It was one of the most infamous nights in Vancouver Canucks history and saw former NHL player Marty McSorley being found guilty by a BC provincial court judge for assault with a weapon.
Nearly 25 years ago McSorley whacked Canucks enforcer Donald Brashear in the head with his stick, knocking him unconscious. It happened with just 4.6 seconds left in a game between the Canucks and Boston Bruins on February 21, 2000.
Brashear suffered a concussion and was lucky to be able to return to play 44 days later. McSorley received a one-year suspension, but it effectively ended his 961-game NHL career.
McSorley has returned to Vancouver for an event at Friday night’s Vancouver Giants game and appeared on Sportsnet 650 radio to promote the event.
The interview with Mike Halford and Jason Brough was over 16 minutes long and is well worth a listen.
The conversation quickly turned to the Brashear incident, but McSorley didn’t show much remorse for what he did to the former Canucks winger. The interview got contentious. After seeming to make excuses for what happened, it prompted Brough to say: “It sounds like you still blame Donald Brashear and others besides yourself for the incident.”
McSorley denied that, but he also pointed the finger in a number of different directions.
The 61-year-old still contends that he wasn’t trying to hit Brashear in the head, despite the judge ruling that “Brashear was struck as intended” back in October 2000.
“I gave Donald Brashear a whack, for him to turn around and fight me,” McSorley said. “The stick hit him on the shoulder… I came up from my waist to whack him in the body.”
He also blamed Canucks coach Marc Crawford for putting Brashear on the ice late in the game.
“Why would Marc Crawford do it? He turned to our bench and smiled.”
McSorley also made it clear that he didn’t have much respect for how the former Canucks winger conducted himself.
“Do you know that so many of the tough guys went up to Donald Brashear after the incident and said ‘don’t be such a coward?’”
It became clear during the radio interview that McSorley feels he has the support of hockey fans and that the incident was more of a focus for the media.
“The whole thing leading up to [the trial] and everything, it served a lot of masters, but the vast majority of people were really really great to me,” McSorley said.
Catch up on Halford & Brough with @MikeHalford604 & @SadClubCommish
– @BradyHenderson on Sunday’s #Seahawks game
– @The_Real_Moj talks all things #GreyCup
– @DhaliwalSports w/ a #Canucks game
– former #NHLer Marty McSorley🎧https://t.co/8mtXu3NT9Y pic.twitter.com/ejzfdKdZ9E
— Sportsnet 650 (@Sportsnet650) November 15, 2024
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