No surprise here. Saw this coming in December....lawyer bullshit.
Keep in mind here that Moore is suing Bertuzzi, the Canucks and Orca Bay for $38 million in damages, loss of income, etc.

Crawford's defence has stated:

"Just prior to the attack on Moore, Bertuzzi had been on a shift to kill a penalty, had missed the shift change and had remained on the ice for longer than the rest of his line,'' states Crawford's third-party defence.

"After being directed to get off the ice, Bertuzzi was on his way back to the bench when, suddenly and without warning, he turned around and skated back in the direction of Moore . and attacked Moore.

"This was not done under any specific or general direction or encouragement from Crawford, was a direct disobedience of the instruction that Bertuzzi had been given from the bench to get off the ice, and was a violation of Bertuzzi's duties which Crawford could not be expected to have reasonably anticipated, let alone control.''

Back in December of 2007, Moore's lawyer issued a statement saying

that Crawford pointed to Moore’s name and number on a board in the Canucks’ locker room during the second intermission of that game and said "… (Moore) must pay the price."
In an accompanying document, Moore’s lawyer claims Crawford’s statement was disclosed by Bertuzzi while under oath, and by Canucks general manager Dave Nonis.

Oh boy. This isn't even close to being over yet. More distractions for Bertuzzi this year. Good luck, Flames fans!

So who is to blame here? My guess is Crawford, but mostly Bertuzzi. I'm sure Crawford said something like "make the S.O.B. pay", but Bertuzzi took the retribution too far.
A coach saying "make that guy pay the price" isn't anything unusual, it's just that when Bert wrecked Moore's neck and a lawsuit followed, it becomes a technicality. Especially when the finger-pointing starts and nobody wants to pick up the $38 million tab. When is Bertuzzi going to shoulder most of the blame for this and just move on? The damaged relationship between the Canucks, Crawford and Bert is only getting worse and worse. I guess it didn't help matters when the Canucks distanced themselves from Bertuzzi and the situation after they traded him to Florida.
I'm just painting the picture for you. But make no mistake, I think Moore's lawsuit is overboard and a joke. And I really still do hate that coward.
But more than anything I'd rather see this situation resolved.

T Tags: Marc+Crawford+faults+Bertuzzi Steve+Moore+case disobeying+orders