Bertuzzi Is Charged With Assault for Hit on Moore

Forward Todd Bertuzzi of the Vancouver Canucks, one of the NHL’s top players, was charged Thursday in Vancouver, Canada, with assault causing bodily harm for slugging Colorado rookie Steve Moore and breaking his neck during a game March 8.

The criminal justice branch of the ministry of the attorney general charged Bertuzzi after a three-month investigation, Geoff Gaul, director of legal services for the British Columbia Crown council said. Bertuzzi was ordered to appear in provincial court July 9.

Bertuzzi will face a maximum penalty of 10 years in jail if he is tried and convicted in British Columbia Supreme Court or a maximum sentence of 18 months in provincial court. The government will select the court.

“This case definitely has a significant public profile in the media,” Gaul said. “That has not influenced how the crown conducted the charge nor influenced our decision. It makes no difference if this was a hockey player, a rock star or a rock crusher.”

Telephone calls to Len Doust, Bertuzzi’s attorney, were not returned.

This is not the first time that an NHL player has faced criminal charges for an on-ice incident. In the most recent case, Boston’s Marty McSorley was charged with assault with a weapon after hitting Vancouver forward Donald Brashear over the head with his stick during a game in 2000.

McSorley was convicted and put on 18 months’ probation. He never applied to return to the NHL after serving a one-year league suspension.

Bertuzzi, though, is the most prominent NHL player ever charged. He is a top goal scorer who plays a rough-and-tumble style.

Bertuzzi, punching Moore from behind, left him in a pool of blood on the ice with three fractured vertebrae in his neck, stretched nerves in his neck, a concussion, facial cuts and bruises. Moore’s hockey future remains uncertain.

“It didn’t take too long to make the decision,” Gaul said. “It took as long as the crown required to do a complete assessment of the available evidence. The crown will not make a decision on charges unless we’re satisfied that we have sufficient evidence to allow us to make a charging decision.”

The hit again brought in question the vigilante justice that is ingrained in the NHL. Bertuzzi was responding to Moore’s shoulder hit on Vancouver’s Markus Naslund during a game Feb. 16. Naslund was caught unaware and suffered a concussion. Moore was not penalized and claimed the hit was legal. Upon review, NHL officials agreed.

Unable to goad Moore into a fight during the March 8 game, Bertuzzi struck him with a blindside punch to the head that dropped Moore face-first to the ice.

Moore could not be reached for comment, but Colorado General Manager Pierre Lacroix released a statement, saying, “At this time, it is our intention to cooperate with the authorities, should members of our organization be called upon to do so. A member of our organization was directly involved, and our main concern remains for him to fully recover from this unfortunate incident.”

Bertuzzi’s only comment has been an apology to Moore two days after the game.

“I had no intention of hurting you,” Bertuzzi said. “I feel awful for what transpired. I don’t play the game that way. I’m not a mean-spirited person. I’m sorry for what happened.”

The NHL has suspended Bertuzzi indefinitely, the suspension costing him $501,926 of his $6.8-million salary last season. The Canucks were also fined $250,000 and lost the services of a top player for the Stanley Cup playoffs. Bertuzzi must petition the NHL to be reinstated.

The charges Thursday, however, took the matter to a more serious level.

“We are aware of the charges brought against Todd Bertuzzi today,” Dave Nonis, Vancouver’s general manager, said in a statement. “The matter is now before the courts and we will continue to support Todd and his family throughout this process.

“Although we appreciate the interest in this development, the Vancouver Canucks’ organization will have no further comment.”

The criminal charge was not welcome news to NHL officials, who would prefer such matters remain under their jurisdiction.

“As we stated at the time the suspension was imposed, we believe the league rendered an appropriate decision, one that was stern and swift,” Bill Daily, the NHL’s executive vice president and chief legal officer, said in a statement. “We did what we believed was right, for the players involved and the sport as a whole.

“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.”

Although McSorley was convicted, many other NHL players in similar circumstances were not.

In 1977, Toronto’s Dave Williams was acquitted of assault in a stick attack on the Pittsburgh Penguins’ Dennis Owchar.

In 1975, Detroit’s Dan Maloney was found not guilty of assault against Toronto defenseman Brian Glennie.

That same year, Boston’s Dave Forbes was charged with aggravated assault after a fight with the Minnesota North Stars’ Henry Boucha.

A nine-day trial ended in a hung jury, and charges were dropped when the prosecutor decided not to ask for a second trial.

Boucha suffered permanent vision impairment and sued the Bruins and was awarded a settlement from which he will benefit until 2010.

In 1969, before helmets were required, Boston’s Wayne Maki and St. Louis’ Ted Green were both charged with assault and later acquitted.

Maki had speared Green in the stomach with his stick during a game and Green had responded by swinging his stick at Maki’s shoulder.

Maki ended the brawl by crashing his stick onto Green’s head, fracturing his skull. Green later needed a steel plate inserted into his head.