Read the article(s) about the March 8th, 2004 NHL game between the Colorado Avalanche and the Vancouver Canucks located in the Learn section.? Determine what

 article(s) about the March 8th, 2004 NHL game between the Colorado Avalanche and the Vancouver Canucks

Some notable on-ice incidents that led to criminal charges

By News Staff

Posted February 9, 2016 2:46 pm.

This article is more than 5 years old.

Whether it’s a minor hockey league or the NHL, criminal charges stemming from on-ice behaviour are rare.

Players consent to a certain level of violence when they lace up their skates, whether it’s absorbing a hard bodycheck, or in some cases, dropping the gloves and exchanging bare-knuckle punches.

But there are times when the level of violence exceeds what has been deemed acceptable and the long arm of the law occasionally extends onto ice level. That was the case when a teenage hockey player in Ottawa was  recently charged after a hit from behind.

Here’s three of the most notorious cases where an NHL player was charged, and convicted, after an attack during a game.

Todd Bertuzzi sucker-punches Steve Moore from behind

The incident: Colorado Avalanche forward Steve Moore was a wanted man after he laid a hard check on Vancouver Canucks captain Markus Naslund on Feb. 16, 2004. Naslund was in a vulnerable position and he suffered a concussion on the play, knocking him out of the lineup for three games. On Mar. 8, the Canucks sought revenge. Moore fought Matt Cooke, but that didn’t suffice for the Canucks. Late in a lopsided game, Bertuzzi appeared to be stalking Moore before unleashing a powerful sucker punch to the back of his head. Moore tumbled to the ice, with the full weight of Bertuzzi, and other players, piling on. Moore was stretchered off the ice with three broken vertebrae. He never played again.

The outcome: Bertuzzi was suspended for the remainder of the season plus seven playoff games, totaling 20 games. Bertuzzi was charged with criminal assault causing bodily harm. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to one year probation and 80 hours of community service. Moore subsequently sued Bertuzzi and the Canucks, reaching a settlement a decade after the incident.

Marty McSorley slashes Donald Brashear in the head

The incident: An aging Marty McSorley had his hands full when he dropped the gloves with heavyweight Donald Brashear during a game between the Bruins and Canucks on February 21, 2000. Brashear got the best of McSorley and the brash enforcer rubbed it in, dusting off his hands and mocking his opponent. McSorley, seeking to save face, tried to entice Brashear into another bout later in the game, but Brashear wouldn’t take the bait. McSorley trailed Brashear as he skated down the ice, suddenly slashing him hard on the side of the head. Brashear toppled to the ice unconscious. McSorly was suspended for the remainder of the season (23 games) and never played again in the NHL. He was later charged with assault.

The outcome: McSorley was found guilty of assault with a weapon and was sentenced to 18 months probation.

Dino Ciccarelli clubs Luke Richardson:

The incident: Ciccarelli was a skilled forward with a temper. So when he was rubbed out along the boards by bruising rookie Leafs defenceman Luke Richardson during a game at Maple Leaf Gardens on January 6, 1988, he took exception. But Dino took things a bit too far, clubbing a stunned-looking Richardson several times with his stick. Ciccarelli was tossed from the game and later handed a 10-game suspension.

The outcome: Ciccarelli was charged and convicted of assault. He was fined $1,000 and sentenced to one day in jail.

Canucks settle with Steve Moore

·

Katie Strang, ESPN.comAug 19, 2014, 12:02 PM ET

Share

Former NHL player  Steve Moore's long-running lawsuit against  Todd Bertuzzi and the  Vancouver Canucks has ended with the sides agreeing to an out-of-court settlement.

The Canucks confirmed the settlement Wednesday, one day after Bertuzzi's lawyer, Geoff Adair, said the sides reached a deal.

