Todd Bertuzzi Pleads Guilty and Walks Away

When an NHL player goes to court to answer for his on-ice violence, the result is always the same: a media orgy and not much else.

So it was in 2000, when Marty McSorley went to trial for his chop-down on Donald Brashear. So it was today, when Todd Bertuzzi received a conditional discharge after pleading guilty to a charge of assault causing bodily harm.

The Bertuzzi affair was the most overhyped hockey story of the last several years. The Vancouver Canucks forward was suspended indefinitely after his assult on Steve Moore of the Colorado Avalanche. Moore, who suffered broken vertebrae and a concussion, has not played hockey since.

Moore's lawyer says his client will not file a civil suit. But neither is he willing to forgive and forget.

"I have no desire to interact with (Bertuzzi) in any way," Moore said, in a statement read to the court. "If I'm ever able to play again, I would ask that Todd Bertuzzi never be permitted to play in any sporting activity I'm involved in."