Official: Vancouver Canucks W00T

[Sealy]

Does anyone know if Bert can still practice with the Canucks? Or is that something that he could'nt do or would'nt want to do? Just curious. At least he still might be eligible to play on team Canada.

 

[sandorski]

Originally posted by: Sealy
Does anyone know if Bert can still practice with the Canucks? Or is that something that he could'nt do or would'nt want to do? Just curious. At least he still might be eligible to play on team Canada.

I don't see why not, but who knows for sure. There could be a stipulation somewhere concerning who can and can not train/practice with a Team.

 

[Aquaman]

Originally posted by: Sealy
Does anyone know if Bert can still practice with the Canucks? Or is that something that he could'nt do or would'nt want to do? Just curious. At least he still might be eligible to play on team Canada.

Actually I still think he has to be cleared to play for team canada since it's an NHL sponsored event.

Cheers,
Aquaman

 

[Aquaman]

Burke defends Bertuzzi's character

Canadian Press
3/11/2004

VANCOUVER (CP) - General manager Brian Burke dropped the gloves in support of Todd Bertuzzi on Thursday, criticizing the media for vilifying the Vancouver Canucks forward who has been suspended for the rest of the NHL season and the playoffs for attacking Steve Moore of the Colorado Avalanche.

Burke said he wouldn't talk about the length of the suspension because he will be pleading for the league to reinstate Bertuzzi at a later date. The Canucks are also deciding if they will appeal the NHL's ruling.

In classic Burke style, he ripped into the media for casting Bertuzzi as a villain. His face red, and struggling to control his temper, Burke also suggested the media had not been careful enough in analysing the events that led to Moore's injury.

``I want to talk about Todd Bertuzzi and the way he has been vilified in the media through this process,'' Burke said with a snarl.

``What he is a great hockey player and an excellent human being. Because he is not warm and fuzzy with you, you've taken this opportunity to kick the crap out of him and I think it's been just shameful.

``I don't think people have focused on everything he's done as a player, the excitement and success he's brought to the community and how involved he is in this community. I'm proud to have him on my team and I'm proud to call him my friend.''

Burke said Bertuzzi, who was not expected to talk to the media Thursday, he was ``devastated.''

``You're talking about a quality hockey player who made a mistake,'' Burke told a news conference.

Burke also bristled over the $250,000 US fine the league levelled on the Canucks.

Colin Campbell, the NHL's executive vice-president and director of hockey operations, partially blamed the incident on the Canucks, saying the team didn't do enough to take ``the temperature down.''

Burke said any suggestion coach Marc Crawford acted inappropriately `is horribly unjust.''

``As far as I can tell, the investigation into this matter lasted less than 10 minutes and all took place yesterday,'' said Burke.

``I am absolutely shocked at the size of the fine and the notion that Marc did anything other than what a coach is supposed to do in this circumstance.''

In some pure theatre, Burke said if it appeases the public he will gladly take the blame for what happened on the ice.

``If I can take even one per cent of the blame off Todd's shoulders, I'll take it all, all of it,'' he said.


Moore remains in a Vancouver hospital, recovering from a concussion, facial cuts and chip fractures to two vertebrae.

Burke suggested the Avs rookie could be skating again soon.

``He could be skating in four weeks,'' said Burke. ``I hope he is skating in four weeks.''

Cheers,
Aquaman

 

[Aquaman]

Hodge: Suspension was just and expected

TSN.ca Staff
3/11/2004

The NHL's suspension of Todd Bertuzzi is what I expected. I think it's what most people expected and I think it will receiver rather large support.

The NHL took a position in the Marty McSorley case that represented progress and I think had to establish the fact that it was moving forward from that point. I think they've done that. I think anytyhing less than this would have been criticized and anything more than this might have been considered too harsh.

I think this is what Todd Bertuzzi expected.