Steve Moore is removed from the ice by Avs staff after he was hit by Vancouver's Todd Bertuzzi in a March 2004 game and suffered major injuries. It was the last NHL game Moore would ever play. AP Photo/Chuck Stoody

"Canucks Sports & Entertainment confirms that a mutually agreeable and confidential settlement of the action commenced by Steve Moore against Todd Bertuzzi and the Vancouver Canucks has been reached," the Canucks said in a statement. "The settlement is a result of mediation sessions with former Ontario Chief Justice Warren Winkler. No further details will be disclosed and the Canucks respectfully decline requests for comment."

Adair previously said the sides had reached a "firm and binding settlement" and the case was "settled in its totality."

Advertising

Moore was suing Bertuzzi and the Canucks for $38 million for a 2004 on-ice hit by Bertuzzi that ended Moore's career. Then a  Colorado Avalanche player, Moore sustained a concussion and three fractured vertebrae and never played again.

According to a report out of Canada earlier this summer, Moore's lawyers sought an increase in damages to $68 million. The case was scheduled to go to trial on Sept. 8.

Moore was on the receiving end of a sucker punch to the head from behind from Bertuzzi that allegedly was made as retribution for a hit made by Moore on Canucks captain  Markus Naslund in a previous game. Bertuzzi attacked Moore in a rematch between the teams on March 8, 2004, and left Moore with the broken vertebrae and concussion.

In March, a day before the 10th anniversary of the play, Moore told The Canadian Press he still has headaches and low energy.

"I lost my entire career in my rookie year," he said in recent years. "I think any player put in that situation would do the same thing. I can't recover anything else. I can't recover my career, the experience of living out my dream from the time I was 2½ years old of playing in the NHL."

Bertuzzi was suspended by the league 13 regular-season games, plus the 2004 Stanley Cup playoffs. He was reinstated 17 months later, after the year-long lockout.

The 39-year-old veteran played for the  Detroit Red Wings for the past five seasons but remains unsigned for the coming season.

Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.

Steve Moore vs. Todd Bertuzzi ends not in a court room, but with a press release

Steve Moore vs. Todd Bertuzzi is finally, officially, over.

By  Travis Hughes @TravisSBN  Sep 5, 2014, 9:41am EDT

After weeks of speculation and mixed public statements about a potential settlement in the Steve Moore vs. Todd Bertuzzi civil case, more than a decade of litigation officially came to a close on Wednesday evening when Moore issued a press release stating that the case has been settled. Moore didn't mention Bertuzzi's name once in the statement.

The two sides were scheduled to begin a long, ugly trial on Sept. 8 — a trial that all parties are apparently happy to avoid. The NHL certainly didn't want this matter playing out in court again either, and will be pleased to put it behind the league and the game. Moore, in his own words, said the same, and Bertuzzi, currently an NHL free agent looking for a job, is probably more relieved than anybody that it's over.

Details of the settlement were not released and likely will never be publicly known. Moore was asking for $68 million from Bertuzzi in the civil suit, filed in Ontario Superior Court.

Steve Moore didn't deserve a dime from the Todd Bertuzzi hit

by  Mike Usinger  on September 5th, 2014 at 1:08 PM

Not to rain on his big lottery win, but there’s a pretty good argument to be made that ex-NHLer Steve Moore shouldn’t have received a dime from anyone.

Yesterday afternoon (September 4) it was announced that the former Colorado Avalanche forward finally reached an out-of-court settlement with Todd Bertuzzi for an incident that took place a full decade ago. On March 8, 2004, Bertuzzi, who was playing for the Vancouver Canucks, skated up the ice after Moore, grabbed his jersey, and then punched him in the side of the head. In the ensuing dog pile, Moore received three fractured vertebrae, facial cuts, and a concussion. He hasn’t played professional hockey since.

