Steve Moore
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Steve Moore (Born September 22, 1978 in Windsor, Ontario, Canada) is a rookie ice hockey player in the National Hockey League. He was drafted by the Colorado Avalanche in the 1998 NHL Entry Draft, 2nd Round, 53rd overall.
On March 8, 2004, Moore was playing in a game versus the Vancouver Canucks. Late in the game he was punched from behind by Todd Bertuzzi while skating up-ice, knocking him unconscious immediately. In what is generally regarded as a terrible accident, the 240-lb Bertuzzi then fell on top of the collapsing Moore, and the latter sustained a neck injury and concussion, and was taken off the ice on a stretcher.
The incident was suspected by some to have been premeditated as a result of a February 16 game between the two teams in Denver, in which Moore inflicted a hit of dubious legality on Vancouver Canucks captain Markus Näslund, causing him to miss the next three games with a concussion. That incident caused Canucks head coach Marc Crawford to publicly criticize Moore and question the non-call by the referees on the incident.
Other possible factors for Bertuzzi's actions include the rivalry between the two teams, the fact that the home Canucks were losing badly at that point in the game, and that Moore had just refused to fight Bertuzzi (Moore having already fought the Canucks' Brad May earlier in the game). Some have also questioned why Colorado coach Tony Granato had sent Moore out late in a game that was so lopsided.
On March 22, 2004, Moore was released from a Denver-area hospital. He is expected to wear a neck brace for 6 to 12 weeks and begin physical therapy after he recovers from his neck injury and concussion.
As of December 22, 2004, Moore was back to doing light workouts, but had not resumed skating or playing hockey. [1] (http://denverpost.ezboard.com/fdenverpostsportsfrm8.showMessage?topicID=363.topic) Several news sources speculated that he would file a civil lawsuit against Bertuzzi, but in December 2004, he publicly stated that he would not do that unless doctors told him that he could never resume playing in the NHL. [2] (http://www.cbc.ca/story/sports/national/2004/12/23/Sports/moore041223.html) However, on February 17, 2005, one day after the 2004-05 NHL season was canceled, he filed a lawsuit against Bertuzzi, May, Brian Burke (the Canucks' general manager at the time of the incident), and the Canucks team. He had to file the lawsuit then because of the state of Colorado's laws regarding lawsuits. [3] (http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/columns/story?id=1993954)