We should try to understand the way the Canucks felt, perhaps it helps put everything into perspective. Yes the Vancouver Canucks were upset that Markus Naslund was hit by anybody, in any form. They were more upset that he was injured. They were more upset that Steve Moore was not penalized, either on the ice or by the league. But now, where does that anger go. Would the Vancouver Canucks have thought about attacking one of the referees who failed to hand out a penalty? Would they have thought of attacking one of the league executives who decided to keep hands off? Obviously not.

What the Vancouver Cancuks have to realize is that Steve Moore was just as untouchable as anybody else as far as trying to vent any rage against. At some point, in a game like this, you have to accept things that go wrong which you don't like and accepting them does not mean striking out the way Todd Bertuzzi did

People have long wished that the NHL could have a standard set of penalty rules for things like this so that we didn't have to argue 'is it too much, is it too little, what do we think he's gonna get'. I'm not so sure the NHL is very far away from that position right now.

I think if the NHL wanted to say an unprovoked attack that causes serious injury means 'see you next year' - whether it happens in November or it happens in March - if everybody understood that, that it's now possible for a star player on a contending team to miss the rest of the regular season plus the playoffs, perhaps missing a shot at the Stanley Cup for himself and everyone else, suddenly now I think you've got a message sent to the NHL and its players that if you do something like this, you are finished for the entire season.

I think it was important that everybody expected this and that this is what they did.

When Todd Bertuzzi speaks next he has to say one thing that he didn't say when he spoke Wednesday night. That is, apart from apologizing to the game and the players, he has to look into the camera lens or the eyes of any other NHL player and say 'do not do this. Because if you do this, what will happen to you is what is happening to me'.

You saw in him Wednesday night what guilt can do. The emotions that it can bring and who wants to suffer like that. He has to tell every NHL player not to do what he did so that they don't have to suffer like he's suffering, and yes, he deserves to suffer on a number of levels, but that has to be the message.

Whether you play that video tape at every training camp, whether Tood Bertuzzi visits training camps and says, 'here's what I've gone through, here's what I continue to go through, do not do this, change this silly code that says you have to answer a hit with a hit no matter how illegal, no matter how much damage it does'. This can't continue in the NHL and the people who espouse those theories have to be removed.

Cheers,
Aquaman

 

[Aquaman]

Daly: Police should consider suspension

Canadian Press
3/11/2004

TORONTO (CP) - NHL chief legal officer Bill Daly says Vancouver police should take into account the punishment meted out to Vancouver Canucks forward Todd Bertuzzi by the league, when it decides whether to lay charges.

Vancouver police are investigating Bertuzzi's attack on Colorado Avalanche forward Steve Moore in Monday's game at GM Place. Moore suffered a fractured neck, cuts and a concussion.

The NHL suspended Bertuzzi for at least the balance of the regular season and the playoffs meaning he will forfeit more than $500,000 US of his $6.8-million annual salary, and fined the Canucks US.

Daly says the in-house discipline of Bertuzzi should prove to police the NHL treats the matter as seriously as the law does.

"We have made the Vancouver authorities aware we're fully willing to co-operate in every way we can," Daly said Thursday at a news conference.

"Having said that, I think one of the tests or the things they should take into consideration is how a private organization polices itself.

"You hope by doing what's right you're evidencing that you're concerned and you share societal concerns for these types of incidence. You would hope that if you step in and act appropriately, that the prosecutorial discretion will be exercised in a way to keep the courts out of private sport."

A Vancouver police spokeswoman said the investigation began after police received "several" complaints from the public.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman also hopes the matter does not go to court.

"We're hoping there is no criminal action," he said. "We believe we are adequately and appropriately policing our own game."

Daly said the police investigation was not an overriding factor in determining Bertuzzi's punishment.

"It's something we're aware of, but at the end of the day we had to do what was right for the player, for Steve Moore, and for the National Hockey League," Daly said.

"While we're certainly cognizant of the ongoing criminal investigation, we had to do what was right for this league."

The league has adopted the same tack as it did with Marty McSorley, after he knocked out Donald Brashear with a stick to the head in February 2000.

