Steve Moore – Colorado Avalanche
Steve Moore played just 69 games for Avalanche from 2001-2004, scoring five goals and seven assists. Then his career came to a screeching halt at a Vancouver-Colorado game, which as long been dubbed, “The Bertuzzi incident”. Canucks Todd Bertuzzi just couldn’t get Moore to fight so he did something quite stupid in retaliation. He skated after Moore, punching him in the back of the head, and fell on top of him. Simultaneously, Moore’s teammate Andrei Nikolishin and Bertuzzi’s teammate Sean Pronger also fell on top of Moore as a result of the fight. The combination from the hit, fall, and piling-on caused Moore to sustain three fractured neck vertebrae, facial cuts and a concussion. Moore never played again.
Steve Moore – Colorado Avalanche
Mike Utley – Detroit Lions
It was the 11th game of the season, first play of the fourth quarter on November 17, 1991 against the Los Angeles Rams when everything changed for Utley. He was using a hands-on approach to guard the former Lions QB Erik Kramer when his assignment changed position, Utley went in to knock him down but ended up being the one on the ground, he fell hitting his head and breaking his neck. As he was being taken off the field, he flashed a thumbs up to the crowd and would later find out that he sustained injury to his sixth and seventh cervical vertebrae, causing paralysis from the chest down. Since then he has regained function in his upper extremities, making him a paraplegic. He now runs the Mike Utley Foundation.
Mike Utley – Detroit Lions
