CBC Sports
Bertuzzi reinstated by the NHL
WebPosted Mon, 08 Aug 2005 17:01:27 EDT
CBC Sports
Suspended forward Todd Bertuzzi can resume playing for the Vancouver Canucks, effective immediately.
INDEPTH: Bertuzzi incident
Todd Bertuzzi was reinstated Monday. (CP Photo/Chuck Stoody)
Bertuzzi, 30, was suspended indefinitely for sucker-punching Colorado Avalanche rookie forward Steve Moore during an NHL game played in March 2004.
"I find that the appropriate discipline to be imposed for Mr. Bertuzzi's conduct on March 8, 2004, is the suspension that has been served to date," NHL commissioner Gary Bettman stated Monday.
Bertuzzi's suspension lasted the final 13 regular-season games of the 2003-04 season and the Stanley Cup playoffs, which, for the Canucks, translated into seven more games.
Bertuzzi remained under suspension throughout the 310-day lockout and prohibited from playing in the 2004 World Cup of Hockey , two world championships and any European pro league.
He also forfeited $501,926.39 US in salary and hundreds of thousands more in endorsements.
"A total suspension of approximately seventeen calendar months, from the date of the incident, is the appropriate sanction to impose in this case, given the nature and severity of the act in question and the overall totality of circumstances," Bettman continued.
As Bettman alluded to, Bertuzzi wound up charged by Vancouver police and later pleaded guilty to assault causing bodily harm.
He was sentenced to one year's probation and 80 hours of community service.
Part of that probation was that Bertuzzi not engage "in any other sporting activity involving Mr. Moore as a participant."
"Mr. Bertuzzi is on notice that will be held strictly accountable to a higher standard than other NHL players for his on-ice conduct during the 2005-06 season," Bettman cautioned.
Moore later filed a civil lawsuit in Denver against Bertuzzi and head coach Marc Crawford, ex-Canucks forward Brad May and GM Brian Burke and Orca Bay Sports and Entertainment, which owns the Canucks.
Bertuzzi formally requested to be reinstated April 27 in a seven-hour hearing with NHL officials at the league offices in New York.
Bertuzzi and Moore both took part in the hearing for approximately two and five hours, respectively, yet did not meet.
Afterward, the NHL claimed it needed to digest everything before rendering its decision on Bertuzzi.
"I believe that Mr. Bertuzzi is genuinely remorseful and apologetic for his actions ... and the consequences that have flowed from such actions," Bettman said.
Moore, now an unrestricted free agent, sustained a broken neck and cuts and still suffers from post-concussion syndrome which prevented him from exercising until recently.
"He is trying to train," said Tim Danson, Moore's lawyer.
"He's trying to get back to where he was. There's challenges, he's moving along.
"He is determined to make a full recovery and resume his NHL career. However, he has suffered very serious injuries and a serious head injury.
"He has to defer to the experts with respect to where he goes from here. Even if you make a full recovery by appearances, concussion injuries are a different kind of injury."
Bertuzzi, meantime, is slated to earn nearly $5.27 million US this season, his 10th in the NHL.
A two-time all-star, the Sudbury, Ont., native has 198 goals and 260 for 458 points with 911 penalty minutes in 628 NHL games with the New York Islanders and Canucks since being drafted 23rd overall in 1993.
"We're looking forward, as he is, to seeing him back on the ice," Canucks general manager Dave Nonis said.
Hockey Canada, too, wants Bertuzzi available for the 2006 Turin Olympic Winter Games.
"We will invite him to our training camp," Team Canada executive director Wayne Gretzky told TSN.
"He's an elite player and I expect him to have a great year and be part of Team Canada come February in Italy."
with files from CP Online