Today In NHL History - Bertuzzi Punches Moore

On March 8th in 2004, the lives of Todd Bertuzzi of the Vancouver Canucks and Colorado Avalanche forward Steve Moore became inextricably linked in a now famous gruesome act of retribution gone wrong.

The seeds of the incident were sewn three weeks earlier, when Moore swept the puck away from Markus Naslund and proceeded to deliver an open ice headshot to the then league leading scorer. The Canucks captain would miss the next three games and never regain his Art Ross form.
With the score 8-2 midway through the final frame of Colorado's next visit to Vancouver, sophomore coach Tony Granato made the rookie mistake of parading Moore in front of the blood thirsty Canucks. Bertuzzi shadowed Moore for the entire shift attempting to engage him, but Moore refused. Bertuzzi then dropped his stick, sucker punched Moore from behind, slipped on his own stick, and drove Moore's head into the ice.

Moore's NHL career ended that moment and Bertuzzi's would never be the same. Bertuzzi was suspended from hockey for 17 months though only missed 20 NHL games owing to the NHL lockout. Despite Bertuzzi's repeated apologies, Moore has never forgiven him.

The incident remained news 10 years after the incident owing to a $60 million lawsuit Moore filed against Bertuzzi and Orca Bay Sports & Entertainment in an Ontario Court. The suit was settled on September 4, 2014, four days before the trial was scheduled to begin.

That's today in NHL history.