Puck Droppings: Todd Bertuzzi suing former coach Crawford

by ryan | March 28, 2008 at 09:43 am

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This suit seems like a long shot on the part of Bertuzzi and I'm surprised after all he's gone through that he chose to pursue this. Sure Crawford should have known better but it's guy who through the punch that made the final decision. Perhaps this is more of strategic/legal move on the part of his lawyers to deflect the suit from Moore to Crawford.

Todd Bertuzzi has filed a lawsuit against former Vancouver Canucks coach Marc Crawford, alleging his negligence contributed to Bertuzzi's infamous sucker punch on ex-Colorado Avalanche forward Steve Moore in March 2004, according to court documents obtained by CBC News.

Bertuzzi was an all-star forward for the Canucks when he hit Moore from behind 8:41 into the third period of a 9-2 loss to the Colorado Avalanche on March 8, 2004.

The punch came after an earlier game in which Moore knocked Vancouver captain Markus Naslund unconscious with an open-ice hit to the head. Moore wasn't penalized on the play.

Bertuzzi's punch left Moore with three broken vertebrae in his neck and a concussion. Moore hasn't played since, and is suing Bertuzzi — now with the Anaheim Ducks — for upward of $38 million. Crawford was not named as a defendant in the suit, but was listed as a third party.

The papers, filed in Toronto by Bertuzzi's lawyers, allege that Crawford — now the coach of the Los Angeles Kings — urged his players in March 2004, including Bertuzzi, to make Moore "pay the price" when he "knew or ought to have known that this was likely to result in injury to Moore."

The papers also contend that Crawford "failed to exercise control over and caution his players against physical aggression toward Moore when he knew or ought to have known that this was likely to result in injury to Moore."