Another Peek Into the Netherworld of Hockey Culture

The captain of the Vancouver Canucks says the lawsuit against his team and his friend is just a money grab by a lousy hockey player.

Steve Moore is suing the Canucks and Todd Bertuzzi in connection with Bertuzzi's attack on him last March.

"I've got no respect for him at all," Markus Naslund told the Vancouver Sun. "Even talking to his teammates, it seems evident he doesn't have a lot of support in hockey."

"This is just a guy who's trying to hit a home run. Someone who wasn't good enough to play. I'm not saying what (Bertuzzi did) was right. But if it was me, I'd be doing everything I could to get back and play and show everyone the character I have... instead of trying to sue everyone."

In Naslund's world, your legal rights depend on how good a player you are. If it was Joe Sakic or Mats Sundin launching a lawsuit, that would presumably be fine with Markus.

Naslund is universally regarded as one of hockey's good guys. So he will only be mildly chided for defending his gutless friend Todd. If the same comments came from Bobby Clarke or Don Cherry, you can bet that enraged columnists and bloggers would be climbing over each other to tear him down.

The campaign to reverse victim and perpetrator is picking up steam. Stay tuned.