Todd Bertuzzi’s season is over. And while I still think that he shouldn’t be allowed on the ice before Moore, I think that it’s enough. Bertuzzi says that he had no intention of hurting Steve Moore. That’s obviously a lie. You don’t hit someone from behind, drive them head first into the ice and then continue to throw punches without intending to do harm. I doubt that Bertuzzi meant to break Moore’s neck, but he definitely meant to hurt him.

The NHL must act to break the cycle of vengence. We want to believe that differences can be settled on the ice. But measuring violence against violence is fraught with risk. There is no way to meter out an exact measure of retribution and then just turn it all off. It’s too tempting to add just a little bit more. And it just escalates until we have an unconscious player lying in a pool of blood.

The NHL needs to send a clear message that the league will protect the players. And that attempts by teams or players to take vengence into their own hands will not be tolerated.