BUFFALO, N.Y. - Anniversaries usually give pause for reflection and, depending on the circumstances, can be a time for celebration.

Steve Moore won't be doing any of the latter today, exactly three years after his life changed when, as an Avalanche player, he was attacked by Todd Bertuzzi during a game at General Motors Place in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Moore suffered fractured vertebrae, facial cuts and a concussion when he was sucker-punched and driven to the ice, and he hasn't played since.

"You wonder how different would it be if I would have been playing these last three years," Moore said Wednesday during a telephone interview from the offices of Tim Danson, his Toronto- based attorney.

"When anniversaries come around, it's kind of where it really hits you pretty hard about the amount of time that's gone by," Moore said. "That's when you start to reflect on things and think about what kind of impact this has had on your life and on your career, on the people around you; basically, on everything."

Moore, 28, remains hopeful of resuming his NHL career but said his doctors aren't optimistic it will happen.

In February 2006 in Toronto, Moore and his parents filed a $19.5 million civil lawsuit against Bertuzzi, who was playing for the Vancouver Canucks at the time of the episode.

The Canucks and Orca Bay Hockey Limited Partnership, which owned the team at the time but has since sold it, also were named in the lawsuit.

Danson said representatives from each side have exchanged documents and that the process of cross-examining depositions has begun.

"The priority is to get a date for trial," Danson said.

In the meantime, Moore said he is skating on his own, doing some weight work and cardiovascular exercises with the goal of playing hockey again.

He said he is evaluated by physicians at the Cleveland Clinic and in Toronto "on a fairly regular basis" and is undergoing physical therapy.

"I feel like I'm getting better and better," he said. "I feel like I'm training at a higher level and working out at a higher level than I have in the past. But I've been unable so far to convince the doctors that I'm able to return to contact and to playing.

"That's been my main goal, to try and get healthy and to get in shape and get to the point where the doctors feel comfortable allowing me to play.

"That's what keeps me going every day. Having worked my whole life to get to this point, I'm not willing to just let that pass me by."

Moore said his doctors "are feeling pretty good" about how his neck fractures have healed but that he still is required to undergo therapy.

He said previous symptoms - headaches, mental lethargy and difficulty concentrating - are apparent when his workouts become more serious.

"I'm still feeling some of the effects that I have been all along, things that have been bothering me for too long," said Moore, who lives with his parents in Thornhill, a Toronto suburb. "Walking around the house or driving to the store or things like that, I don't have problems. It's only when I'm really pushing myself physically."

Moore expressed surprise when he was told the 2006-07 Official NHL Guide and Record Book lists him in the retired players section.

"I did not know that," he said. "Certainly, no one checked with me on that. I've not retired. I have to admit that the doctors are not particularly hopeful or optimistic at this point. (But) the fact they haven't told me definitively that there's no chance means that I'm going to continue to push it and try and still make it happen."

Moore said he hasn't had any dealings with Bertuzzi, who was traded from the Canucks to the Florida Panthers after last season and was dealt to the Detroit Red Wings last week.

Asked if he has any desire to speak with Bertuzzi, Moore said: "No, I don't. I try not to judge people, but I think that his actions speak for themselves."

Moore said he doesn't know if his lawsuit against Bertuzzi might cause NHL teams to be leery of giving him an opportunity to play, in the event he receives medical clearance.

"All I know is, I would think that anybody in the same situation as me in my rookie season possibly having their career ended right at the beginning would do the same thing," he said. "I have to assume that people would understand that I've been put in a very difficult situation and I'm just trying to deal with it the best I can.

"I would hope that at least some people would be happy to have me back playing."

TIMELINE

• On Feb. 16, 2004, at the Pepsi Center, Avalanche rookie Steve Moore makes an open-ice hit on Canucks captain Markus Naslund. Naslund suffers a concussion and a cut forehead on the play and misses three games. Moore isn't penalized by game officials for the hit, and league officials deem the hit legal. The Canucks win 1-0.

• In the days that follow, the Canucks vow revenge against Moore, and forward Brad May says, "There's definitely a bounty on his head."

• The teams meet again at the Pepsi Center on March 3, playing to a 5-5 tie. The Canucks don't treat Moore particularly rough, but Matt Cooke tries to start a fight with Moore early in the second period.

• On March 8, 2004, at General Motors Place in Vancouver, British Columbia, in a game the Avalanche wins 9-2, Todd Bertuzzi sucker-punches Moore in the third period and drives him to the ice while landing on the rookie.

• The NHL eventually places Bertuzzi on indefinite suspension - he misses the final 13 regular-season games in 2003-04 and all seven of the Canucks' playoff games - a penalty that costs him about $502,000 in lost salary.

• In December 2004, Bertuzzi pleads guilty in a Vancouver court to a charge of assault causing bodily harm. He is granted a conditional discharge, similar to probation in the U.S., and ordered to perform community service.

• NHL commissioner Gary Bettman reinstates Bertuzzi in August 2005, shortly after a lockout ended that had caused the 2004-05 season to be canceled.

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