I am glad to see him back since I am a Canuck fan. He's an awesome player to watch when he's on his game. His combination of size and skill is incredible. As for his suspension being lifted, the attack on Moore was definitely bad but taken in context, it was not as vicious as it looked. The injuries suffered by Steve Moore were bad but I think that Bertuzzi did not mean for it to turn out that way. Yes, you should be held accountable for the results of your actions no matter what your intent was but we're not talking about a criminal court here. We're talking about hockey/sports. What if it had been a fight and a Bertuzzi blow to Moore's head caused the same injuries? Or if he knocked Moore out and Moore hit the ice with the same end result? I think that many people believe that Bertuzzi set out to break Steve Moore's neck but I highly doubt that.

Like it or not, the sport of hockey does involve violence from time to time. I'm not condoning it but it's the context in which the incident took place. I think Bertuzzi was demonized very quickly and unfortunately here in the States where hockey is given scarce airtime, it was a sensational clip for the media to play over and over and it played right into the typical hockey ignorant view that hockey is all about violence. We fans know it's not. I also think that Todd Bertuzzi is also being judged as a violent person because of his size and demeanor. Just because he's a big guy who doesn't kiss reporters' butts in interviews (he's known to be quite terse with them) doesn't mean he's some kind of vicious animal. I believe his remorse is genuine.

I think the criminal prosecution, the suspension preventing him from playing for Team Canada, and the NHL suspension were sufficient. The strike makes it seem like he didn't really suffer but he did because while every other player was playing in Europe, Bertuzzi was barred. He missed out on money and the chance to play hockey. If that was the intended purpose of a suspension had there been a NHL season, then that goal was met.

Just my $0.02 Canucks fan worth.

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