The Punch That Changed The NHL Forever...

The Todd Beruzzi and Steve Moore incident. One of the worst stories in NHL history. Moore was never the same, and Bertuzzi got charged with minimal penalties. Crazy what the NHL was back then. March 8th, 2004. A date the NHL will never forget...

[@garrett5974]

There's a big difference between big hits, fighting and "violence" in hockey and straight up punching someone in the back the head.

[@AzNightmare]

*I don't remember the quality of TV being this bad back in the days...*

[@walexander8378]

Oh, it was

[@bmbell71]

One thing this misses is the Canucks were getting humiliated on home ice in this game. Bertuzzi's sucker punch came late in the 3rd when the game was over.

[@jn9604]

Todd Bertuzzi should been in jail after this nonsense and should have been banned from the NHL for life. If they make an example of a few of these clowns then maybe players would show a little more respect for each other and we would not have senseless violence like this. His apology was a joke .... what did he think would happen when he took the cowards way with a sucker punch from behind and drove the head into the ice. It was criminal. As usual the league botched it and let him back in the game. At least half his salary for the rest of his playing career should have gone to Moore.

[@PatFrenchLeafsFan1]

I should've thought about it when I would've spoken about it with my friends at school with my Archie Bunker voice. "I'm telling you that Bertuzzi's grandfather was one of the Nazis who killed Anne Frank and her family! That game was like the day JOHN LENNON WAS BRUTALLY MURDERED!! Moore was like Lennon and Bertuzzi was like the guy who killed him! Think Paul Simon or LIghtfoot should write a song about this?! No goddamn way!"

[@lloydbradly307]

At least Bertuzzi seems to be empathetic towards what happened then. Don't like how this guy assumes it's violence because it's called hockey and part of what makes it great is it's physicality but at least this isn't the early two thousands with many fights and more ruggedness.

[@JFK762]

I don't think this incident was what changed how nhl punished its dirty players and hits, I think it more so started when shannahan took over the department of player safety. There was still a lot of dirty hits and plays after this, they just weren't as bold or resulted in a serious injury...only one that came close was Chris Simon's baseball swing, imo way worse than this but hollweg walked away relatively fine. His suspension wasn't as severe as well.

[@PatFrenchLeafsFan1]

I was a Leafs fan at the time and I would've seen this in the news as a tween 11 going on 12. I would've been my school's "Tell it like it is" type of kid who had thoughts about the Bertuzzi Moore incident. I would've called Bertuzzi a "Nazi from Northern Ontario whose grandparents endorsed Hitler and wanted his Grandson to act like a Nazi!"

[@howardcarr9625]

Bertuzzi should have been banned for as long as Moore was on the IR plus one game. Since Moore never returned to the NHL, Bertuzzi should never have been allowed to return either.

[@DC8091]

give your balls a tug kid. besides, it was more than likely the Avs player jumping on them that did the major damage. Regardless, if Moore would of manned up & fought instead of running, he woulda been fine

[@howardcarr9625]

@@DC8091 Oh Snowflake, I watched this live via TV. Moore did fight Cooke in the first to man up for what had happened in the previous game. As for kid, odds are I have programs from the games I attended in the 60s that are older than you are.

[@nunya_business1702]

NHL is to blame for not suspending Moore. The refs let it get out of hand. The league needs to protect the talent not the scrubs like Moore. Keep those players in the bars for brawls

[@DDWyss]

@@nunya_business1702 You misspelled "Bertuzzi".

[@howardcarr9625]

@@nunya_business1702 Education time. The original incident happened February 16, 2004. Moore hit and injured Naslund with no penalty called and league reviewed the play and issued no suspension. they played March 3, 2004 with the NHL Commissioner in attendance without incident. The two teams played again on March 8, 2004 with Moore being challenged by Cooke and fighting him in a draw. That should have closed the book. instead, once Colorado was leading 8-2, Bertuzzi opted to pull his stunt, leaving Moore seriously injured and never able to play the game again. Bertuzzi was suspended indefinitely but the League gave in to pressure for those supporting Bertuzzi and allowed him to play again. With the lockout, Bertuzzi missed a total of 20 games while ending the career, and nearly the life, of an opponent in what has to be labelled one of the worst goon moves in NHL History.