McSorley was banned for the rest of the regular season and playoffs, which turned out to be 23 games since Boston missed the post-season. At a subsequent review that November, the ban was extended to a full year.

McSorley was charged by police and later found guilty of assault with a weapon. He received an 18-month conditional discharge.

Cheers,
Aquaman

 

[Aquaman]

Avs players respond to suspension

Canadian Press
3/11/2004

EDMONTON (CP) - News of Todd Bertuzzi's NHL ban for attacking Colorado rookie Steve Moore was slipped under the doors of the Avalanche hotel rooms in Edmonton on Thursday morning.

The Avs public relations staff took care of it, providing press releases on what had happened to the Vancouver Canucks star. Later, the team offered up its trio of leaders - captain Joe Sakic and assistant captains Rob Blake and Adam Foote - to offer reaction.

All three were careful in their comments, avoiding saying too much about the suspension. And all three said their thoughts were on Moore's recovery and the rest of the hockey season.

``It's pretty harsh,'' Sakic, speaking to reporters at the team's hotel, said of the ruling. ``We know Todd feels bad about it and the league did what they had to do.

``The most important thing for us is that Steve is doing better, and really that's it. ''

``The league did what it had to do with the decision and we respect that,'' Sakic added. ``Now for us, we just have to play.''

The Avs spent the night in Edmonton after a 3-2 overtime win over the Oilers, Colorado's first game since Bertuzzi attacked Moore on Monday night.

The team left Thursday for Phoenix.

Sakic also said he had no problem with the fact that Canucks coach Marc Crawford, a former Colorado coach, escaped punishment.

``The player did it. That's the bottom line. I mean Marc didn't do it.''

The league did fine Canucks $250,000 US.

In a statement, Colorado GM Pierre Lacroix said the league ``was careful to take into account all the elements and acted with a clear sense of what was fair for all parties involved.

``Steve Moore's complete recovery continues to be our main concern. At the same time, we will turn our energy and attention towards the remainder of our season and the upcoming playoffs.''

Colorado's next game in Friday in Phoenix.

``It's tough for everyone right now,'' said Foote. ``It's been very draining but the best thing for us is to get out on the ice.''

Cheers,
Aquaman

 

[Aquaman]

Bertuzzi still a possibility for Canada

Canadian Press
3/11/2004

(CP) - The NHL raised eyebrows Thursday when it left open the possibility that suspended Vancouver Canucks star Todd Bertuzzi would be able to play for Team Canada at this summer's World Cup of Hockey.

Bertuzzi was suspended for the remainder of the NHL's regular season and the entire playoffs Thursday as a result of his attack on Colorado forward Steve Moore. The length of the ban depends on a further meeting with commissioner Gary Bettman before next season.

That hearing will likely be pushed up to mid-August if Hockey Canada names Bertuzzi to its World Cup team. Canada opens a 10-day training camp in Ottawa on Aug. 19 in advance of the Aug. 31-Sept. 14 tournament, an NHL and NHL Players' Association event.

``Mr. Bertuzzi will have to be re-instated to active status by Mr. Bettman to play in the World Cup,'' said Bill Daly, the league's executive vice-president and chief legal officer.

The NHLPA, as co-host of the tournament, would also have to sign off on Bertuzzi's eligibility for the World Cup.

But before any of that happens, Team Canada must first force the issue by naming him to its 26-man roster by the mid-May deadline.

``Right now, Todd Bertuzzi will stay on our (scouting) list but there's certainly a question mark with him and there is a concern with the action that he took,'' Hockey Canada president Bob Nicholson said Thursday from Ottawa.

Bertuzzi was the closest thing to a lock to be on Canada's team for the World Cup, with executive director Wayne Gretzky dropping the winger's name as a probable addition last November.

``There's no doubt that Todd was on the list as a candidate, when you look at the impact of a player he was,'' Jacques Martin, an assistant coach for Canada, said after Ottawa's pre-game skate Thursday in Calgary. ``We'll just have to look and see where he fits now.''

