McSorley Is Facing Criminal Charge

Defenseman Marty McSorley of the Boston Bruins was charged Tuesday with assault with a weapon for striking Vancouver Canuck forward Donald Brashear on the temple with his stick Feb. 21, putting hockey on trial April 4 in a Canadian court.

McSorley, who does not have to appear at the hearing, plans to plead not guilty. He could be sentenced to a maximum of 18 months in jail.

The NHL has already given him the most severe punishment in history, suspending him for the rest of the season and the playoffs, and requiring him to seek approval from Commissioner Gary Bettman to resume his career. He has lost $72,000 in salary and the respect of many of his peers, who expressed shock over how suddenly he snapped.

Brashear, who had fought McSorley earlier in the game, then refused to engage in a rematch, was caught unaware by McSorley’s blow and fell backward to the ice, striking his head. He suffered a concussion and has not played since.

McSorley told ESPN on Tuesday he was trying to lure Brashear into a fight before the final buzzer because fighting afterward would have gotten him a 10-game suspension.

“I’m trying to get him to turn and fight me and force a confrontation,” McSorley said, without explaining why he took a high, two-handed swing at Brashear’s head instead of aiming for a less vulnerable area.

After striking Brashear, he said, “I went over to him and I was angry at him. I still think I don’t believe he was hurt. . . . Then you realize that Donald Brashear is hurt because he’s been struck with my stick, and he’s laying on the ice hurt. You don’t ever want that to happen, ever. I’ve seen it many times before but I guess you don’t know how it feels until you’re involved.

“I’ve been a tough guy for a long time. I learned a lot from Dave Semenko. That’s not one of the things I do or want young guys to do.”

NHL executives had hoped the courts would not pursue the matter. Geoff Gaul, a spokesman for the British Columbia criminal justice branch, said McSorley was charged after a Crown attorney reviewed evidence gathered during a police investigation.

“As we stated at the time the suspension was imposed, we believe the league dealt with the matter quickly, decisively and appropriately and did not feel that any further action was either warranted or necessary,” said Bill Daly, the NHL’s executive vice president and chief legal officer.

“We therefore would have preferred that the Crown not take this action. Having said that, the Vancouver authorities have made their decision and we remain committed to offering our full cooperation in any way we can.”

Said Bruin General Manager Harry Sinden: “We are very disappointed that the courts feel they must be involved in this situation. The NHL has handed down a severe discipline in this case and we feel that was sufficient. However, we will cooperate fully and to whatever extent is deemed necessary by the Canadian authorities.”

The incident shook the NHL, which has significantly reduced fighting and severely punished hits to the head in recent years. It also reopened the debate over what constitutes the “line” separating physical play from a criminal act.

McSorley said he regrets the bad publicity the NHL has received.

“The game doesn’t need a black eye,” he said. “There’s too many great things going on, on the ice and with teams positioning themselves for the playoffs. I’m embarrassed for it and I’m sorry that our game, which is a great game, has to suffer.”

Of the many stick-swinging and other violent incidents that have occurred during the NHL’s 83 seasons, few have been judged by courts. The only NHL player who has served jail time for an on-ice offense is Dino Ciccarelli, who spent a day in jail and was fined $1,000 for striking Toronto defenseman Luke Richardson several times in the head with his stick in 1988.

McSorley, 36, ranks third on the NHL’s penalty-minutes list with 3,381. In 961 games with Pittsburgh, Edmonton, the Kings, New York Rangers, San Jose and Boston, he has 108 goals, 251 assists and 359 points. He played on two Stanley Cup-winning teams in Edmonton before accompanying Wayne Gretzky to Los Angeles in a blockbuster 1988 trade.

McSorley’s most productive season was 1992-93, when he contributed 15 goals, 41 points and a league-leading 399 penalty minutes to the Kings’ drive to the Stanley Cup finals--where he was caught with an illegal stick in Game 2 that turned the tide of the series. He had been subjected to supplementary discipline from the NHL on six previous occasions, last in 1994.