Todd Bertuzzi–Steve Moore incident

Bertuzzi was assessed a match penalty and ejected from the game. Per league rules, he was also suspended indefinitely pending a ruling from Bettman. On the morning of his apology, he attended a disciplinary hearing with NHL officials in Toronto, along with his agent, Pat Morris, and Brian Burke.[12] The following day, on March 11, 2004, the league ruled he would remain suspended for at least the remainder of the Canucks' season, which ultimately cost him the final 13 games of the regular season plus seven playoff games. The Canucks were additionally fined $250,000.[9] While the following NHL season was suspended due to the 2004–05 lockout, many players went overseas to play in Europe. Upon learning that Bertuzzi was intending to do the same, the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) extended his NHL suspension to cover their jurisdiction. He did, however, participate with other NHL players in a December 2004 charity game, held in Vancouver. The game was organized by Brad May in partnership with the Vancouver Giants, a junior club in the Western Hockey League (WHL), and raised funds for Canuck Place, a Vancouver children's hospice sponsored by the Canucks. Bertuzzi received a standing ovation from the sellout crowd.[13]

Though the NHL lockout had not yet been resolved between the league and the players, Bettman scheduled a reinstatement hearing for Bertuzzi on April 26, 2005. The hearing was attended separately by Bertuzzi and Moore.[14] After the lockout officially ended and the NHL was set to resume play for the 2005–06 season, Bettman announced Bertuzzi's reinstatement on August 8, citing that "Mr. Bertuzzi ha[d] paid a very significant price for his conduct," adding that he felt Bertuzzi was "genuinely remorseful and apologetic."[15] Bertuzzi's 17-month suspension caused him to miss a total of 20 games—the fourth-longest suspension in NHL history at the time.[16] The suspension accounted for $501,926.39 in forfeited salary, as well as an approximate $350,000 in lost endorsements. Bettman also cited "uncertainty, anxiety, stress and emotional pain for the Bertuzzi family" resulting from the suspension as a reason for his reinstatement.[14]

Releasing a statement on December 17, 2004, the IIHF described Bertuzzi's actions as "an extremely serious violation of the rules" which put "the sport into disrepute." The decision was based on an IIHF statute which allows it to ban any player from playing internationally if he has been deemed "detrimental to the best interest" of hockey.[17] Suspended by both the NHL and IIHF, Bertuzzi remained professionally inactive during the 2004–05 season. The IIHF's sanction also kept him from representing Canada in the 2004 and 2005 World Championships, as well as the 2004 World Cup.[18]

On the day of his reinstatement, Team Canada's executive director, Wayne Gretzky, offered Bertuzzi a spot on the national team's summer orientation camp in preparation for the 2006 Winter Olympics.[19] A week later, Bertuzzi broke his 17-month-long public silence by again admitting to his mistake and expressing a desire to move on with his life. He stated, "I'm sure just like Steve Moore and his family, it's been difficult for both parties. I know I wish that day never happened. It's been some tough times, but I've got good family and good friends and good peers in the league that have helped me get over the hump and move forward and come through it."[20]

Beyond his NHL and IIHF suspensions, legal action was taken against Bertuzzi in the provincial courts of British Columbia and Ontario, as well as in Colorado state court. After a four-month investigation, the criminal justice branch of the Attorney General of British Columbia announced on June 24, 2004, he was being formally charged with assault causing bodily harm.[21] With the charge, Bertuzzi faced up to one-and-a-half years in prison.[22] Several months later, on December 22, Bertuzzi pleaded guilty to the assault charge after arranging a plea bargain with prosecutors. He was given a conditional discharge requiring 80 hours of community service and one year's probation that additionally prohibited him from playing in any hockey game Moore was competing in. Under Canadian law, Bertuzzi's successful completion of his probationary period precluded him from having a criminal record.[23] Moore expressed disappointment regarding Bertuzzi's discharge and was upset that he was unable to attend the court date, having to issue a written victim statement instead. Moore's lawyer, Tim Danson, was given one day's notice of the court date following Bertuzzi's plea bargain, which he said was insufficient time for Moore to travel to Vancouver.[24]

On February 17, 2005, Moore filed a lawsuit in a Colorado court against Bertuzzi. Also named in the lawsuit were numerous individuals within the Canucks organization, including Brad May (Bertuzzi's teammate at the time who was quoted as saying that there would "definitely be a price on Moore's head" after Moore's hit on Näslund), Brian Burke, Marc Crawford, as well as the Canucks organization as a whole and the Orca Bay Sports and Entertainment company that owned the team. The lawsuit was thrown out in October 2005, as the Colorado judge ruled the case was better suited for Canadian courts, as Moore and all the defendants were Canadian citizens. Planning to appeal the decision,[25] Danson stated publicly the following month that Moore had begun skating and doing regular workouts, but continued to suffer concussion-related symptoms.[25]

Brad May was brought into the case due to his threat that "they put a bounty on him (Moore)".

