For the longest time, I hated Todd Bertuzzi. There are several reasons why. He played for the Vancouver Canucks for several years and gave the Detroit Red Wings and their fans fits because they always seemed to match up perfectly in the regular season and the playoffs. He played like a goon, but had the talent to play and not fight. And the incident with Steve Moore. No one can forgive him for that.
When he played with Vancouver, he and Markus Naslund were both just so big and physical and talented that they offered a one-two punch that most teams could not match. Bertuzzi would just plain knock the guy off the puck and skate away, Naslund would use his stick and brain to pick pockets and skate away. How do you counter that? Bertuzzi was also there to protect Naslund, the role of the enforcer/goon. He's what some would call a power forward. He can beat you with his skills and his fists, a great physical combination. The problem is that he came into the NHL about a decade too late to be called a true enforcer and gets labeled a goon because the style of the game had changed. I'm not going to say that there isn't a place for enforcers in the NHL now, they are just more of an anomaly than a frequent sighting on teams. And while he may have relished his role as an enforcer, it put a damper on his career and put his skills as a passer and a scorer not on a back burner, but on a smaller burner perhaps.
Let's talk about enforcement. Let's talk about the Steve Moore incident. It is quite possibly the worst on ice incident I have ever seen. It was retaliation for a hit Moore put on Naslund, a hit that was considered legal by the referees and did not draw a penalty. The hit gave Naslund a concussion and a bone chip in his elbow. A week later, half way through the third period, Bertuzzi punched Moore from behind and drove him to the ice, breaking his neck and ending his career. Bertuzzi became enemy number one throughout all the sports world, regardless of which major sport people were talking about. Bertuzzi held a press conference in which you can tell he was remorseful for what he had done, but the damage was done. His reputation had been tarnished forever.
After that, he was suspended indefinitely and was eventually reinstated. He was traded after the 2006 season and bounced around a little bit (Florida, Anaheim, Calgary) before eventually landing with Detroit. I don't think he could have stayed in Vancouver after this incident. It would have sent a bad message around the league. They wouldn't want to appear to be a safe harbor for dirty players, even if they have been instrumental in your team's success the past few years. He's still a strong, physical player but you don't see him fight. He uses his skills now while playing for the Wings and it's good to see. He has help invigorate the spin-o-rama move during overtime shootouts. It's a thing of beauty to see a huge man use some skills.
He has stayed down since the incident and has quietly put together a nice career, it's just too bad that his name will forever be linked to a bad decision.
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