Where he now fits is a good question. With Colorado stars Joe Sakic, Rob Blake and Adam Foote good bets to keep their spots on the team after helping Canada win Olympic gold in Salt Lake two years ago, Gretzky may have to ponder what including Bertuzzi on the team would do to Team Canada's dressing room.

The Avalanche stars won't soon forget what Bertuzzi did to their teammate.

``We want character guys and we need good chemistry,'' Nicholson said. ``Todd really knew his action was wrong, and it's something we'll have to consider as we build our team.''

One thing's for sure, Bertuzzi will not be skating for Canada at the April 24-May 9 world hockey championships in Prague, the annual tournament run under the auspices of the International Ice Hockey Tournament.

Sources indicate the IIHF would not allow Bertuzzi to play in Prague, observing an unwritten understanding with the NHL to respect each other's suspensions. It's exactly what the IIHF did in 2000 when suspended NHLer Marty McSorley tried to play in England for a club team coached by his brother.

``The chances that the IIHF would allow a suspended Bertuzzi to play in the Czech Republic are slim, too say the least,'' said an IIHF official.

Cheers,
Aquaman

 

[Aquaman]

McKenzie: NHL hit the mark

TSN.ca Staff

3/11/2004

The Vancouver Canucks, from Brian Burke to Marc Crawford to Todd Bertuzzi, are by all accounts upset and agitated with the severity of Bertuzzi's season-ending suspension and the $250,000 fine to the team.

Other segments of the population, the open-line radio extremists and mainstream media that don't spend a lot of time around the game of hockey, seem to be outraged that Bertuzzi wasn't given a life sentence or a one-year ban or a public flogging.

Which probably means the NHL hit the mark just about right.

Let's get a few things straight right off the hop.

The real victim here continues to be Colorado's Steve Moore. He suffered the injuries in every sense of the word.

But it is okay to feel bad for Todd Bertuzzi. He is not an evil man. He's not a bad person. He is a person who did something bad and for that, he is paying the price, a stiff price.

There is more than $500,000 in lost wages and the 13 regular season games. Those are not insignificant, but the real penalty for him is to miss the time that matters most in the NHL -- the Stanley Cup playoffs -- and what value can you put on the tarnishing of his reputation and the intense emotional upheaval he's enduring now.

In the meantime, he is still the subject of a police investigation that could lead to criminal charges. Whether he will face any civil legal proceedings down the road may have a lot to do with how quickly and completely Moore recovers from his injuries. That, too, will be the basis for commissioner Gary Bettman's decision on whether to reinstate Bertuzzi next season.

And what was a given before -- Bertuzzi's inclusion on Team Canada for the World Cup -- is now up in the air. Team Canada can name Bertuzzi as one of its players on may 15th and Bertuzzi will be able to apply for reinstatement prior to the World Cup training camp. If cleared by Bettman, he can play. If not, Team Canada will be permitted to add a replacement.

All in all, it is a heavy penalty but that one had to be delivered in a forceful matter. It had to be forceful because it wasn't your garden-variety NHL violence; it was linked to a running war of words with threats and part of a bigger picture. The Canucks can argue otherwise but when public threats are made, and then carried out, it's a whole different ball game.

As for the fine, it's heavy, but if that's what it takes for NHL clubs and their personnel to realize that the NHL isn't the wild west and you just can't shoot from the hip and lip, no matter how emotional the games get, then so be it.

A tough week for all concerned, to be sure, but in the end, justice was served.

Cheers,
Aquaman

 

[Aquaman]

McSorley knows Bertuzzi's pain

TSN.ca Staff
3/12/2004

Marty McSorley says he knows what Todd Bertuzzi is going through.

The former NHL enforcer was suspended for one year by the NHL after hitting Vancouver's Donald Brashear in the head with his stick four years ago. McSorley was given the option to apply for reinstatement, but he never did and his playing career came to an end.

