In other words, has there ever been another case similar to the Avs-Red Wings feud of the 90’s where one incident snowballed into something much worse? Or maybe an isolated incident where a player snapped and did something far beyond protecting a teammate?
Posted Mar 22, 2022, 11:01 PM UTC
Bertuzzi is the only one I can think of off the top of my head
Bertuzzi was so enraged by the hit on Naslund that he waited a month, and didn't even do anything in the other game between the two teams that was played in between.
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No, quite the opposite in fact.
The original hit on Naslund took place on February 16, 2004. Bertuzzi's idiotic barbarian attack took place on March 8, 2004.
In between, the two teams played (March 3), and not a damned thing happened. Naslund played in the game, in fact, but no one went after Moore or anything else.
Bertuzzi undoubtedly came completely unglued because Vancouver was getting their asses kicked in the March 8 game, and just like in every other big game that he ever played in to that point, he was a complete liability. So he decided to attack Moore, while Marc Crawford stood there with that stupid smirk on his face.
Perfectly stated.
Didn't Moore fight someone else? Or am I thinking of McSorley/Brashear?
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And Crawford basically egged everyone on.
Todd Bertuzzi
Bertuzzi Moore is pretty much the worst case scenario of this
During a Bruins-Canadiens game in Boston in 1955, Maurice Richard was slashed by Bruin Hal Laycoe. In response, Richard assaulted Laycoe with his stick, slashing at him multiple times while Laycoe was down on the ice before breaking his (wooden) stick over Laycoe. When a a linesman stepped in to restrain Richard, Richard punched the linesman in the face, knocking him unconscious on the ice. Following the game, Boston police attempted to arrest Richard for assault, but the Canadiens barricaded the locker room door until the NHL promised it would handle the incident internally. Richard was suspended for the remainder of the season. Canadiens fans felt that this suspension was ethnically motivated and that Richard was being unfairly punished. For whatever stupid reason, NHL commissioner Clarence Campbell decided that he would still attend the next game in Montreal in person. During that game, a riot broke out both inside and outside of the arena, doing a million dollars in damage. Campbell was slapped by a fan who made it through security and a tear gas canister was set off by fans near Campbell’s seat inside this arena.
This riot was the beginning of Quebec’s Quiet Revolution, where they pushed back against perceived anti-francophone sentiment in canadien society
Yes this has to be the most important answer here, not to gatekeep too hard or anything but the historical significance of this event is insane. Hockey is a wild game folks
Two things though.
The quiet revolution was not about pushing back against anti francophone sentiment at all. It was about moving on from what was for all intent and purposes a theocratic right wing government led by Maurice Duplessis and the catholic church, pushing Quebec toward a more progressist and modern society.
Second thing is, back then the anti francophone sentiment wasn't just "perceived", even in Quebec. The rich were english and the working class was french and of course there was tension there.
Edit: also just to specify the Rocket Riot (as I like to call it)'s influence on the actual quiet revolution has been romanticized through the years but in truth the "revolution" started when Jean Lesage was elected PM 5 years later. I am sure it played a role in the collective consciousness as it was seen as one of our own standing up to the authority, but I don't think it's accurate to say that the quiet revolution happened or was jump started because of it.
Second thing is, back then the anti francophone sentiment wasn't just "perceived", even in Quebec. The rich were english and the working class was french and of course there was tension there.
THANK YOU. Fuck man, people just act like Québecois make shit up.
"perceived" anti-Francophone sentiment? Not perceived, was, and there's still plenty of it going on today.
Re the riot:
Maurice Richard was the star player for the Montreal Canadiens,[1] and it was common for opponents to provoke him during games. **Teams reportedly sent players onto the ice to purposefully annoy him by yelling ethnic slurs,[**2] hooking, slashing, and holding him as much as possible.[3] Throughout his career, Richard was fined and suspended several times for retaliatory assaults on players and officials,[4][5] including a $250 fine for slapping a linesman in the face less than three months before the March 13, 1955 incident.[6][7] Richard was considered the embodiment of French-Canadians and was a hero during a time when many perceived themselves as second-class citizens.[8][9] He was revered when he fought the "damn English" during games.[10] In his book, The Rocket: A Cultural History of Maurice Richard, Benoît Melançon compares Richard to Major League Baseball's Jackie Robinson by stating that both players represented the possibility for their minority groups to succeed in North America.[11]
During the 1950s, Quebec's industries and natural resources were controlled primarily by English Canadians or Americans.[12] French-speaking Quebecers were the lowest-paid ethnic group in Quebec, which resulted in a sense that control rested with the Anglophone minority.[13][14] Because of this and other factors, there had been growing discontent in the years before the riot. In early 1954, Richard's teammate, Bernie Geoffrion, was suspended in a move seen as anti-Francophone.[15] Following the suspension, Richard, who had a weekly column in the Samedi-Dimanche newspaper, called President Campbell a "dictator" in print. The League in turn forced Richard to retract his statement and discontinue his column. In his 1976 biography of Richard, Jean-Marie Pellerin wrote that his humiliation was shared by all Francophone Quebecers, who were sent running once more by the "English boot".