For those who might not remember the hand wringing as it was replayed on  The Oprah Winfrey Show the next day, the incident, went like this:

Despite being condemned as the worst thing to happen in hockey since Matt Cooke, it wasn’t the first time we’d seen such an attack. They happen all the time, always have, and always will. In fact, the incident was eerily reminiscent of this one here, the difference being that Moore didn’t receive an added punch in the back of the head from Gino Odjick after being suckered. And that Lindros didn’t pop up and immediately run to his lawyer: 

What’s gotten lost in all the hysteria in the wake of the hit is that Moore got exactly what he asked for. And by that, we’re talking about a punch in the head, which is exactly what Bertuzzi delivered: nothing more, and nothing less. Moore wasn’t the first person to have been sucker-punched in the head and concussed in retribution for a previously committed on-ice crime.

Like it or not, hockey is all about settling scores for previous injustices. You live by the sword, you die by the sword. When it’s time to settle a score, the unwritten rules of hockey state you’ve got to buck up. Even a professional stain on the game like Matt Cooke understands that; after concussing Marc Savard with an elbow and effectively ended his career, he stepped up and fought Savard's Boston teammate Shawn Thornton the next game. Moore, who had concussed Canucks’ captain Markus Naslund two games earlier, refused do that with Bertuzzi, Brad May, and Sean Pronger on March 8.

Moore was punched in the head for one simple reason: the Code. And make no mistake about it, the reason this case settled before being dragged into court was the Code. The last thing NHL president Gary Bettman wanted was an endless parade to the witness box of former players, coaches, and general managers. Just as what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, what happens on the ice stays on the ice where the Code is concerned.

Where things went wrong this time was that there was collateral damage, which, let’s face it, no one, from Bertuzzi on down, wanted to see. Immediately after the punch, a dog pile did.

No one can argue that the injuries were the intended result of the hit. What’s inarguable is that, like it or not, over-the-line acts are part of hockey—always have been and always will be, whether you’re talking Dale Hunter attacking and injuring Pierre Turgeon for scoring a goal in a playoff game…

…or Tie Domi creaming Scott Niedermayer as payback for something earlier in a playoff series.

Hockey is a beautiful game, but it’s also a vicious game where people sometimes do stupid things. And that goes double when it comes to settling scores. If you don’t like it, sign up for ballet. Or soccer.

The Code calls for eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth. To understand what happened in the Moore-Bertuzzi incident, one has to flash back to February 16, 2004, when a Canucks-Avalanche game set the stage for the March 8 attack. Here’s a refresher where you will see a rookie player, who at age 25 had played a grand total of 69 NHL games, coming cross-ice and laying out the leading scorer in the league at the time. Playing the puck does not seem to be a concern.

That no penalty was called speaks more the hopelessness of the NHL and its referees than it does to whether the play was clean or not. It isn’t a clean hit. To quote outraged then-Canucks coach Marc Crawford afterward, it was “a cheap shot by a young kid on a captain, leading scorer in the league” and “a marginal player going after a superstar with a headhunting hit”. And the Code is simple: you simply don't do such a thing to the opposing team's star players.

Steve Moore didn’t play in the league for long and probably wasn’t going to. In the years that followed, he’s often bemoaned the fact that his NHL career was cut short in his rookie year. What he doesn’t seem to get is that he was a 25-year-old fourth-line forward in his rookie year, not exactly a sign that someone is going to have a long and storied career.

Moore was also no one’s idea of an angel, despite his being portrayed as such by those who always empathize with the victim in hockey. Just weeks before the Bertuzzi attack, Moore had driven the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Martin St. Louis from behind, headfirst into the boards. If Crawford had been there, he might have observed that it was a “marginal player going after a superstar”, not to mention a “cheap shot”.

What Moore has long seemed unable to fathom is that what happened to him is part of hockey: taking a punch to the head. And don’t start with talk that Moore fought Canuck Matt Cooke earlier in the Bertuzzi-incident game and should have therefore gotten a free pass for the rest of the night.

Hockey is, again, about evening scores. When Moore hit Naslund, he concussed him—at a time when concussions were treated far differently than today—leaving him with chipped teeth and bone chips in his elbow. There was a price to be paid for that. The Canucks needed a pound of flesh. And 19,000 people at GM Place were screaming for it that night, at least until it became clear that Moore might have been seriously hurt.

