Bertuzzi Suspension

[Chaerophon]

First of all, I'd like to say one thing. I don't know what your background is like Gekko, so please don't take this as an attack on you, but I'm sick of hearing from "non-hockey" people about how terrible this is for two reasons:

1.) There have been countless actions with worse intent that could have had as bad or worse results in the past ten years alone.

2.) At this point, Bertuzzi has been crucified by the media for an act, which, in the greater scheme of hockey violence, was hardly what it has been made out to be. Never mind the fact that it has now been reported that Steve Moore will be back on the ice within 4-6 weeks, the act itself, while heinous in some sense, did not demonstrate a will to maim, only hurt. It was a gloved punch in the head. He didn't know his own strength. Those who say that he intentionally smashed his head into the ice need to go look at the picture in the Vancouver Province. He slipped on a stick that was on the ice, nothing more, and once Nikolishin jumped on top of him, far from attempting to take another shot at him, he tried to protect Moore's face! The same can't be said of many similar incidents in hockey history that received far lesser penalties.

Here's where I'm coming from:

I played five years of junior hockey at both the junior A and junior B levels in the Vancouver area. I was a "pesty" kind of player. I suffered 9 concussions in my career, one of which was the result of a savage attack from behind that left me unconscious for 9 minutes after having had my head repeatedly smashed into the ice by a player who had a hold on my hair. That had no place in hockey. Neither did Bertuzzi's punch. It was a disgusting display of violence.

HOWEVER, to put it into context...

I can sympathize with Bertuzzi's frustration on that night. A best friend and teammate had been injured by a HEADHUNTING hit two or three weeks previous. The player had not been penalized by the league. In the culture of hockey, Steve Moore had to pay the piper... and he never did. Matt Cooke wasn't the piper. Brad May, Todd Bertuzzi, even Sean Pronger would have been the piper. Sometimes you've got to face the music and take your lumps. In the culture of hockey, had Steve Moore not been injured, it would have been widely held tha the had done a dishonour to himself and his teammates in not taking the challenge.

A story for you: I'm only 5'10", I was about 195 pounds when I was working out all the time, about ten pounds lighter now. Not the biggest guy. In my first year of junior, when I was 16, I hipchecked one of the best players on the other team in the first round of the playoffs. It was a "clean hit" in the sense that it was legal, but I tore this players acl and mcl ligaments. I felt horrible. I actually apologized to the player before the game in the hallway, but I knew that I would have to "nut up" as they say, and "pay the piper". In the first period, I was challenged by a 6'2" enforcer type who was 21 and at the end of his career. I came out of it with a bloody nose, a black eye, and my pride intact. It was a part of the game, and if I was going to take liberties with their star players, I was going to have to pay the price. I accepted that in stepping on the ice.

It is worthy to note that players are very rarely actually injured in hockey fights. That's why there are referees.

Anyways, to address your points:

1) Bertuzzi has a history of such violent acts. From his 10-game suspension for leaving the bench to start a brawl to reports he could be counted on to take a dumb penalty in the juniors, Bertuzzi is a brawler. Whether he denies it or not, this act was very much in his character, and the league needs to make sure he knows this behavior will not be tolerated.

No he doesn't, not at this level. Tie Domi has a history of such violent acts. Brian Marchment and Claude Lemieux have histories of such violent acts. "Ulf" has a history, so does TONY GRANATO. As long as he's been in the NHL, which is all that matters for this case, Todd Bertuzzi has not committed a "violent act" of this magnitude. Jumping the bench to get in a fair fight is far from horrific. Based on precedent, he should not have received the suspension he was given.

2) The act was premeditated. Of course, Bertuzzi and the Canucks deny this. I say that's bull. There are different levels of planning. I don't believe Bertuzzi planned on jumping the kid from behind, nor do I believe he hoped or wanted to put him in the hospital. However, there's no denying Bertuzzi wanted to get Moore back for the hit on Naslund. He wanted to hurt the kid; he wanted to punish him for hitting the Canuck's captain.

Something that has been going on in hockey for as long as the sport has been around. Do you think that Matt Johnson sucker punched Jeff Beukeboom, ending his career just because he could? Do you think that Tony Granato two-handed Wilkinson over the head just cause he was on his knees? All acts of violence presuppose some sort of premeditation. What prompted the cheap shot was not the anger over the hit on Naslund, it was the frustration that Moore would not face the music. That's more like "third degree" than "first degree" premeditation.

3) Bertuzzi broke every rule in the book, both written and unwritten. From tough guys to Colin Campbell, everyone agrees what Bertuzzi did was unforgivable. To those who say violence is part of the game, this is a key point. Tough guys - guys who fight and hit and play physical - tough guys don't hit their oponents from behind. Tough guys don't pick on players smaller than they are. Tough guys give their targets a chance to defend themselves.

Tie Domi is popularly known as a tough guy. Lots of evidence of this in his play. Same with Bob Probert, Granato, Macsorley, Owen Nolan, and many others. Lots of them have committed acts with as bad, or worse intent in mind. With the exception of Macsorley, they didn't receive a suspension like Bertuzzi's. Also interestingly, Moore WAS given a chance to defend himself. He appeared to refuse.

When it comes down to it, Bertuzzi is a repeat offender who picked on a little kid

Steve Moore's 6'2", 200 plus pounds, from what I understand.

What you're seeing here is a clash of cultures. Here is a Harvard Grad coming out of American high school and then NCAA hockey where fighting is anethema and stickwork is king thanks in large part to the fact that players where full cages. I've seen it before, and many of my friends are currently playing it. It's the truth, and none of them like it. If that's what the NHL would become, I'd rather keep the "fear" of retribution in the game. Keep players honest, and you'll keep the game clean. It worked for 75 years until the NHL spread to the US and it was decided that fighting was far too violent. Never mind that 21 percent of NFL players have been charged with a serious criminal offence, never mind that there are murderers and rapists everywhere in the so-called 'American' sports, the image of a little fight is too much for the tender American audience?

Todd Bertuzzi's actions made me sick. I also have a tendency to think, based on his "above and beyond" work in the community that he is a good person. I feel for Steve Moore, and I understand what he is going through. I actually do! However, if I was to switch places with him, I would be embarrassed with my cowardice. He probably won't be. Perhaps that is an indictment of the old culture of hockey. Perhaps that is an indictment of the "new culture" of NHL hockey. I don't really know, but coming from a true "hockey guy" and a junior hockey coach, this incident has been blown WAY out of proportion...