NHL

Report: Selanne, Avs wanted to forfeit

Team tried to quit game after Bertuzzi attack on Moore

Chuck Stoody / AP

Colorado Avalanche forward Steve Moore is attended to by the team trainer after being punched by Vancouver Canucks star Todd Bertuzzi on March 8.

NBCSports.com news services

updated 7:19 p.m. ET March 22, 2004

Teemu Selanne and other Colorado Avalanche players wanted to leave the ice and forfeit the game after the Vancouver Canuck Todd Bertuzzi's attack on Steve Moore earlier this month, the Toronto Sun reported Monday.

Selanne was also aghast when the Toronto Maple Leafs' Wade Belak took a two-handed swing with his stick to the head of the Avalanche's Ossi Vaananen on Saturday night, the Sun said.

"I don't know what the guys are thinking," Selanne told the Sun after Saturday's game. "I think we have to start paying attention as a union, as players. We can't let these things happen any more. It doesn't matter what the league does, it has to come down to the players.

"I don't know if someone has to die before they're going to learn, but we have to stop this before something really bad happens. There's not enough respect for each other right now, and that's sad. It's bad for hockey and its bad for the players when you don't know what's going to happen."

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"When this thing happened with Bertuzzi, I didn't even want to go on the ice any more," Selanne also told the Sun. "The players were saying the same thing. 'Let's just stop this game right now.' A lot of guys were talking about it, saying, 'Let's just stop this game. It's not a safe place.'"

On March 8, Bertuzzi punched Moore on the head from behind, knocking Moore to the ice. Moore suffered a fractured neck and deep facial lacerations in the ensuing pileup.

Selanne said the Avs' general manager approved the idea of quitting the game following the Bertuzzi-Moore incident.

"Pierre Lacroix came to the bench and said to the referees, 'Stop the game right now. I just talked with the league.' But the referees obviously couldn't do it," Selanne told the Sun.

Selanne told the Sun that the players, and not the league, must prevent actions like Bertuzzi's.

"I think every team should have a meeting and talk about this because we can't let these things happen," he told the newspaper. "I know the coaches tell us to play hard, finish your check, be tough, but there's a line between stupidity and playing hard.

"The bottom line is the guys have to be responsible for what they're doing and be smart. It's all about respect right now. The guys are so fired up. I don't know if they're taking Sudies (Sudafed) or ephedrine or whatever, but guys are not thinking clearly and if that's the case, we've got to fix that problem.

"I think its more something the PA can do than the league."