[@jasonjensen6330]

Coward move. Let them see it once you square off.... it was more the facebuster after knocking him out. He would have seen he got him if he was face to face

[@DC8091]

coward move by Moore

[@chrislehman6845]

It still sickens me that Bertuzzi got to play again, and win a Stanley Cup, after this. In my eyes, he forfeited the privilege of playing professional hockey when he committed one of, if not the most, violent play in the history of the game....

[@alexwinter3272]

Bertuzzi never won the Stanley Cup....

[@chrislehman6845]

@@alexwinter3272 could've sworn he was on that '08 team. Looked up his career, and I at least see why I was confused hah he was there before and after it, but not during.

[@RandyDubin]

What Marty McSorley did to Donald Breshear was just as bad, if not worse than this and should be covered in a video as well. Stuff like this is why i don't hold hockey enforcers in high regard.

[@gothaminsanity]

Sarah you're showing the Joseph/Larkin incident and I honestly doubt the leagues mechanisms addressing unnecessary violence

[@tcbowen12]

Such a disgusting act by Bertuzzi. Anything thats not handled face to face has been handled wrong. I just dont understand how someones thought process could ever lead them to handle a situation that way.

[@NGNG-iv8qu]

We need pure hockey, not MMA.

[@Adam-dh3jc]

Moore should of been a man . Fight the first guy that asked and it’s all over after that!

[@briankearns2314]

He did, he fought the first person that challenged him that game. He answered hockey’s unwritten rule. The Canucks and Burtuzzi took it too far.

[@JFK762]

​@@briankearns2314he did not fight the first person who challenged him. Brad may challenged him first, then brookbank, then Kavanagh, then ruutu, then bert. And of all people he cherry picked Cooke, you don't settle a score by fighting Matt Cooke. At least not in 2004 when Cooke was a nobody

[@hockeyislife7686]

You make awesome videos

[@behindtheboards]

Thank you man means a lot!

[@snovalleymama]

as an avs fan, this was so terrible

[@AVSCOUNTRY2024]

Been a Avs fan my whole life don’t forget the Canucks were placing bounties it felt like the way Marc Crawford acted like after the Moore hit on Naslund was definitely bounty like behavior. And the way Moore was targeted too. Crawford won the Stanley Cup with the Avs in 1996 and GM Pierre Lacroix rip Pierre, you figure Crawford would’ve had a little respect for the Avalanche as an Organization

[@peterpulpitpounder]

It's just a dam game.

[@tjp1451]

Dive.

[@russellm785]

Who are the Vancouver Canucks?

[@Peezyxo]

Wtf is a russell

[@russellm785]

@@Peezyxo Holy crap dude, are you sure you don't want to take another crack at it? I won't tell anyone if you delete your first try... You may want to pull an all nighter...

[@Peezyxo]

@@russellm785 again what tf is a russell

[@PatFrenchLeafsFan1]

Also, what I wish should've happened during that Saturday night's Coach's Corner was thar Don Cherry & Ron Maclean should've reenacted the "YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH!!" scene from A Few Good Men to speak about the Bertuzzi Moore incident.

[@PatFrenchLeafsFan1]

Don: You want answers?! Ron: I think I'm enti- Don: WELL, DO YA?!! Ron: Don, I want to know the truth! Don: YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH!!!!

[@dalton7726]

“I never tried to hurt you” is crazy bro

[@wenzosaurus]

it feels illegal to be this early

[@garrett5974]

We're in a special club now.

[@willsk7068]

Never liked marc crawford, he should have got punished big time too. He had something to do with the attack.

[@Rorschachqp]

You play pro hockey, you have to adhere to the code and answer it if you initiate. If you don't, look what happens. Moore by not answering after acting the way he did actually endangered not only himself but possibly some of the more talented teammates as well. Once in the 90s when hockey was expanding rapidly, Chris Chelios was asked why is there fighting in hockey and responded (paraphrased) that hockey is a rough sport and a battle of wills to occupy space on the ice. If you can't have ritualized 1 v 1 fighting to blow off steam, sticks, dirty hits and skate blades come next. Fair fighting prevents that.

