NHL ROUNDUP: Bertuzzi suspension lifted

He blindsided Avs' Moore in '04
August 9, 2005


FREE PRESS NEWS SERVICES



NEW YORK -- Vancouver Canucks forward Todd Bertuzzi, who was suspended indefinitely in 2004 after his blindside punch left Colorado's Steve Moore with a broken neck, was reinstated Monday by the NHL.


Bertuzzi, 30, was banned after the March 8, 2004, incident, which left Moore with a broken neck, concussion and facial injuries.


Bertuzzi missed the final 13 games of the 2003-04 regular season and the entire postseason that year. He remained suspended throughout the canceled 2004-05 season and was barred from playing in the World Cup of Hockey, the world championships and in any European professional league during the NHL's work stoppage.


On April 26, Bertuzzi and Moore met with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman for Bertuzzi's reinstatement hearing. Bettman ruled that "the appropriate discipline ... is the suspension that has been served to date."


The suspension cost Bertuzzi $501,926.39 in salary. He is due to earn $5,269,333 from the Canucks this season.


Moore, an unrestricted free agent after not being re-signed by the Avalanche, might never play again because of Bertuzzi's vicious blow. With the Avalanche ahead 8-2 in the game, Bertuzzi grabbed Moore from behind, punched him on the side of his head and then landed on top of Moore, driving his head into the ice. The bloodied Colorado player was removed on a stretcher.


The attack was seen as retaliation for a hit Moore put on Vancouver captain Markus Naslund that left him with a concussion and sidelined him for three games.