Vancouver Canucks star Todd Bertuzzi was charged Thursday with assault causing bodily harm for his on-ice attack on Colorado's Steve Moore that left the Avalanche player with neck injuries.

The charges were announced by the criminal justice branch of the Ministry of the Attorney General after a four-month investigation.

Bertuzzi has been ordered to appear in provincial court July 9.

If found guilty, Bertuzzi could face a penalty ranging from jail time to an absolute discharge with no criminal record.

"It's unfortunate," Pat Morris, Bertuzzi's agent, said about the decision to charge Bertuzzi. "You hoped the process would have led to an opposite decision. I fully support my client and my friend."

Bertuzzi could face a maximum penalty of 10 years in jail if the trial is held in B.C. Supreme Court. Legal experts say that penalty would be reserved only for the worst cases with repeat offenders and is highly unlikely in this incident.

If the case is heard in B.C. provincial court, the maximum penalty is 18 months. The venue is up to the Crown, which has yet to decide, according to Geoffrey Gaul, director of legal services for the B.C. Criminal Justice Branch of the Ministry of the Attorney General.

On March 8, over 18,000 fans witnessed Bertuzzi attack Moore from behind at Vancouver's GM Place.

With the Avalanche leading 8-2 in a fight-filled contest, the six-foot-four-inch, 235-pound Bertuzzi grabbed Moore from behind at 8:41 of the third period. He sucker-punched the Colorado rookie on the side of his head and then landed on top of the six-foot-two-inch, 205-pound Moore.

Moore crumbled to the ice and was taken to hospital with three fractured vertebrae, facial cuts, significant post-concussion symptoms and "significant amnesia." Nerves in his neck area were also stretched by the hit.

The on-ice incident has been shown repeatedly in television clips broadcast across North America and Europe and spawned arguments over the role of rough justice in hockey.

Doctors don't know when or if Moore, a native of Windsor, Ont., can play hockey again.

Bertuzzi was suspended by the NHL for the rest of the season and the playoffs and must apply for re-instatement before next season. He was also left of Canada's roster for this summer's World Cup of Hockey.

The suspension cost Bertuzzi $501,926.39 US of his $6.8-million salary. The Canucks were also fined $250,000.

NHL vice-president Bill Daly thought the punishment handed down by the league was stiff enough and was disappointed the courts decided to get involved.

"As we stated at the time the suspension was imposed, we believe the League rendered an appropriate decision, one that was stern and swift. We did what we believe was right, for the players involved and the sport as a whole," Daly said in a statement issued on Wednesday.

"We, therefore, would have preferred that the Crown not take this action. Having said that, the Vancouver authorities have made their decision and we remain committed to offering our full cooperation in any way we can."

Bertuzzi's only public comment was a tearful apology two nights after the incident occurred.

"Steve, I just want to apologize for what happened out there," Bertuzzi said. "I had no intention of hurting you. I feel awful for what transpired."

"I don't play the game that way," he added. "I'm not a mean-spirited person. I'm sorry for what happened."

As the teams prepared for the March 8th contest in Vancouver, all that seemed to matter was a battle for first place in the Northwest Division, but there was a contentious history between the two teams, one that ultimately exposed revenge culture in sport.

On Feb. 16, Moore made headlines when he knocked Canucks captain Markus Naslund unconscious with an open-ice shoulder hit to the head at Colorado's Pepsi Center. No penalty was called and no action taken by the NHL in the days that followed, though Naslund missed three games with a concussion.

After the game, Bertuzzi called the officiating a joke, while teammate Brad May indicated a bounty had been placed on the 25-year-old Moore.

Sixteen days later, the teams skated to a 5-5 tie in Colorado. The lone incident was a fight between the Colorado's Peter Worrell and Vancouver's Wade Brookbank. NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and executive vice-president Colin Campbell attended the game.

Bertuzzi isn't the first NHLer to be charged for an on-ice incident.

Marty McSorley, then with the Boston Bruins, was charged with assault after slashing then-Canuck Donald Brashear with a stick to the head in February 2000.

McSorley was convicted of assault with a weapon and given an 18-month conditional discharge.