Two years ago, Vancouver’s Todd Bertuzzi skated furiously toward the blueline behind Colorado’s Steve Moore and levied a blow that will follow him for the rest of his life. Hockey isn’t exactly a sport where charity and “turning the other cheek” play a major role, so when Bertuzzi brutally drilled Moore from behind, sending him crashing to the ice and breaking several bones in his neck, many people thought it was just another cheap shot in Canada’s favorite pastime.

The police, on the other hand, thought differently. After pleading guilty to criminal assault, Bertuzzi was sentenced to a year’s probation, while Moore was sentenced to a hospital. He hasn’t played in the NHL since.

Bertuzzi’s probation ends this week, so the Canadian hockey powers that be figured it would be a fitting time to reward him for getting through that probation unscathed by placing him on the most powerful hockey team on Earth — the Canadian Olympic team.

Now, Bertuzzi was a stud before all this went down. He had a 46-goal, 97-point season in 2002-2003. The strike ate up most of his suspension, and now he is back playing, and for the last two weeks playing to old form. The question is, are there certain punishments that should maintain, whether passed down by the court of law or the league, that set an example for this kind of behavior? Should it have been unwritten that stupidity isn’t rewarded, and Bertuzzi left off the squad? That’s a debatable question, but I lean toward yes, especially when kids like Sidney Crosby, the new “face” of the NHL, were left off the team.

Then again, if Bertuzzi is left off, shouldn’t Danny Heatley also have not made the squad? After all, he got three years probation for killing his teammate in a 2nd-degree vehicular homicide. Because his offense didn’t occur within the sport, does it make him anymore deserving of a spot than Bertuzzi? The Canadians are apparently forgiving people. I don’t agree. It’s my opinion that until Steve Moore gives the word, or hits the ice himself, Bertuzzi shouldn’t be allowed to lace up skates for even a local pond hockey game.