Canucks and Colorado....9 - 2 Final

[spaceghost]

Ahh... but did Beukeboom suffer two broken vertebra in his neck?

Bertuzzi could have no better person than Brian Burke going with him to Toronto for the meeting tomorrow morning. Let's face it... Burke used to do the job Colin Campbell is doing now. Burke, more than anyone else, knows the inner workings and precedents of League discipline.

I still think Bertuzzi will get a season overlapping suspension (meaning more than 13 league games).

For those unfamiliar with the way the NHL works, players are paid for regular season games ONLY! The Stanley Cup playoffs are a post-season tournament and player's salaries are not factored into those games. Players receive 'bonuses' from the league based on how far they progress, however, these 'bonuses' when compared to their regular per game salaries are negligible. The players basically play in the playoffs for the love of the game.

Therefore if Bertuzzi receives a suspension longer than 13 games (which means suspended without pay), only the first 13 count toward this year because Vancouver only has 13 league games left. The rest are applied to next season.

That is why there will be a second issue if the suspension is greater than 13 games. I.E. should Bertuzzi also be suspended for all, or a portion of, the playoffs.

Technically, Bertuzzi could receive (for example) a 15 game suspension, and resume playing after 13 games (the end of the current regular season) if there is no additional playoff sanction.

Personally I still believe he will get between an 18 - 23 game suspension plus anywhere from a two game/first round/or first two rounds of the playoff suspension.

 

[sirlickheralot]

Ahh... but did Beukeboom suffer two broken vertebra in his neck?

Bertuzzi could have no better person than Brian Burke going with him to Toronto for the meeting tomorrow morning. Let's face it... Burke used to do the job Colin Campbell is doing now. Burke, more than anyone else, knows the inner workings and precedents of League discipline.

Bertuzzi's and Johnston's offences were pretty much identical and fall under the same section of the NHL rulebook Rule 52a (deliberate injury of opponents). Johnston punched Beukeboom in the head from behind causing Beukeboom to fall foward and strike his head on the ice. The punishment should apply to Bertuzzi's offence not the injuries ultimately sustained by Steve Moore. Besides Burke can argue that several Avalanche players jumped on top of Bertuzzi and Moore while they were on the ice, therefore the injuries cannot be definitively linked to Bertuzzi. There is no arguing that Bertuzzi is guilty of punching Moore, but he can argue that he didn't mean to fall on top of Moore, and he certainly isn't responsible for all the other players who decided to jump onto Moore after he was down. All that weight on top of him is more likely the cause of Moore's neck injuries than one punch from Bertuzzi.

If the NHL wants to deter this type of behaviour and be taken seriously they need to be consistent. They shouldn't give one player 12 games, another say 25, and a third 2 games.

 

[lenharper]

Are hockey players different than the rest of world's professional athletes? Every time something comes up like this, people justify unjustifiable actions in one of two ways. The first defense is "he did it in the heat of the moment and now he feels really bad".

Which means that hockey players are somehow unable to control their temper on a regular basis while guys who play pro football, rugby, amatuer wrestling and boxing (to name just a few) are somehow better socialized or have the ability to keep their heads.

Sure all those sports have incidents where the guys playing end up going outside the rules, no doubt about it, but when it happens rarely are those actions defended by a statement like "he lost it in the heat of the moment" and somehow we're supposed to accept that because hockey is such a specialized sport that you can fathom the extra pressure these guys are under.

Come on. If you can't keep your temper in check, you have a problem, and it is not caused because of the type of sport you play and I don't believe that such a high percentage of NHLers have serieious anger management issues.

So my feeling is that the "heat of the moment" justification is a lie. It's a nice way to mask an "attempt to hurt".

Now, of course, Bertuzzi feels awful and of course he didn't attempt to put the Av guy in the hospital with two fractured vertebrae. No matter how much of an undisciplined player he is, I doubt he wanted the result he got.

But the thing is. He did "attempt to hurt". He just laid a bit more hurting than he thought he was going to. did Tucker want to hurt Peca? Of course but I doubt that he wanted to rip his knee apart. Did domi want to hurt Scott N -- yeah, but i doubt he wanted to put him in hospital.

And that's where it gets wierd. Once you've got yourself involved in a premeditated "attempt to hurt" and it goes too far you have to fall back on a stupid defense like "I got caught up in the heat of the moment" and you come across as an idiot who can't control your own actions.