As well, McSorley was eventually found guilty in a criminal trial and handed a suspended sentence for assault.

"What I believe Todd is thinking is 'what has happened here?' He's confused," McSorley tells the Vancouver Province. "He's a tough guy who stands up for his teammates and he's now in disbelief as to what's actually happened. Everything goes so fast. And then everything piles on."

McSorley, who is now a coach within the Phoenix Coyotes organization, says he has tremendous sympathy for Steve Moore and what his family is going through.

"I'm not downplaying in any way what has happened here," he said.

"I'm 100 per cent sure Todd had zero intention of doing what has actually happened. He wanted to fight the guy, have him turn and face him so he could beat him up like every other hockey fight. When I was going through this, I was amazed how much people refused to listen to hockey people."

Bertuzzi was suspended on Thursday for the remainder of the season and Stanley Cup playoffs as a result of his attack on Moore earlier this week. He will have to meet with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman prior to training camp to determine his playing status for next season.

Cheers,
Aquaman

 

[Aquaman]

Desperate Oilers host Canucks

The Sports Network
3/12/2004

(Sports Network) - The Vancouver Canucks try to put the Todd Bertuzzi incident behind them tonight when they visit the Edmonton Oilers at Rexall Place.

The Canucks got some bad news Thursday morning when Bertuzzi was suspended for the rest of the regular season and the playoffs for his cheap shot on Colorado's Steve Moore Monday. Vancouver was also slapped with a $250,000 fine.

Bertuzzi's eligibility for the 2004-05 NHL season will be determined by Commissioner Gary Bettman prior to the start of training camp.

During a press conference on Wednesday, Bertuzzi made a tearful apology, just a few hours after a disciplinary hearing for his deliberate hit against Moore. Bertuzzi recorded 17 goals and 43 assists in 69 games this season.

Vancouver began life without Bertuzzi Wednesday night, skating to a 1-1 tie with the Minnesota Wild.

Newly-acquired Geoff Sanderson scored late in the third period to tie it for Vancouver, which is just 1-2-2 in its last five.

The Canucks fell four points behind first-place Colorado in the Northwest Division. Vancouver is four points ahead of fifth-place Dallas and five points back of conference leader Detroit.

Sanderson, despite a previous stint with Vancouver, scored his first goal as a Canuck. In nine games during the 1997-98 season, he posted just three assists before being traded.

The Canucks open a two-game homestand against Ottawa on Saturday night.

Meanwhile, the Oilers were handed a 3-2 overtime loss by the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday night at Rexall Place. Adam Foote scored his second goal of the game on a power play in the extra session to lift the Avalanche.

Tommy Salo was Aebischer's backup on Wednesday. Salo was dealt from Edmonton to Colorado prior to Tuesday's trade deadline and received an ovation from the crowd while leaving the ice following the contest.

Ty Conklin started in net for the Oilers and made 27 saves. Petr Nedved and Georges Laraque scored for Edmonton, which lost for the first time in five games (2-0-2-1) but earned at least a point for the seventh straight game (3-0-2-2).

The Oilers, who are six points behind eighth-place Nashville and Los Angeles in the Western Conference playoff race, played their sixth straight overtime game.

Edmonton plays the third test of a five-game homestand against Ottawa on Sunday.

The Oilers have won two straight against Vancouver after going winless in the previous seven matchups. The Canucks have won seven of the last nine matchups in Edmonton.

Cheers,
Aquaman

 

[jagr10]

You can blame Bertuzzi now for Vancouver not going far in the playoffs. Like they were going far anyways, but now it's easier to blame Bertuzzi.

 

[Aquaman]

Canucks vs Oilers 6pm PST on Sports Net Pacific.

Go Canucks Go!!!

Cheers,
Aquaman

 

[Aquaman]

Originally posted by: jagr10
You can blame Bertuzzi now for Vancouver not going far in the playoffs. Like they were going far anyways, but now it's easier to blame Bertuzzi.

