Former Colorado Avalanche player Steve Moore has announced that he has settled his decade-long lawsuit with then-Canucks forward Todd Bertuzzi. Back in 2004, Steve Moore was the victim of an on-ice attack from Bertuzzi. The incident ended Moore's NHL career, he was seeking damages and lost wages, Moore's lawyers said he was seeking $68 million.
This settlement ends an ugly chapter for the NHL. The case was scheduled to go to trial next Friday, if it were to go to trial, it would have brought forth a lot of the unknowns that goes on inside a team's locker room. How many times have we heard players say "it stays in the locker room." Moore argued that Bertuzzi's actions were caused in part from direction of then-Canucks coach Marc Crawford.
The whole incident stemmed from Moore injuring then-Canucks captain David Naslund in a previous meeting. Interviews with Canucks players leading up to the next game shows that they were seeking repercussions.
“There’s no way that punk will be in their lineup in March,” Bertuzzi told reporters in 2004.
Bertuzzi's teammate Brad May put it more bluntly: "There’s definitely a bounty on his head. . . . It’s going to be fun when we get him."
Following the incident, Bertuzzi was suspended for the remainder of the season and playoffs (13 regular season games, 7 playoff games). The following season was the 2004-2005 lockout season. Bertuzzi, along with most other players, elected to play in Europe. However, the IIHF extended the NHL's suspension to preclude him from playing there.
During the lockout, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman held a re-instatement hearing for Bertuzzi and announced on August 8th, 2005 that Bertuzzi had been reinstated and would be playing in the 2005-2006 season. However, during that season, Bertuzzi was heckled whenever the team was on the road. The Canucks missed the playoffs for the first time in 4 years. Then GM Dave Nonis sent Bertuzzi to Florida as part of a package deal that sent Roberto Luongo to Vancouver.
There is absolutely no room for this kind of garbage in the NHL, and it's great to see that the case has been settled. No dollar amount has been announced, and we may never find out what it is. In my opinion, the only silver lining of Todd Bertuzzi still being in the NHL is that he's banking enough money to afford paying Moore.
Moore has set up a foundation, the Steve Moore Foundation. From the website: "The Steve Moore Foundation focuses on the prevention and treatment of concussion and similar serious head and neck injuries in sport." If anyone is interested in donating they can donate here.
Following the incident, Bertuzzi was suspended for the remainder of the season and playoffs (13 regular season games, 7 playoff games). The following season was the 2004-2005 lockout season. Bertuzzi, along with most other players, elected to play in Europe. However, the IIHF extended the NHL's suspension to preclude him from playing there.
During the lockout, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman held a re-instatement hearing for Bertuzzi and announced on August 8th, 2005 that Bertuzzi had been reinstated and would be playing in the 2005-2006 season. However, during that season, Bertuzzi was heckled whenever the team was on the road. The Canucks missed the playoffs for the first time in 4 years. Then GM Dave Nonis sent Bertuzzi to Florida as part of a package deal that sent Roberto Luongo to Vancouver.
There is absolutely no room for this kind of garbage in the NHL, and it's great to see that the case has been settled. No dollar amount has been announced, and we may never find out what it is. In my opinion, the only silver lining of Todd Bertuzzi still being in the NHL is that he's banking enough money to afford paying Moore.
Moore has set up a foundation, the Steve Moore Foundation. From the website: "The Steve Moore Foundation focuses on the prevention and treatment of concussion and similar serious head and neck injuries in sport." If anyone is interested in donating they can donate here.
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