Bertuzzi and the league as a whole would do better to admit that hurting people is part of the game, and sometimes the main thing that a player is sent out onto the ice to do. It happens every night and it often changes the tone of the game, often postively. "The Canucks came to life after May took on ... whoever." We hear something like that on almost every hockey broadcast.

If the NHL would admit, that intimiation and infliction of injury is the part of game strategy, we could decide wether we want that to be part of the game or not.

I love fights in the NHL. I like that the game in uncivilized. That is part of it's charm. So while Bertuzzi is going to take a lot of abuse, we should realize that it has been acts of this nature that have put him in the spotlight in Vancouver and made him, until he eventually fulfilled his destiny, the most popular Vancouver Canuck. Now that his actions have embarrassed us, we are more than willing to dump on him.

 

[James]

...and yet a Doug Weight crosscheck to the face of Daniel Sedin as worth two games.

Bert did the game no favours. He did the team no favours. He did himself no favours. he certainly did Mr Moore no favours. Fans with #44 jerseys wore them inside out, or carried them, out of the buidling. He has a previous history of suspension for violent acts (off the bench to join a fight), so he'll probably be considered a repeat offender. He deserves to be punished.

However, if this were a court of law, prior precedent would rule. Of all the various highlights which have been played over and over during the last couple of days, the Johnson - Buekeboom incident would appear to be the most similar.

However, this is the NHL, and Gary Bettman is involved. How a basketball executive gets to run a hockey league remains somewhat beyond me, but there he is. Colorado is calling for a huge suspension. So are all the other playoff bound teams. Bettman is scared shitess of the possibility of a Vancouver - Toronto (my personal dream series) or a Vancouver - Ottawa final. Both are possible, and both would cost the league a ton in terms of American TV ratings.

On the theory that all players should be treated equally, Bertuzzi should see about ten to twelve games, which is what Johnson got.

We've already seen the double standard which Bettman and the officiating staff have applied to Bertuzzi, why would this instance be any different?

The snivelling little piece of pro-American team shit that Bettman is, Bert will see the rest of the regualar season off (13 games) and a healthy chunk of the playoffs. After all, while he is often an idiot on the ice, and he was certainly that the other night, he can be an excellent hockey player. One that teams like Detroit and Colorado fear, in more ways than one.

 

[mike617]

Dave from Victoria
yours is a typical major junior hockey attitude "Assuming the kid doing a turtle"
Is this the way hockey was meant to be played --no regard &respect for possible your actions can actually hurt the player.
Nhl & major jr. have the biggest influence on the future of hockey
What direction do u want it to go.

 

[Cock Throppled]

Does anyone really think the NHL cares about US tv ratings any more? They are less than golf, tennis, NASCAR, probably even bowling. The US is a lost audience because they see it as no different than pro wrestling or roller derby. Bertuzzi's hit was premedidated - by two weeks - and the cheapest of cheap shots. If the same had been done to a Canuck player the "fans" defending Bertuzzi would be screaming for the Av player's head. The Vancouver reaction to Moore's hit on Naslund has been out of all proportion to the incident, culminating in Bertuzzi's pointless attack. Bertuzzi has repeatedly shown he can't control himself on ice and takes stupid, selfish penalties. He does have talent, but he is a wasted talent. He has parlayed one and a half good seasons into a huge contract, but he is essentially another Jim Sandlak - great potential - no delivery. If you believe Burke when he tells you Bertuzzi wanted to appear at a press conference but was too distraught - I've got a young, slim, sexy SP named Shawna I'd like you to meet.

 

[Makhno]

NHL unmasked

I guess we now know what NHL really stands for:

Neanderthal Hockey League

 

[carlotta]

My Question Is...

Overall what do you think is going to be Bertuzzi's suspension length of time? I think that it is going to be 13 games in total... A friend of mine states 20 games... Bertuzzi is in TO right now... Feeling like an Idiot/Goon about now... I was all excited about having tickets to the Canuck's next game... I am now thinking of placing them on Ebay... Definitely not going to wear my Bertuzzi jersey... carlotta

 

[Kev]

Re: My Question Is...

Overall what do you think is going to be Bertuzzi's suspension length of time? I think that it is going to be 13 games in total... A friend of mine states 20 games... Bertuzzi is in TO right now... Feeling like an Idiot/Goon about now... I was all excited about having tickets to the Canuck's next game... I am now thinking of placing them on Ebay... Definitely not going to wear my Bertuzzi jersey... carlotta

In my heart i hope he gets a light sentence, but i know thats a pipe dream.

