This Conversation Seems Like A Dream

Bertuzzi - My take.

So, by now, everyone's heard about the Todd Bertuzzi/Steve Moore incident (link goes to game recap), and the NHL's decision to suspend Bertuzzi for the rest of the season--including the playoffs.

Even if you don't follow hockey, you've probably heard about it...which is sort of the point of this posting. The clip has been shown all over the place, it's made the front page just about everywhere--including CNN, where they're calling Bertuzzi the 'hockey punch player.'

It's really unfortunate that the only widespread publicity that hockey ever gets is shit like this. Yes, it was a hugely bad incident, but it's sad, to me--the game itself is fast-paced and exciting, it's fun to watch, and the players seem, in large part, to be pretty down-to-earth guys. It's not like the NBA or MLB, most players don't have absolutely huge contracts--I remember reading somewhere that professional hockey players are paid substantially less than players for the other North American leagues. There are some big names, but ask anyone on the street to name a professional baseball player, and they'd be able to do so in a heartbeat. Ask anyone on the street to name a hockey player? Not so much.

But that's the whole point. Not all publicity is a good thing--and this definitely was *not* good. You want people to come to see the games, not look at the sport and scoff because they feel it's too violent, and that the league condones it, and/or makes it possible by fostering an environment in which it's okay for this kind of thing to happen.

As Brett said, much more coherently than I could, In point of fact the NHL doesn't foster this sort of behavior: witness its year-long suspension of Marty McSorley, which basically ended McSorley's career; witness how the severity of the suspension it's doled out to Bertuzzi.

So, where does that leave me, opinion-wise?

I think the NHL made a good decision. My biggest fear was, given that Bertuzzi is a pretty big name, one of the Canucks' leading scorers, they'd take that into account and make his suspension a light one. In addition to being suspended for the rest of the season, Bertuzzi also has to apply for eligibility before training camp next year, so they'll revisit again at that point. I think that's fair enough.

I'm glad to hear that Moore will be okay, and I hope that he makes it back onto the ice next season.

I also hope that Bertuzzi's career recovers. This particular bit of fucktardery aside, he's actually a pretty fun player to watch.

Also...in the unlikely event that you have no idea what I'm talking about... :)

A few games back, Steve Moore laid an open ice hit on Markus Naslund--a check that even Naslund says was clean--and gave him a concussion. Naslund was out for three games.

The Canucks essentially considered Moore a 'marked man' after that. Someone fought with him early in the game. Bertuzzi also tried to have a go with him, but Moore was skating away, his attention elsewhere. Bertuzzi grabbed Moore's jersey, dragged him backwards, threw an overhanded punch, then fell on top of him (all 250some pounds, almost entirely muscle), and drove him into the ice.

Moore has two fractured cervical vertebrae, a closed-head injury, multiple deep cuts in his face, and...yeah. It was pretty bad. :/

Posted by Liz at March 12, 2004 09:05 AM