http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=2206259

I'm with the fans. This guy shouldn't be allowed on the ice until Moore can play again. If he ended Moore's career (as most believe) his should be over too.

Here's another article on the hit:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/06/24/entertainment/main625965.shtml

I'm not sure how I feel about this. Honestly it seems to me the cliche "you play with fire you'll eventually get burned" applies here. Violence is a part of Hockey. I'd even go so far as to say it is a glamorized aspect of hockey, it's what draws a lot of fans to the sport. Injuries like this are going to happen. I'm not sure we can say Bertuzzi went too far. Hitting and fighting being what they are I'm sure he felt he had every right to hit him.

Shit like this happens every hockey season, and I will wager all my vBookie money it will happen to someone this season. It's what the sport has evolved into.

Cheap shots (or even clean hits) that yield career killing injuries aren't good for the sport, and if fans perceive hockey as lax on dealing with perpetrators, the NHL will lose customers. I'm not sure I would have played Bertuzzi in Colorado, at least not for the first game between the two teams. It can only be distracting, and if his teammates find it difficult to play with the guy it'll only hamper the Canucks down the road.

I don't know that the NHL should have taken further action against Bertuzzi, but if the Canucks cut him and other teams refused to sign, it'd have been a much clearer sign of disapproval for his actions than 13 games spent on the sidelines.

any links to video of when it happened?

It was without a doubt a cheap shot, but HE is not a cheap player. this was very uncharacteristic of him.
It's not like whne McSorley clubbed Brashear. That was goon on goon. This was a skilled player losing his temper and wanting to pick a fight. His intention wasn't to injure moore.

This is NOT the typical hockey violence. This was a ridiculous, probably career-ending hit. He hit Moore from behind, who was knocked unconcious when he hit the ice, and then continued hitting him in the back of the head. It takes a fucked up individual to do that, and I think Bertuzzi should have been banned from hockey, period.

It takes a sick individual to beat on someone who is unconcious. I never saw footage of what happened, and I'm not a big hockey fan. I watch it sometimes but the murmurs this caused were more than the typical ones that take place after a brawl. This guys doesn't deserve to be playing.

It's funny how people view this incident. Some say it was uncalled for and completely outside the line and he sould be banned, etc. Some say it's a part of hockey because of all the violence.

To those that say it was uncalled for and completely outside the lines and he should be banned. I agree with you. Hockey is a sport it is violent contact sport, guess what, so is football, soccer, basketball, and sometimes baseball. Hockey however is the only sport where fighting is allowed, to an extent.

To those who say this is a part of hockey, I say PLAY HOCKEY. Give it a go, be there in the heat of everything. Someone cross checks ya doesn't get called, don't race out club 'em on the back of the head (that's NOT hockey), wait until they have puck and let 'em know that that behavior isn't tolerated. You stand up for yourself. You fight back when the person expects you to fight back. You don't take cheap shots. Fighting is a part of hockey, but it is organized fighting. Someone else besides a ref joins the fight, they are ejected, someone else tries to stop the fight they are ejected. Don't want to fight... Don't drop the gloves, skate away. Want to fight drop the gloves and be prepared. Losing your ass, drop to the ice. The fight is over.

Even though fighting is in the game of hockey it is sort of organized and has it's own set of unwritten rules of conduct. People who have played understand this. Fighting is a way to let the other team/person know you will not stand there and be pushed around. Bertuzzi hit Moore from behind, knocked him down to the ice, and proceed to hit him over and over. That's not hockey, and it shouldn't be in the game of hockey. He should have settled it right, by getting in his face and dropping the gloves. Give the guy a chance to stand up for himself. That didn't happen. Ban Bertuzzi to let players know that this is NOT going to be tolerated.

And for the record, my stance is that there are way too many fights in hockey. The only good thing to come out of fights is the 4 on 4 which creates more open ice for the good skaters/passers do the vodoo that they do. To fix this they could put 1 more official on the ice to call penalties on the offending player or let the line refs call more than offsides, and 2 line passes. :) There are alot of penalties that don't get called, which results in retaliation. If they called them the fighting should diminish. Get hockey back to what it was meant to be, instead of the old saying... "I went to a fight and a hockey game broke out."

Sorry for the long rant. /rant off

I'm not defending what Bertuzzi did. My point is that the sport allows violence as a genuine aspect of play. Given the atmosphere of accepted violence the level of violence exhibited by Bertuzzi should not come as a surprise to anyone. When the "controlled" response to injustices on the ice is "civilized" fighting, what is the "uncontrolled" response?

Hockey will always have this to deal with as long as any amount of fighting is accepted.