On February 16, 2006, the day of Bertuzzi's first Olympic game with Team Canada, Moore filed another lawsuit in the Ontario Superior Court against Bertuzzi, the Canucks, and Orca Bay, seeking CAD$15 million in pecuniary damages for loss of income, CAD$1 million for aggravated damages, and CAD$2 million for punitive damages. Moore's parents, who were watching their son on television when the attack happened, also sued, seeking CAD$1.5 million for "negligent infliction of nervous shock and mental distress".[26] Moore's lawyer filed the suit one day before its two-year limitation expired, denying there was any connection between the timing and Bertuzzi's participation in the 2006 Winter Olympics.[22]

In December 2006, NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and top lieutenant Bill Daly facilitated a meeting between Moore's representatives and the defendants in hopes of agreeing on an out-of-court settlement.[27] As court proceedings continued into the next year, Danson misfiled a confidential letter to Bertuzzi's lawyer, Geoffrey Adair, as a public document. The letter revealed that in July 2006, Adair asked Danson in a meeting whether Moore would accept a CAD$1 million settlement; Danson indicated that the figure was insufficient. The letter also revealed that Bertuzzi and Orca Bay subsequently offered a joint settlement of CAD$350,000 in the December 2006 meeting with Bettman several months later, an amount Danson described as insulting.[28]

Marc Crawford was brought into the case because Bertuzzi claimed that he told players during the second intermission that Moore needed to "pay the price".

During the lawsuit's discovery process, Danson asked the Ontario judge to void the formal transfer of Bertuzzi's CAD$1.2 million home in Kitchener, Ontario, to his wife, which occurred five weeks after his actions against Moore. It was argued that the transfer was intended to "make Bertuzzi creditor-proof to the greatest extent possible." Meanwhile, Adair expressed his concern regarding the leaked letter between him and Danson impairing the possibility of a fair trial.[26] In December 2007, Moore further amended the lawsuit, seeking an increased CAD$35 million for loss of income and CAD$3.5 million for the suffering of his parents.[29]

That same month, the Ontario Superior Court released statements pertaining to the lawsuit in which Bertuzzi testified that Crawford was to blame for his actions against Moore, an allegation corroborated by new Canucks general manager Dave Nonis, who was then director of hockey operations for the club. Bertuzzi claimed that Crawford told players during the second intermission of the March 8 game that Moore needed to "pay the price" for his earlier hit against Näslund. Statements filed from Danson further claimed that Crawford had pointed to Moore's name and number on a board in the Canucks' dressing room during the intermission, calling for the players to take action. The Canucks formally denied both parties' claims, saying "At no time did the Vancouver Canucks organization or any of its management and employees, including former coach Mr. Crawford, encourage or promote the incident that occurred between Todd Bertuzzi and Steve Moore."[30]

In lieu of the allegations against Crawford, Bertuzzi filed a third-party complaint against his former coach on March 3, 2008. He alleged that he was contractually obliged to obey Crawford and that the coach should be held personally liable for any legal damages Moore might be awarded in court.[31] In response, Crawford formally stated that Bertuzzi acted in "direct disobedience" to orders from the bench to get off the ice before attacking Moore.[32] The suit was settled between the two in July 2011, though details regarding the agreement were kept undisclosed to Danson and Moore. The following year, a court decision required the settlement details to be revealed as part of the Moore-Bertuzzi trial.[33]

Five years after filing the Ontario suit, Danson told reporters in March 2011 that in order to fully gauge the extent of Moore's injury, the case had not yet proceeded. At the time, he was not yet employed and still experiencing headaches.[34] After several delays, in October 2013 it was announced that the court date for the trial between Steve Moore and the Canucks/Bertuzzi will be September 8, 2014.[35] On July 2, 2014, during Steve Moore's first appearance at his civil trial, he further amended the lawsuit, seeking CAD$68 million in damages, up from CAD$38 million.[36] On August 19, 2014, it was announced that an out-of-court settlement had been reached in Steve Moore's lawsuit. Terms of the settlement are confidential.[37][38]