Todd Bertuzzi-Steve Moore incident, 20 years later

[Goose]

To me this is just one of those freak outcome incidents where there are no winners. You do that again 10 times and not a single other time does it end the guy’s career I think.

It’s like all the bar fights that happen in the world, then one guy sucker punched another, and instead of it being a small assault charge guy, the guy hits his head weird when he falls and dies, and all of a sudden sucker punch dude is going away for a long time instead.

Moore deserved retribution based on the way the game was played at the time, just hugely unlucky for everyone involved it got that ugly.

I’m not excusing Bertuzzi, just saying we’d treat it pretty much like the Rielly /Grieg incident, if that, if Moore just ended up cut a bit on his face or with a minor concussion that only kept him out a game or something,

 

[JoVel]

I can't believe people defend Bertuzzi to this day.

 

[Juniorhockeyguru]

Bertuzzi is universally loved in Vancouver to this day.

Reap what you sow.

Well there's not a long list of star playersin Canucks history. I mean Stan Smyl is treated like he's a Hall of Famer.

 

[wunderpanda]

What do you think Moore deserved then?

edit: the number of posters victim blaming Moore, and sucking off Bertuzzi is a bit worrying.

you are ignoring moore ruined naslunds career. moore didn't deserve to play the victim or drag bertuzzi to court, moore was a scumbag that earned his beating and got off easy.

 

[Juniorhockeyguru]

you are ignoring moore ruined naslunds career. moore didn't deserve to play the victim or drag bertuzzi to court, moore was a scumbag that earned his beating and got off easy.

Bert put himself in the situation. He was a notch above a bum the rest of his career. Karma.

 

[geebster]

There are countless similar plays in hockey, especially back then. If you injure a star player with a dirty hit then dont get suspended and are taunting the other teams bench in a blowout....someone is going to respond, especially in that era. The difference is Moore got hurt, not that the action was so much more egregious than what we saw from other guys. Blindside crosschecks to the head happened all the time, so a glove punch isnt totally out of the ordinary.

However, consequences MATTER. Anyone can argue that in principle its the act of attacking an unsuspecting player that is the problem, but if Ridly Grieg broke a cervical vertebra then that suspension wouldve been a lot more and deservedly so. The point is Moore was significantly injured and regardless of how he went about it he was entitled to compensation. I dont like the guy but he was sucker punched and broke his neck, you cant blame him for getting what he was owed.

Also I see a lot of comments saying that somehow Canucks fans or a majority of them condoned it at the time. Bertuzzi, despite being the best powerforward in the league and one of the top players in general not too long before the incident, was completely blacklisted in this market. No one celebrated him or even mentioned him afterwards. As a fan no one wanted to talk about the WCE or any of that, it was a very sobering time. There wasnt some weird Jack Edwards reaction by the fan base saying Moore deserved it or justifications. Bertuzzi was vilified here as much if not more than elsewhere. It took years for that to die down to the point that he was even peripherally included in team events or the positives of his time here were talked about publicly. I was told by my highschool I wasnt allowed to wear my Bertuzzi jersey on school grounds the one time I did wear it. There was no celebration of what he did to Moore.

 

[Ducer]

“I can tell you this, Steve Moore is perfectly fine,” May said. “Two and a half weeks after he was hit, Steve Moore was in a pool, wasn’t wearing a neck brace, and was having fun. You know why I know that? Because we knew this thing was going to go to another level in the courts.

 

[wunderpanda]

There was no celebration of what he did to Moore.

there should have been, what happened to make vancouver willing victims?

 

[Hasbro]

you are ignoring moore ruined naslunds career. moore didn't deserve to play the victim or drag bertuzzi to court, moore was a scumbag that earned his beating and got off easy.

Naslund played another 5 years and missed a grand total of 4 games IN THE REST OF HIS CAREER that hit. Try again.

If the situation repeats with Cousins on Mackinnon or Makar I suspect you'll sing a different tune.

Forsberg got injured that same game. We certainly sang a different tune than Canucks Nation

No he turned down many fights. He choose Cooke.

How many chalanges did he turn down before 6:36 in the 1st?

 

[JoVel]

“I can tell you this, Steve Moore is perfectly fine,” May said. “Two and a half weeks after he was hit, Steve Moore was in a pool, wasn’t wearing a neck brace, and was having fun. You know why I know that? Because we knew this thing was going to go to another level in the courts.

I was in a pool once too. Does this mean I can also play in the NHL?

 

[General Fanager]

Yes. All stems back to the previous game between the two and his hit on Naslund. Moore spent this game running away from a fight. If he'd gotten it out of the way early, it's done.

He did fight. Canucks were pissed he won the fight and then didn't fight a guy that was much bigger than him....

Im still shocked people defend Bertuzzi.....

 

[Sergei Shirokov]

I see people in this thread saying Vancouver fans continue to defend this?? I literally never heard anyone defend this in 15 years, anytime its brought up its regarded as a stain.

Yes the Moore on Naslund incident is known to newer fans here, which would also be a big suspension (alot of things would, the game is complete different), perhaps people at the time wanted some kind of revenge (and that spirit continues in hockey today) but I don't think anyone here is happy with the result.

I was living in Vancouver at the time as a kid. I remember the whole class talking about it before and after because Moore cheap shotted Naslund.

But... the moral of this whole story is two wrongs don't make a right.

The sad thing is this completely ruined Bertuzzi's legacy with the Cancuks. If it weren't for this incident who knows if the Luongo trade happens and Bertuzzi ends up in the Ring on Honour. He and Naslund were the Canucks that were adored the most.

This is totally true. At the time Bertuzzi was the biggest star amongst casual fans imo. I was younger & my fav was Jovo, but most people I knew loved Bertuzzi most. It worked out for the Canucks getting Lu but the incident definitely sank any possible legacy.

He was introduced at a season open (19-20) to a thunderous cheer, but outside of that hes had no real recognition here outside of occasional harkening back to the WCE as a whole, nothing individual.

 

[agent082]

This kind of actions happens every year. It was bad luck Moore hurt himself that bad. Usually you get fine or couple games.

 

[Ceremony]

If this thread twenty years later is anything to go by, if HF had been around back then I would have been banned within about five minutes and would probably have spent the next six months making several accounts and being banned again. I'd still be glad I didn't feel the need to defend anything Bertuzzi or Crawford did though.

 

[General Fanager]

This kind of actions happens every year. It was bad luck Moore hurt himself that bad. Usually you get fine or couple games.

1. Moore didn't hurt himself. Bertuzzi hurt him.

2. This kind of stuff doesnt happen much and especially when you consider that the players and coach were calling for revenge. They vowed to get him and they did.....that doesnt happen a lot.

3. Cheap plays happen a lot and the guy usually has to answer the bell (which Moore did) then this garbage happened......

 

[NyQuil]

I’m not excusing Bertuzzi, just saying we’d treat it pretty much like the Rielly /Grieg incident, if that, if Moore just ended up cut a bit on his face or with a minor concussion that only kept him out a game or something,

The difference being that the only injured party in the Rielly / Grieg incident was the pride of an empty net.

 

[SoupNazi]

We’re finished.