SPORTSNET.CA
The Todd Bertuzzi-Steve Moore saga added another chapter on Tuesday as former Vancouver coach Marc Crawford claimed that Bertuzzi acted in “direct disobedience” to instructions from the Canucks bench during the March 8, 2004 NHL game.
In documents filed with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, Crawford pleads that Bertuzzi remained on the ice for longer than the rest of his line. It was the extra time on the ice that led to the infamous confrontation with Moore.
"Just prior to the attack on Moore, Bertuzzi had been on a shift to kill a penalty, had missed the shift change and had remained on the ice for longer than the rest of his line," states Crawford’s third-party defence.
Bertuzzi sought out Moore and punched the Avalanche forward in the back of the head, knocking him to the ice. The subsequent on-ice melee resulted in a broken neck for Moore, ending his NHL career..
"This was not done under any specific or general direction or encouragement from Crawford, was a direct disobedience of the instruction that Bertuzzi had been given from the bench to get off the ice, and was a violation of Bertuzzi’s duties which Crawford could not be expected to have reasonably anticipated, let alone control."
The latest development is in reaction to a third-party claim by Bertuzzi that the coach should pay any damages that are awarded to Moore. Moore and his family previously filed a lawsuit seeking $38 million for loss of income and damages.
