the penalty.

It wasn't until they were getting their asses handed to them in a later game that Bertuzzi decided to "retaliate", and even though he had size and experience on Moore, he acted like a little bitch and struck him from behind. Then smashed his face as he used his body weight to drive him into the ground... and continued to hit him until Avalanche players got to him.

In a way, what Bertuzzi did was worse than the McSorley hit on Brashear, or the Domi hit on Neidermeyer. Because he didn't stop when it was clear that Moore was a sack of potatos.

And you'll pardon me if I don't give the Vancouver Sun carte blanche in the credibility department as far as the Canucks are concerned. They gotta sell papers.

http://www.manishin.com/blog/images/040310_bertuzzi_hit_250.jpg

At that point, the damage was done, and nary an avalanche teammate is in the shot.


Uh, no Crun. If you lived in the Vancouver area, you would know that nobody buys the Sun for its sport section. And if you'll recall also, the only talk of "retaliation" was in the after-game press scrum. I don't think it was planned to happen that way, it just happened. Bertuzzi is no thug. He may be surly, he may sometimes take stupid penalties, but he does not deliberately take out players. I honestly do not see what was worse about that hit, than the McSorley thing, I honestly don't. Bertuzzi merely knocked Moore to the ground- McSorley almost killed Brashear. Two inches higher on his left temple, and he would have been dead. Big difference.

[Crun]

I honestly do not see what was worse about that hit, than the McSorley thing, I honestly don't. Bertuzzi merely knocked Moore to the ground- McSorley almost killed Brashear.

bwah-ha-ha-ha! "merely knocked" him to the ground? He grabbed him, smashed him in the temple from behind, and drove him face-first to the ground, where the beating continued until Avs players pried him off. The pics don't lie.

McSorely hit Brashear blindside, from behind, but the attack stopped, he knew he'd crossed the line.

I know Bertuzzi isn't a classical "thug", but he was worse than a thug that night.

[Bowser]

bwah-ha-ha-ha! "merely knocked" him to the ground? He grabbed him, smashed him in the temple from behind, and drove him face-first to the ground, where the beating continued until Avs players pried him off. The pics don't lie.

That's not how I see it. He suckered punched Moore, then leaned on him, and the force of momentum carried both down to the ground, where he rested on top of Moore. Bertuzzi never had time to hit Moore again, because that's when the mob piled on, and started wailing on him. I don't see where Bertuzzi could have had time to "punch" him again- Keep in mind I've seen the video several times.

[Crun]

3rd pic: grabbing moore with both hands
4th pic: smashing him to the ground

I've seen the video more than I would have liked to.

[David]

I haven't seen the video in a month now(long time, compared to the 20 times/day when it was big news), but I think I recall that when Bertuzzi is on top of him on the ground, he brings his right fist back up until the Avs players jump on him.

And Bowser is right, the Province has much better Sports coverage, but the rest of it is garbage.

[Crun]

http://www.ifilm.com/ifilmdetail/2537303?htv=12

The video shows quite clearly that Bertuzzi punches Moore in the side of the head AFTER he's gone face-first into the ice.

[David]

He definately throws a punch at him, but he doesn't connect very solidly, if at all. It's just as he's being jumped on that he throws it, and it seems to either be just scraping the back of Moore's head or missing him entirely.

[Crun]

Point is, Todd was still beating a man that he attacked from behind and drove face-first into the ice. When would he have stopped?

McSorley hit Brashear with his stick, but he didn't then jump on him and continue the pummeling. Domi elbowed Neidermeyer, but didn't continue the beating.

What Bertuzzi did was one of the ugliest incidents that I can recall in sports.