This was an isolated incident.It is not the result of allowed fighting in hockey.It was a cheap shot that occured from behind, not in a face to face fight.
I play and I think fighting is a neccessary evil. When you take away fighting it allows larger less skilled players to run smaller more skilled players. Guys liek like Gretsky would not have lasted long if he didn't have enforcers there that would kick anyones ass that took a run at him.
If you look at NHL, the number of fights has decreased and incidents of players using their sticks as a weapon has increased over the last 10 years or so.

This was an isolated incident.



If you look at NHL, the number of fights has decreased and incidents of players using their sticks as a weapon has increased over the last 10 years or so.

Which is it. . .unless of course "using their sticks as a weapon" does not constitute violence <insert Brashear>.

(http://www.zen36114.zen.co.uk/)Just to restate, I'm not condemning fighting in hockey. I just think it a little naive on behalf of the fanbase to not see these types of incidents to occur.

Good site for fight clips. (http://www.zen36114.zen.co.uk/)

When the "controlled" response to injustices on the ice is "civilized" fighting, what is the "uncontrolled" response?

This same question can be asked about any of the other sports. Maybe not pertaining to fighting on ice, but a pitcher aims at a players head, baserunner slides spikes up, football players end seasons/careers with a chop block/cliping/facemask, basketball players (not so much), soccer players break legs, racecar drivers get hurt/die, these seem to be uncontrolled responses, and fighting isn't a 'controlled' part of those sports?

I'm just saying that because it happened on ice is unfair to say it's because they allowed "controlled" fighting in hockey in the first place. But if you want to maintain this to the ice. An 'uncontrolled' response could have been to whack him on the back of the calf (not much padding there) and it stings like hell or board 'em a little harder, hook 'em. Those are uncontrolled, but instead this guy decided to blindside him in the back of the head and proceed to pound on him, as his choice of 'uncontrolled' response. Not because he could have fought him, and didn't want to use a 'controlled' response.

I guess I just disagree.

Let's imagine for a moment that fighting was never allowed in hockey. Bertuzzi is pissed, way pissed. What does he do? Does he pick a fight knowing he will get ejected or does he blindside him, land on him, break his neck and then proceed to pummel an unconcious man?

It is all conjecture but my contention is that he would NOT have done the latter.

Which is it. . .unless of course "using their sticks as a weapon" does not constitute violence <insert Brashear>.

(http://www.zen36114.zen.co.uk/)Just to restate, I'm not condemning fighting in hockey. I just think it a little naive on behalf of the fanbase to not see these types of incidents to occur.

Good site for fight clips. (http://www.zen36114.zen.co.uk/)

I think you are right to an extent, but instances where fighting is carried too far is sickening and it kills the sport. Hockey players think they should get paid what other professional mainstream athletes get paid, but the problem is that hockey doesn't have the fan base. Once they get that, it will come, but they can't let incidents like this happen, and when they do they need to do more than just suspend someone. Kick their ass out of the game forever. Fighting will always be a part of hockey, but they (players, refs, fans) need to know when it has gone too far.

For example I have a buddy here at work who thought the thing with the pacers that happened last year was ok in his book, but when he sees 2 guys on the ice drop the gloves he gets disgusted. Go figure.

I guess I just disagree.

Let's imagine for a moment that fighting was never allowed in hockey. Bertuzzi is pissed, way pissed. What does he do? Does he pick a fight knowing he will get ejected or does he blindside him, land on him, break his neck and then proceed to pummel an unconcious man?

It is all conjecture but my contention is that he would NOT have done the latter.

Um... Ok along those lines. This is vague, sorry about it, but I don't remember the teams or the names, but there was a guy in the NFL who was covering a punt. Ran down the field full bore without stopping/slowing down and leveled the guy receiving the punt. That wasn't acceptible. Only difference is that the guy receiving the punt was facing him, didn't see him, but was facing the cover man, and 'controlled' fighting doesn't happen in the NFL. I'm just saying that this isn't the norm in the NFL, just an unfortunate decision by one guy who put another black eye on the league when it didn't need another one.

5 min major for fighting. No ejection, unless you joined the fray, in which case you are gone.

Bertuzzi was a zombie last night, he mostly just skated up and down the ice without purpose or direction - miles away from the action.

Guys liek like Gretsky would not have lasted long if he didn't have enforcers there that would kick anyones ass that took a run at him.


*nod*

Hell the enforcers even have the unwritten rule that they don't fight each other(one will usually "turtle").

If someone takes a cheap shot at one of their money guys, they step up and let em know and their guy doesn't get the penalty.

Here's an interesting stat:
Gretsky got in *two* fights in his NHL career. Two. The enforcers had his back.