I say hes gone the 13 games plus the first round of the playoffs. Thats 17 games minimum. Hes a repeat offended and that will way against. IMHO --- Kev

 

[Makhno]

Bertuzzi apology: from GlobeNet

BREAKING NEWS
POSTED AT 10:15 PM EST Wednesday, Mar. 10, 2004

Bertuzzi makes emotional apology

By SASHA NAGY
Globe and Mail Update

Vancouver Canucks forward Todd Bertuzzi delivered a short, tearful statement to the media Wednesday night, in which he apologized directly Colorado Avalanche forward Steve Moore, who he callously blind-sided two days earlier.

Bertuzzi, stopping several times to compose himself and wipe away tears, spoke at brief press conference at GM Place, following a day in which he appeared before a disciplinary hearing in Toronto where he faces a certain suspension.

"These comments are for Steve. Steve, I just want to apologize for what happened out there. I had no intention of hurting you, I feel awful for what transpired," said Bertuzzi, head drooping low between his broad hulking shoulders. "To Steve's family, I am sorry you had to go through this. I am so sorry about what happened out there.

"I am relieved to hear that Steve is going to have a full recovery, it means a lot to me to hear that that is going to happen," he said. "I want to apologize to Mr. Burke, [team owner] Mr. McCaw and the Vancouver Canucks organization and to my teammates."

In a nod to the furore his attack has caused in the hockey world and beyond, Bertuzzi appealed to those who were offended by the sheer violence of his sucker punch.

"To the fans of hockey and the fans of Vancouver. To the kids who watch the game, I am truly sorry. I don't play the game that way and I am not a mean spirited person, and I am sorry for what happened."

Bertuzzi was flanked by Burke, the Canucks general manager, and his wife. He was forced to stop several times as he was overcome with tears.

Vancouver was facing Minnesota Wild at GM Place Wednesday (11 p.m. EST).

 

[Kev]

Tomorrow at 6:00 am Pacific we'll see what the out come will be because Moore couldn't take a cheap bunch. Of which in the NHL many are thrown every game. This incident really could have happened many times over, unfortunately the weight will be on Todd's shoulders tomorrow. What would have happened if Moore bounced up and confronted Bertuzzi? Nothing. Moore folds up like a cheap tent and the league is all that. I............ as a Canuck fan was really hoping for the best. (Wishful thinking on my part) Its really not looking good.

This incident is really alot bigger than what we all think. Or at least it should be. The league allows or because there is no repercussion tolerates so much fist throwing, stick swinging, whatever you want to call it. But know someone gets hurt and the league is all over it.

The Nation Hockey League in a civil suit could be held responsable for this incident. I am not making excuses for Todd, but if Steve Moore would have gotten up immediately after being blindsided we would have not heard anything more. --- Kev

 

[sirlickheralot]

I agree with UVIC sports psychologist Bruce Howe's comments in the Vancouver Sun today, the media also shares a portion of the blame for this incident. Ever since the Moore hit on Naslund they have been speculating about and asking the players about retribution. They seemed disappointed after the 5-5 tie that there wasn't retribution. The media could have let the incident die down but instead they kept fanning the flames of dissention. Now they are giving so much coverage to this incident and vilifying Bertuzzi so much that there is no way he is likely to receive a fair punishment. All this press that this is the worst acts of violence in NHL and perhaps sports history is complete crap.

I would argue that this was an act of stupidity, rather than a malicious act on Bertuzzi's part. Bertuzzi can be a real bonehead and take stupid penalties, but he doesn't have a reputation as a cheap shot player with a history of trying to injure other players. There are a number of other well known cheap shot artists that I would say are truly evil and malicious. The Avalanche on one hand are saying how there is no place in hockey for stuff like this, then on the other hand they bring in a guy like Matthew Barnaby who is a well know cheap shot artist. There are guys like Brian Marchment playing in this league who have been suspended numerous times for intentionally injuring other players.

In fact speaking of malicious players, Avalanche coach Tony Granato is really one to condemn Bertuzzi. His smashing his stick across the head of Neil Wilkenson was pretty vicious back in his playing days. Also speaking of Tony Granato I think a portion of the blame for this incident. Knowing that Steve Moore was such a huge target and with the outcome of the game already decided why didn't he bench him to keep him safe. There has been some speculation that the Avalanche were hoping that a Canuck player would do something stupid and get themselves suspended, although they didn't expect anything so serious.

 

[Makhno]

This cartoon is an American perspective on the Todd Bertuzzi-Steve Moore incident from New York’s Village Voice.