Re anti-Francophone sentiment:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Quebec_sentiment#Examples
The largest English School Board in the province in 2021! Denied the existence of a Québec nation:
In 2021, Bill 96 was introduced in the Quebec National Assembly, which would strengthen the Charter of the French Language and purport to add clauses to the Constitution of Canada stating that Quebecers form a nation and that French shall be the only official language of Quebec and the common language of the Quebec nation.[86] The English Montreal School Board denied that Quebec is a nation, and requested that the federal government seek a reference concerning the bill in the Supreme Court of Canada.[87]
Why would or should Canada allow French to be the only official language of Quebec?
Because according to the treaty that ceded Quebec to Canada, its none of Canada's business.
Shawn Thornton on Brooks Orpik
Just to add another one. Orpik concussed Erickson with a bad hit, but Orpik wouldn’t answer during play. So Thornton sucker punched him after a whistle and went after him hard.
Orpik forever refused to answer the bell throughout his career.
The whistle was after a second dirty play by Neal, an intentional knee to the head of Marchand, who had been knocked to the ice. Thornton lost his fucking mind and took it out on Orpik -his friend!- for the earlier hit, taking him down and punching him in the face until he lost consciousness. I had Marty McSorley in my head going into this thread but if Brashear's helmet stays on we never hear of that, whereas this one was definitely intentionally taking it too far.
Just want to say love your username.
I don't know if anyone posted Todd Bertuzzi yet, but yeah, Todd Bertuzzi.
Mcsorley almost chopping Brashears head off
I was at that game and this wasn’t really a case of McSorley protecting a teammate. Him and Brashear had already fought each other (I believe twice) earlier in the game, and McSorley was pissed that he didn’t get a convincing win and that Brashear had taunted him after one of the fights. So he decided to goad Brashear into fighting again in the last minutes of the game and ended up swinging his stick at Brashear's head.
Fair enough, still Marty went too far
I just watched the clip because I had this one in my head, too, but I changed my mind. McSorley never played again and I think he went to court over it IIRC so it feels like this is true, but he gives him a decent whack blindside that knocks his helmet off and Brashear was hurt from banging his now-unhelmeted head on the ice. This one has the reputation but I don't think it holds up, as someone who was about to trot this one out too.
Edit: just to be clear, McSorley should not have whacked Brashear, this was a dirty play, etc. Just don't think we'd be talking about this if Brashear's helmet stayed on.
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Nate MacKinnon putting his stick near his face after playing the puck up past Taylor Hall?
Bertuzzi and mcsorley
a lesser known example would be in 2008. Chris Prongers stomp on Ryan Kesler that resulted in an 8 game suspension for Pronger. Pronger on the ducks at the time, and Kesler on the Canucks, were engaged in a play near the boards. Kesler being the aggressor he always was attempted to hit the behomoth that is Chris pronger. The hit didn’t really work out at all, and Kesler found himself laying at prongers feet, while pronger was still standing upright. Kesler always looking for a competitive edge decided to hold on to prongers legs, enough to bother pronger and hinder his movement but almost subtlety enough that the refs weren’t really picking up on it. Pronger is of course bothered by this and manages to loosen Keslers grip on him by moving his body away. At this point Kesler is no longer really hanging on, but is still in a heap in front of pronger. Instead of skating away pronger being arguably one of the meanest players to play in the last 25 years, decides to stomp his skate blade with an intense aggression into Keslers leg. Kesler thankfully for everyone involved, isn’t cut by this and is able to get up after. However the potential of this play being so much worse is insane. This could’ve been one of the biggest stories in the last 25 years of hockey had Kesler been cut. Certainly too far.
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I definitely don't think anyone has mentioned Bertuzzi yet so ill go him
Todd Bertuzzi’s sucker punch on Steve Moore is probably the best example.
It bothers me much-ly when opponents retaliate right Over the top of their teammate who is injured on the ice.
That’s so idiotic.
Hall knocking out Philip Larsson comes to mind.
Fucking Sbisa. Thank god we had Marky who protected him.
Watched that Bertuzzi hit live and was nauseous. Steve Moore just laying facedown in a pool of blood, brutal end to his career.
Huh has anyone mentioned Steve Moore?
