Yeah I'd take his call. I'd also place the call, in fact I'd show up at the hospital.
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VANCOUVER (CP) - Colorado Avalanche forward Steve Moore, sucker-punched from behind by Canucks star Todd Bertuzzi, will miss the rest of the season with a fractured neck as bad blood led to a bad injury.
Bertuzzi, meanwhile, faces the wrath of the NHL and possibly the police.
Moore, a rookie with modest numbers for the Avs, crashed face first to the ice following Bertuzzi's punch in the third period of Colorado's 9-2 win Monday night.
The Canucks power forward landed on top of Moore, who was targeted because of a hit last month that sidelined Vancouver captain Markus Naslund with a concussion.
Police are investigating the incident, which also left Moore with a concussion. He will remain in hospital in Vancouver ``for an indefinite period of time,'' the Avs said.
``Regardless of the fact that this involves a player in the National Hockey League, this will be a routine assault investigation,'' said Const. Sarah Bloor, a spokesman for the Vancouver Police.
``Crown counsel will be responsible for making a decision as to whether or not anyone is charged.''
Bertuzzi has been suspended pending a hearing with the NHL in Toronto on Wednesday.
The league issued a statement saying executive vice-president Colin Campbell, who handles discipline for the NHL, and Bertuzzi would not comment until a disciplinary decision was reached.
The general managers of both teams held separate news conferences Tuesday. Canucks GM Brian Burke said Bertuzzi had planned to meet the media but was ``too distraught to come here today.''
``It's been too emotionally difficult for him,'' he said.
``Right now he's very upset about what happened. In terms of the incident, he's remorseful and relieved that Mr. Moore's injuries at this point appear, that a full recovery should be possible.''
Bertuzzi had tried to contact Moore at the hospital, in addition to trying to speak to the Avalanche trainer, Burke said.
The Canucks GM, while wishing Moore ``nothing but the best in terms of recovering from this injury,'' declined comment on the incident himself.
Colorado GM Pierre Lacroix was also guarded.
``We hope as an organization that Steve will recover,'' Lacroix said, adding more medical tests are planned.
``All I know that his spirit, under the circumstance, is good,'' Lacroix added.
He avoided offering any more medical information, saying that was best left to doctors.
Lacroix also did not want to talk about a criminal investigation, saying he just wanted his player to get well.
``I don't want to think of anything else,'' he said.
It was in Vancouver that Marty McSorley, then with the Boston Bruins, was charged with assault after knocking out then-Canuck Donald Brashear with a stick to the head in February 2000.
McSorley, suspended by the NHL for a year, was convicted of assault and given an 18-month conditional discharge.
Moore's injuries are extensive.
``Exams have revealed that Steve sustained a concussion and a cervical injury (neck fracture) and will be out at least for the remainder of the season,'' head Colorado trainer Pat Karns said in a statement.
``He also suffered deep facial lacerations and abrasions to the forehead, right cheek and upper lip.''
As soon as his condition allows it, the 25-year-old from Windsor, Ont., will be transferred to Craig Hospital in Denver, the statement continued.
On a team stacked with stars, Moore is a checking forward who has four goals and seven assists in 57 games this season, 13th in scoring on the Avs. He has 37 penalty minutes.
Bertuzzi is a bona-fide star, a native of Sudbury, Ont., who signed a $27.8-million US four-year contract in October. While known for his big hits - his hard-hitting checks were featured in a TV commercial for Gatorade - he usually steers away from fights.
He has 17 goals and 43 assists, second best on the Canucks. He also has 122 penalty minutes.
Bertuzzi was suspended 10 games two years ago for coming off the bench to join an on-ice fight.
But bad blood between Colorado and Vancouver, currently No. 2 and No. 4 in the West, had been simmering since Moore's hit on Naslund during a game Feb. 16 in Denver. Naslund suffered a concussion that cost him three games.
Moore wasn't penalized for the hit and the league took no action.
Vancouver coach Marc Crawford called Moore's hit ``a cheap shot by a young kid on a captain, the leading scorer in the league.''
The two teams met in Denver on March 3 but there was little action in a 5-5 tie. That changed Monday night as the score became lopsided in Colorado's favour.
Asked how far over the line Bertuzzi's hit was, Colorado coach Tony Granato said: ``We have too much to offer in our game for something like this. Does it cross the line? Of course it does.''
But Lacroix said the NHL would do the right thing.
``I have full trust they will do the appropriate action.''
The Avs GM also said he had not heard from the Canucks.
``I haven't heard from nobody,'' he said, adding Bertuzzi's agent had made a call to request information.
The Moore injury is the latest black eye for the NHL, following a brawl-filled game last Friday between the Ottawa Senators and Philadelphia Flyers, which set an NHL record of 419 penalty minutes.
And the league will not be pleased that the Bertuzzi bloodbath tarnished NHL trade deadline day - normally a dream day for hockey junkies.
``This is not the way we're going to make people love the sport,'' said Lacroix, who refused to be drawn into further debate.
The Denver Post called the incident ``an ugly piece of frontier justice.''
``Even with the animosity between Colorado and Vancouver seemingly building by the second, nobody expected it to come to this,'' said the Rocky Mountain News.
Bertuzzi received a match penalty for his hit on the Avalanche centre Monday.
The two teams don't meet again during the regular season.
Colorado cancelled a planned skate Tuesday morning at GM Place. The team was to fly to Edmonton later in the day for a game Wednesday against the Oilers.
http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story.asp?id=75668