The way this all happened was 99 parts cheap, brutal, and criminal—and one part ironic.

Everyone who follows hockey knows what this was about from the start. The Canucks saw Moore as an unknown rookie who took out their top scorer and, in a tacit citation of the NHL’s practice of governance-by-sword, thought he deserved to pay.

It could’ve ended when Moore fought Vancouver’s Matt Cooke 6:36 into Monday’s game. But Bertuzzi didn’t think that was enough.

So Bertuzzi—who outweighs Moore by 35 pounds and is known as one of the league’s tougher forwards—took matters into his own hands…by fighting Moore from behind…with a sucker-punch.

The words “inexplicable cowardice” come to mind.

What he did redefines the term “cheap shot.” He could’ve killed the man. There was nothing “cheap” about that.

There is a fine line between making a statement on the ice and endangering someone’s career and life. Bertuzzi not only crossed that line, he doesn’t appear to know it exists.

And oh, about the irony: Canucks coach Marc Crawford argued against Moore’s hit on Naslund on the grounds that it came against a star player. He told the Denver Post that the league has a “responsibility to promote the game” by protecting its big names and said the league’s “credibility goes all down the tubes” when hits such as that go unpunished.

Let’s pause for a moment to consider what Bertuzzi did to the league’s “credibility.”

This hit has instantly become national news. Countless replays have been shown on ESPN. Passionate hockey fans across the United States are out of words when asked to defend their sport’s violent nature.

Sure, the NHL should take care of its stars. That’s a valid concern. But there’s no reason that protecting top players involves the endangerment of another man’s life and livelihood, which is what took place Monday night.

This has become one of the biggest hockey stories of the yer, alongside the fact that the NHL is slipping toward financial ruin.

Talk about credibility going down the tubes. And we wonder why ledgers around the league are drowning in red ink.

FITTING THE CRIME

Sometimes, we watch hockey as if it’s a video game. We cheer every vicious check. We like big hits. When someone gets blindsided at center ice, we slap our buddy on the arm and say, “Ho-ho! Did you see that?!”