There are many, including Don Cherry, who argue that Naslund was never the same player after that. Fighting Cooke, who couldn’t fight his way out of a paper bag, at the beginning of the game wasn’t settling a score. There was still a bill to be paid, and anyone who knows anything about hockey knew it.

Todd Bertuzzi didn't set in motion a chain of events that would end Steve Moore's career. Moore did when he headhunted Naslund. Everyone knows that the players take over as policemen when a star is targeted. You don't want to pay the price? Don't take a cheap shot at a star. Why does that policing take place? Because without a price to pay, it would be open season on star players. It's how the game is kept honest.

Let's put it this way: if it had been Matt Cooke instead of Steve Moore on the end of the Bertuzzi punch, would you feel differently about things?

With his hit on Naslund, Moore pretty much set the table for what was to come. In hockey, you mess with the bull, you get the horns. The Colorado Avalanche’s Claude Lemieux discovered that in 1997, 301 days after running Detroit Red Wing Kris Draper from behind facefirst into the boards. The price was a sucker punch, having his head driven into the ice, having his head kneed into the boards, and Christ knows what else. He deserved it. And despite what you see at the 1:37 mark, he didn’t get up and run to his lawyer.

The above game is today considered one of hockey's greatest matches. Hell, it even has its own Wikipedia  page. 

Moore was wired to think that the game owed him something, $68 million in fact. How he arrived at this figure is anyone’s guess, given that no 25-year-old rookie is going to make anything close to that for his time in the league. Those who played with him have made statements that he didn’t seems to understand the culture of hockey at all. His former teammate Scott Parker has famously  stated "he [Moore] always thought he was better than everybody else. He went to Harvard, you know what, blow me."

Looking back at the whole mess, Moore should have had questions beyond how much money he was going to get for the Bertuzzi punch. What was a fourth-line player with a so-called Canucks “bounty” on his head doing on the ice late in the third period in an 8-2, out-of-control, grudge-match game? And if he was on the ice, what in the hell was he doing out there without Avalanche enforcer Peter Worrell on his wing?

As for the incident, you can be the judge as to whether Bertuzzi's punch was as bad as Marty McSorley clubbing Donald Brashear in the head with a stick.

Or Chris Simon doing his best to separate Ryan Hollweg’s head from his body.

Or Jeff Beukeboom, who never played again after being sucker-punched by Matt Johnson. Ugly? Totally. Things like that happen in hockey. When they do, players don’t get up and run to their lawyers.

And things like the Bertuzzi-Moore incident are going to continue to happen. The most famous moment of this year’s playoffs had Boston Bruin Milan Lucic meeting Montreal Canadien Dale Weise in the handshake lineup after the Bruins lost the series. Lucic, by numerous accounts, told Weise, “I’m going to fucking kill you next year.”

Should he actually make good on that threat, watch for a lawyer to chase the ambulance all the way to the morgue. Thanks to Steve Moore, hockey has just changed, rightly or wrongly. There’s been a precedent set where what happens on the ice now ends up in the court system, with millions paid out for on-ice infractions that have been part of the game since it was played with straight sticks and frozen horse turds.

Grudging respect to him though. Steve Moore didn’t deserve a dime. But he turned the kind of play we see in hockey all the time into a superstar-size paycheque. Not bad for a marginal player with no respect for the unwritten rules of the game.

Collepals.com Plagiarism Free Papers

Are you looking for custom essay writing service or even dissertation writing services? Just request for our write my paper service, and we'll match you with the best essay writer in your subject! With an exceptional team of professional academic experts in a wide range of subjects, we can guarantee you an unrivaled quality of custom-written papers.

Get ZERO PLAGIARISM, HUMAN WRITTEN ESSAYS

Why Hire Collepals.com writers to do your paper?

Quality- We are experienced and have access to ample research materials.

We write plagiarism Free Content

Confidential- We never share or sell your personal information to third parties.

Support-Chat with us today! We are always waiting to answer all your questions.