Also between the Bruins and Canadiens, Max Pacioretty shoved Zdeno Chara into the glass after Pacioretty scored a game winning overtime goal against Boston in the fall of 2010. The next time these two teams met in 2011 was a fucking blood bath, featuring line brawls, goalie fights, and dozens of penalty minutes. This culminated with Chara interfering with Pacioretty, who was attempting to corral the puck to get a breakaway attempt, lifting Pacioretty up and hitting him into the flat stanchion between the benches in Montreal. Pacioretty was severely injured on the play.
That's also when Dr. Recchi got his degree!
The next time these two teams met in 2011 was a fucking blood bath, featuring line brawls, goalie fights, and dozens of penalty minutes. This culminated with Chara interfering with Pacioretty...
These were two different games:
The Bruins - Habs game of February 9 2011 is still one of the most fun games that I've ever seen. If I were to choose a game to show to someone who's not familiar with hockey, I'd chose this one.
But next game in Montreal, where Pacioretty nearly got decapitated... Oof, that was scary.
Gonna go with a lesser known example I haven't seen.
It's an incident probably nobody remembers I never see it mentionned.
But Todd Bertuzzi
here we go man. Steve Moore hit markus naslund with a dirty hit, gave the leagues reigning mvp a concussion. Naslund was along those lines of like a gaudreau type player per say, as in he was very skilled but almost inept at defending himself against the bigger badder men of the league. So basically naslund wasn’t gonna do shit about the dirty hit that injured him. Fast forward to the Canucks and avalanches game. The following Month. These two teams had a rivalry at the time. And the Canucks wanted to avenge naslund. One of the nastiest/ meanest/ grittiest and after this play dirtiest players to play in the 2000’s was the man himself Todd bertuzzi. Bert challenged Steve Moore to fight, it didn’t work out, I guess Moore declined, Beeruzzi then skated after him and with all his might delivered a powerful right hand hook to the back of Moores helmet. A sucker punch. Knocked Moore out immediately and sent him crashing to the ice, caving his face in from the front as well. Moore ended up suffering immensely from this hit, deals with neck and concussion issues to this day. Career over. Bertuzzi was taken to court over all of this. Big time lawsuit. Moore got a nice settlement, but money of course isn’t a fair trade for a broken body and crushed dreams. I think this answers your question man. The saying ‘go to far’ implies it went to the point that you can never come back from. And that’s what happened here with Todd bertuzzi and Steve Moore.
Moore also fought Brad May earlier in the game where Bertuzzi hit him, he did answer the bell.
yes excellent point. Bertuzzi clearly had aggression and anger inside of him for selfish reasons, and wanted a piece of Moore to himself. Truly unfortunate for Steve Moore, as although he made a dirty play, he did answer the bell and the brand of hockey that was being played back then leads me to believe that it wasn’t a character issue with Moore, and rhat there 100 other players in the league who could’ve easily made the same mistake. Beetuzzi on the other hand was a one of a kind violent motherfucker, who is lucky he was able to have a career after carelessly taking away another players.
(all this being said I do have a bertuzzi Canucks jersey lol)
Moore did not make a dirty play. Naslund was bent over in traffic, turning around trying to fish the puck out of his skates or something. At some point you have to protect yourself a bit, and this was his fault, plain and simple.
I can see how Canucks fans say it’s dirty. Moore was a little “dismissive” about the puck for lack of better word. It seemed like all he cared about was laying Naslund out..which is still a hockey play at the end of the day. More so than Bertuzzi’s attack at least. I know if someone on the Canucks hit Sakic like that I would’ve called it dirty for sure.
It was actually Matt Cooke he fought.
Oh that’s right. May was the one who made the “bounty” comments
Honestly forgot Cooke, Bertuzzi and May were all on the same team. Shithead all stars
Fight Night at the Coliseum. It's a great memory for me and most other Isles fans, but we definitely took it too far.
I'm surprised this didn't come up earlier.
And yes, we did take it a little far.
It was from the Talbot hit that concussed comeau from like an earlier game. Then like mayhem the next time they played.
It was the Talbot hit and Fleury laughing at DP getting his face broken with one punch. I think the team was just fed up with being disrespected at the time. I know Nabokov's refusal to play for us was around this time too.
Oh my God, that's right. I thought DP was part of that fight night, but it was the other game.
DP wasn't even serious going into that fight, if I remember correctly, he was laughing and then Johnson broke his face.
damn really? was he not expecting a serious fight
Brad Marchand licking Ryan Callahan.
Aight imma head out
I have nussing to say. If I speak I am in trouble
Didn’t expect to see this here! Perfect context for it.
Lmao
Take my r/Angryupvote
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