You never know.......... things could happen. When a team gets on a roll (like the Ducks & Wild did last year).......... anything could happen. Look at the Canucks of 82' and 94' They got on rolls and went to the finals.

I have a 12 year theory.......... the Canucks go to the Cup final every 12 years

So watch out in 2006

Cheers,
Aquaman

 

[jagr10]

Originally posted by: Aquaman

Originally posted by: jagr10
You can blame Bertuzzi now for Vancouver not going far in the playoffs. Like they were going far anyways, but now it's easier to blame Bertuzzi.

You never know.......... things could happen. When a team gets on a roll (like the Ducks & Wild did last year).......... anything could happen. Look at the Canucks of 82' and 94' They got on rolls and went to the finals.

I have a 12 year theory.......... the Canucks go to the Cup final every 12 years

So watch out in 2006

Cheers,
Aquaman

The way Calgary and San Jose have been playing they seem to be last year's anaheim.

 

[Aquaman]

Originally posted by: jagr10

Originally posted by: Aquaman

Originally posted by: jagr10
You can blame Bertuzzi now for Vancouver not going far in the playoffs. Like they were going far anyways, but now it's easier to blame Bertuzzi.

You never know.......... things could happen. When a team gets on a roll (like the Ducks & Wild did last year).......... anything could happen. Look at the Canucks of 82' and 94' They got on rolls and went to the finals.

I have a 12 year theory.......... the Canucks go to the Cup final every 12 years

So watch out in 2006

Cheers,
Aquaman

The way Calgary and San Jose have been playing they seem to be last year's anaheim.

San Jose may be faltering.......... with the lose of Marco Sturm and the Stars resurgance.......... I think maybe they may switch places in the rankings.

Cheers,
Aquaman

 

[Aquaman]

Bertuzzi wants to speak with Moore

Canadian Press
3/12/2004

TORONTO (CP) - Todd Bertuzzi wants a meeting with Steve Moore.

Bertuzzi, the Vancouver Canucks forward who was suspended by the NHL for the rest of the season and perhaps longer for attacking the Colorado rookie, hopes to get an audience with Moore, according to Bertuzzi's agent.

``I made an attempt and called Steve's agent to try and get an agenda of what will happen to Steve in the near future so he and Todd can get together if that's what Steve wants, given that Todd certainly wants to make contact with him to deliver a personal address,'' Pat Morris told The FAN 590, an all-sports Toronto radio station, Friday.

Moore suffered fractures in two vertebrae and a concussion when Bertuzzi sucker-punched the Avalanche forward and piled on top of him as Moore fell face-first on the ice at GM Place Monday.

Morris said Bertuzzi wanted to speak to Moore while he was in Vancouver hospital following the incident.

``We had tried to get in touch with Steve, but he was effectively a non-access patient at the hospital where you needed written permission from the parents to either see him or speak to him, so it was difficult to get in touch,'' Morris said.

``I tried through the Avalanche on behalf of Todd to get a telephone number and some access to Steve, but understandably, was not able not able to do so.''

One purpose of Bertuzzi's tear-filled news conference in Wednesday night was to apologize to Moore.

``Todd was trying to speak to Steve in his press conference,'' Morris said. ``The purpose of the press conference . . . was to answer in a sense what had happened.''

Cheers,
Aquaman

 

[sandorski]

Go Canucks Go!

 

[bootymac]

blah

 

[sandorski]

woot Allen

 

[sandorski]

woot Rucinsky

 

[sandorski]

woot Morrison

 

[sandorski]

wooooooooot Sanderson

 

[bootymac]

:beer: for Sanderson!!!

 

[silverpig]

Burke is a genius. The new guys have been in on every goal since they started playing. I was really impressed with Rucinsky again tonight, and Sanderson wasn't far behind. Whatever happens this year, let's hope that they iron out the CBA and we can have Bert back with the two new guys as well.