Mar 8, 2007

Steve Moore vs Todd Bertuzzi

3 years ago today - a black cloud descended on the Canucks and hockey in general. I'm sure you all remember. Canucks vs Avalanche, a day we all wish we could erase from NHL history.

I must admit when it first happened, I'm ashamed to admit i sided with Bertuzzi. Not that I thought that "Steve Moore had it coming," No one deserves that. For a while, I thought he was just hyping the injury to make Bertuzzi pay. But as the years pass, and it appears that Moore is as far as ever from returning to the NHL, I take a step back, and I look at what happened.

I'm a huge Bertuzzi fan, but he did a stupid stupid thing. He knows that, and surely any person in their right mind knows he did a stupid thing. Unfortunately, his actions led to some very serious consequences for Moore. Sure, Bertuzzi had the backlash of the media and people's reactions all across the hockey world, and Whenever he is mentioned in articles this incident will always be brought up. Steve Moore has had greater consequences to deal with. He had a fractured neck - concussion, and to this day still does not know if or when he will be able to return to the NHL. steve moore still hasn't give up hope


three years down the road, and after listening to Moore's comments on 1040 this afternoon. You gotta feel for the guy. He's still not playing hockey, still hasn't been cleared to play, but there's Todd Bertuzzi signing with The Redwings, playing the game he loves. All's Steve Moore wants to do is play the game he loves, the "incident" has denied him of that.

I'm not placing all the blame on Todd Bertuzzi either. I think everyone involved should take some of the blame. What it comes down to though is, it was Todd Bertuzzi who punched Steve Moore from behind. It all could have been avoided if only - so many if onlys and they just serve to make me sound like I'm trying to deflect the blame from Bertuzzi on to the NHL. Which isn't the case at all.

Its not something I will ever forget hearing on the radio, or seeing played over and over again. I still remember where I was and what I was doing when this all transpired. My thoughts and prayers go out to Steve Moore for a full recovery, and My thoughts and prayers go out to Todd Bertuzzi, thats got to be hard to get over something like that.

I wish it had never happened !!!!

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Nice post. I agree with just about everything except the part about "all Steve Moore wants is to play the game he loves." As evidenced by the lawsuits he continues to pursue, and now his parents as well, it is pretty obvious that they are still looking for payback against Bertuzzi and the Canucks. I think it is more than just looking for compensation to cover his rehab, otherwise, he would be suing the Colorado
Avalanche organization as well.

Everybody knows that hockey is a violent sport, especially the players. The risk for career-ending or life-threatening injury is there the moment you step on the ice. What Bert did was wrong. What Steve Moore continues to do is wrong. He could learn something from Travis Roy.