Fighting In Hockey: Steve Moore V. Bertuzzi

Hockey, about the only team sport where fighting is an embraced aspect of the game. Under certain circumstances though, where two players square off and referees are close by to break it up at their discretion. So is fighting considered illegal in hockey? Technically all fighting within a game is illegal and will receive a penalty in which the referee decides depending on the circumstances, but it’s usually a five minute major penalty which sends the players involved to “the box”. Fighting is governed by a complex system of unwritten rules that players, coaches, officials and the media refer to as “the code”. So the question is, when does one cross the line and break this code? There is no definite answer to this question but it is popular belief that when a player maliciously attacks another player with an intent to injure, or acts/commits an act out of the normal realm of a one on one fist fight then it is considered breaking the code. In this paper we shall analyze an incident involving current Red Wings forward Todd Bertuzzi. It all started on February 16, 2004 during a Vancouver-Colorado game, a matchup between heated rivals. League leading scorer and team captain Markus Naslund of the Vancouver Canucks was reaching for a puck ahead of him
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