Bertuzzi has been suspended for the rest of the season and the playoffs.
The Canucks were also fined $250,000.
Actually, it's an open ended suspension... he'll be meeting with Gary Bettman prior to the start of next season, and the suspension could end up being longer.
I listened to his apologies last night and while I believe he is sincerely sorry for what he did, I also believe he is not being entirely honest with himself (and thus everyone else). Like so many athletes who get in trouble he said "he didn't mean to hurt...."
While I believe he didn't mean to hospitalize, I don't believe that he didn't mean to hurt Moore. He obviously did. What other motive could you have for pounding someone like that and driving them into the ice, other than inflicting pain (as punishment for whatever)?
It's a sad state of affairs really. I'm sure Bert will get more games next year if Vancouver doesn't go far into the playoffs, but what I want to know is what is the NHL going to do to improve the game on the ice and what are they going to do to get Bert the counselling I think he obviously needs.
I don't think he's a bad person at all, but I do think he needs to evaluate his behavior on and off the ice a bit. This year was sort of the apex of his "surly guy" routine and initially I thought it kind of humorous (old time hockey and all that), but obviously it evolved into something bad. He needs to look at that.
What a pathetic coward. He can take his tearful apology (where he regrets "what happened" not "what I deliberately planned to do") and shove it three feet up his ass.
"I didn't mean to hurt him, I just meant to sucker punch him from behind and drive his face down into the ice after he went limp!"
It is interesting the apology has a ring of being caught, isn't it?
The goon should be banned from the NHL. Do we have to wait until a players spinal cord is destroyed before such a penalty is laid down? He needs to be made an example of. Otherwise, this sort of I'll-get-the-guy-next-game mentality will continue with these cement heads.
Well, caught is the wrong word. It's not like it was hard to tell what happened. I do think Bert actually used the words "I'm sorry for what I did" last night, but it really is not that relevant what he says at this point, as Groverat says. He can't make it better by saying things. All he can do is try to learn from this and change his behavior and attitude, then hope he can get back on the ice next year and demonstrate the same.
I think he would be wise to volunteer to speak to kids about this kind of stuff. And not just little kids. 15 year old kids who are working their way towards real professional hockey at one level or another. They're the ones who need the reinforcement, because they're the ones entering into the leagues where this kind of stuff can really happen during a game.
It would be great if he could really turn himself around and still be an aggressive hockey player without getting excessively violent. And yes, it would be interesting if, after doing so, he also became a motivational speaker for all the younger hockey players out there.
I just hope he doesn't kill anyone before they kick him out of the NHL. I mean, if he broke someone's neck... if he had moved just slightly differently, he could have killed the guy.
He's not going to cause anyone else harm at this point (other than himself maybe if he doesn't deal with this right). As for his aggressive play, it's what makes him unstoppable around the net... he's just going to have to learn to balance things. You can be aggressive / hard-nosed without assaulting someone....
How is Moore not DEAD? One would think after falling to the ice limp with a broken neck and being jumped on by a 200+ pound guy, you'd suffer enough to kill you. I guess he got lucky. If I were Bert-whatshisname, I'd have a really hard time looking at myself in the mirror. Sick.
How is Moore not DEAD? One would think after falling to the ice limp with a broken neck and being jumped on by a 200+ pound guy, you'd suffer enough to kill you. I guess he got lucky.
That and most hockey players are tougher than hell. They have to be. Many athletic physiology researchers believe that on average, hockey players may be the best athletes overall. They require strength, speed, endurance, robustness, excellent hand-eye coordination, and high talent in spatial reasoning and group play. It's a unique combination.
Comments
Bertuzzi has been suspended for the rest of the season and the playoffs.
The Canucks were also fined $250,000.
Actually, it's an open ended suspension... he'll be meeting with Gary Bettman prior to the start of next season, and the suspension could end up being longer.
g
The suspension is a good start, but i think the team fine should have been higher.
While I believe he didn't mean to hospitalize, I don't believe that he didn't mean to hurt Moore. He obviously did. What other motive could you have for pounding someone like that and driving them into the ice, other than inflicting pain (as punishment for whatever)?
It's a sad state of affairs really. I'm sure Bert will get more games next year if Vancouver doesn't go far into the playoffs, but what I want to know is what is the NHL going to do to improve the game on the ice and what are they going to do to get Bert the counselling I think he obviously needs.
I don't think he's a bad person at all, but I do think he needs to evaluate his behavior on and off the ice a bit. This year was sort of the apex of his "surly guy" routine and initially I thought it kind of humorous (old time hockey and all that), but obviously it evolved into something bad. He needs to look at that.
"I didn't mean to hurt him, I just meant to sucker punch him from behind and drive his face down into the ice after he went limp!"
The goon should be banned from the NHL. Do we have to wait until a players spinal cord is destroyed before such a penalty is laid down? He needs to be made an example of. Otherwise, this sort of I'll-get-the-guy-next-game mentality will continue with these cement heads.
I think he would be wise to volunteer to speak to kids about this kind of stuff. And not just little kids. 15 year old kids who are working their way towards real professional hockey at one level or another. They're the ones who need the reinforcement, because they're the ones entering into the leagues where this kind of stuff can really happen during a game.
I just hope he doesn't kill anyone before they kick him out of the NHL. I mean, if he broke someone's neck... if he had moved just slightly differently, he could have killed the guy.
Oh well, life can be dissapointing at times..
Aqua
Originally posted by torifile
How is Moore not DEAD? One would think after falling to the ice limp with a broken neck and being jumped on by a 200+ pound guy, you'd suffer enough to kill you. I guess he got lucky.
That and most hockey players are tougher than hell. They have to be. Many athletic physiology researchers believe that on average, hockey players may be the best athletes overall. They require strength, speed, endurance, robustness, excellent hand-eye coordination, and high talent in spatial reasoning and group play. It's a unique combination.