[@jonfox4022]

It should be a 5 minute major for not accepting the fight.

[@nickfoster9350]

All of this could have been avoided if only Moore hadn't elbowed Naslund in the head. When you're a nothing player and you injure an NHL superstar with a dirty hit, expect bad things to come your way.

[@jonfox4022]

Imagine if Naslund hadn't made a reckless play for the puck. He probably wouldn't have given Moore a chance to 'elbow' him in the head, as you put it.

[@nickfoster9350]

@@jonfox4022 if Steve Moore simply skated faster than Bertuzzi, he probably would not have been punched him. 🤔

[@peterpulpitpounder]

Permitting players to duke it out is absurd.

[@generalzod2497]

If you eliminate fighting you're creating a much more dangerous situation. Players will start going for dirty hits and major injuries will occur.

[@peterpulpitpounder]

Stiff penalties will temper such behavior... Maybe. :)@@generalzod2497

[@Mike.Hunt.]

Still think Moore had it coming and his own team injured him

[@amsro9094]

Yeah the dog pile after wasn't ideal, but you could see he was limp after the punch to the head and he then fell face first to the ice with Bertuzzi on his back, that neck likely broke on impact when he hit ice.

[@johnohagan5478]

It was this incident that turned me off NHL forever! Especially when players and some of Moores team mates supported and continue to Bertuzzi, including him being selected for Olympic team. They are disgusting cementheads.

[@shawnbenest5756]

The pile on caused the broken neck. Not Bert.

[@daveczarnik6017]

Shutup. Don’t defend that scumbag

[@topperharley7892]

💯

[@amitbhardwaj7516]

Moore ruined Markus Naslund's career! Markus Naslund was the heart and soul of the Canucks!

[@laurenneufeld7107]

Funny how you didn’t address that Moore took out the best player in the game with a dirty hit, targeting the head. And if he had taken his lumps there never would have been an incident. Way worse battles happened between Detroit and Colorado… Bert threw a punch and it went wrong, punches get thrown all the time. Have you watched hockey?!

[@snarzetax]

Wow, dude, were you paid to do this by the Moore family? This is really lazy "journalism" and a seriously biased account of what actually happened. Thumbs down.

[@karvanenpalli8508]

Dude succer punch people and hes your hero? No wonder Canuks hasnt won enything 😂

[@snarzetax]

@@karvanenpalli8508 What are you, related to Moore? Bertuzzi ain't no hero, I don't even like the Canucks, but this vid is just plain bad. It leaves a lot of the facts out, and sympathizes with one of the worst POS to ever play. Moore was a joke of a fourth line player who tried to make a name for himself by headhunting one of the NHL's best players. In interviews, he was remorseless about his own dirty play and wouldn't face the consequences for his own actions. This incident, as someone who is old enough to remember the whole thing actually happen, was Moore's f--k around and find out moment. The public needed a scapegoat and it ended up being Bertuzzi. Meh. But hey, go ahead and swallow all the garbage you want. When someone asks why you're so ignorant, tell them you get your facts from ten minute vids on youtube.

[@DDWyss]

Indeed, your comment does deserve a "thumbs down". I appreciate you providing an honest self-evaluation.

[@DC8091]

@@snarzetax it’s also not mentioned the other Avs player jumping on them, which probably caused the biggest injury.

[@DC8091]

if Moore would of manned up & fought Bert, he’d of been fine, or at least, not as bad off.

[@5ch3nk]

He'd also be fine if he didn't take a ABSOLUTE chicken shit cheap shot like that from behind.

[@karvanenpalli8508]

Typical Canucks player, succer punching

[@bmbell71]

20 years and there's still "fans" victim blaming Moore for this.

[@KillerManzarek]

@@bmbell71 Moore cowardly injured the best player in the league at that time and played the turtle. The Code is the Code and he paid for it. Do you ever heard Marcus Naslund whinning annd crying like Moore does since the last 20 years? Steeve Moore was a Nick Cousins, a Matthew Tkachuk, a Claude Lemieux. Stir shit and turtle.

[@DDWyss]

@@bmbell71 @DC8091 is a troll, not a fan.