NFL

Canucks: Toss ex-Av's lawsuit

By wire services
Published October 4, 2005

DENVER - Attorneys for the Vancouver Canucks, forward Todd Bertuzzi and others asked a judge Monday to throw out a lawsuit filed by former Colorado Avalanche center Steve Moore over Bertuzzi's on-ice attack in March 2004, saying Moore didn't have enough connections to Colorado to gain the right to sue in state court.

Moore, recovering from injuries sustained in the game in Vancouver, is seeking unspecified damages from the Canucks, the partnership that owns the team, Bertuzzi, former player Brad May, coach Marc Crawford and former general manager Brian Burke.

Moore's attorney, Lee Foreman, told Denver District Judge Shelley Gilman that Moore was a Colorado resident when he was injured March 8, 2004, and when he filed the lawsuit, giving him the right to seek damages in a Colorado court. He also argued that events leading up to Bertuzzi's hit started during a game in Denver Feb. 16, 2004, in which Moore hit Canucks captain Markus Naslund, leaving him with a concussion.

The judge did not indicate when she planned to rule.

After the February game, Bertuzzi, May - who signed with the Avalanche this summer - Crawford and Burke met in Denver and planned Bertuzzi's hit as retaliation, Foreman said. He also said Bertuzzi, May and other players threatened Moore after that game and during a March 3, 2004, game in Denver.

Bertuzzi faced up to 18 months in prison after Vancouver authorities charged him with assault. He pleaded guilty in August and was sentenced to probation and community service.

He also was reinstated to the NHL in August after being indefinitely suspended. He missed the Canucks' final 13 regular-season games and the Stanley Cup playoffs in 2004.

Moore missed 12 regular-season games and 12 playoff games last season after sustaining three fractured vertebrae in his neck, a concussion and other injuries when Bertuzzi grabbed him from behind, punched him on the head and then drove his head into the ice. Moore is an unrestricted free agent, but testified in court Monday that Avalanche officials have told him they plan to sign him to a new contract once his doctors clear him to play again.

REFS TO DON MIKES: The league will require its referees to wear microphones this season starting Wednesday, when the Flyers host the Rangers on opening night. Officials have been "miked" during NFL games since 1975. The microphones are expected to be connected to the sound systems of most arenas.

AVALANCHE: Curtis Leschyshyn retired, ending a 16-year career in which he was a key part of the team's championship in 1996. The 36-year-old defenseman returned to Colorado this offseason and was competing for a roster spot.

BLUE JACKETS: First-round draft pick Gilbert Brule signed a three-year contract, guaranteeing the 18-year-old center a spot on the opening-night roster.

DUCKS: Defenseman Bruno St. Jacques was acquired from the Hurricanes for right wing Craig Adams.

[Last modified October 4, 2005, 02:15:30]