Sigh.
Let's get this out of the way.
I hate Todd Bertuzzi. I didn't like him prior to the Moore incident and I had no use for him as a human being afterwards. His conduct since, including implicating the Canucks management in the Moore civil case, has only deepened my contempt for the man. He's a violent criminal whose cowardly, injurious act destroyed another man's NHL career and altered his life forever. He also strikes me as a dour, surly, taciturn bully and a potential dressing room cancer.
I've been a Flames fan since I can remember. I watched them lose in the finals in '86 and then win the Cup in Montreal three years later. I stuck by them during the terrible Young Guns years and I turned the other cheek when Marchment was brought on board. I'm probably a Flames fan for life now; my support is forever tied to this Franchise. But I won't raise my arms or my voice for Todd Bertuzzi. I can accept that he's "paid his debt" (insofar as he served his disgustingly light sentence) and I won't begrudge him the remainder of his hockey career - but I don't have to like the guy and I refuse to apologize for him now that he's a Flame. I'll cheer for the goals he scores next year only grudgingly and only because he's wearing Flames colors. Any potential success enjoyed by the team will be tainted - distasteful however sweet.
These are the last words I'll have on this issue. I'll reserve my analysis on Bertuzzi from here on in to strictly pragmatic (ie; his usefulness as a hockey player) terms.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
*as if spoken through gritted teeth*
Bertuzzi probably improves the Calgary Flames, albeit marginally and only because the top 6 forward depth was so painfully thin. I can't speak to what effect the ogre will have on the dressing room, but he can still sort of play...in a lazy, morose and occasionally injured fashion. But he still has soft hands and is tough to move off the puck.
Last season, Bertuzzi scored 14 goals and 40 points for the Ducks in 68 games. He enjoyed the best possible linemates (Getzlaf and Perry?) according to behindthenet and saw some pillowy soft competition (-0.06). His ES advanced stats appear fairly pedestrian given his favorable surroundings, however: 1.98 ESP/60, +0.6 CORSI, 2.98 GF/60 and +9 (Getzlaf was +29 by comparison). Im sure Earl will chime in here (already has in the post below I see) to fill in the gaps with some qualitative takes on his performance for the Ducks. Personally, Bertuzzi has seemed tentative and uninvolved to me since his downfall a few years ago; I don't know if this has to do with his on-going injury concerns or his mental baggage, but, echoing the man himself - "it is what it is".
Perhaps more disconcerting are Bertuzzi's PP numbers from last year. His PP/60 of 2.55 was lower than Doug Weight and MA Bergeron and lower than Iginla's ESP/60 rate of 2.85 (!). That's a really minuscule efficacy rate for a supposed top 6 forward. The kicker is, the team scored 6.80 goals/60 while he was on the ice with the man advantage - so either Bertuzzi was contributing and was unlucky enough that his contributions never ended up on the score sheet, or he happened to share the ice with guys that were actually getting results.
Anyways, Bertuzzi will likely have a similar role in Calgary as he did with Anaheim last year, although with lesser linemates. Example -
Cammalleri-Langkow-Lombardi
Boyd?-Lombardi-Bertuzzi
I would expect the 2nd line to be heavily sheltered in this configuration, with Iginla's trio taking on all comers, another "checking" unit seeing tough competition as frequently as possible with Lombardi's line left to pierce the soft underbelly. One of my concerns looking at that combination now is whether Bertuzzi will be able to keep up with water-bugs like Boyd and Lombo - especially given that one of the primary accusations leveled at the latter player is his trouble "playing with" line-mates due to speed differences. I guess we'll see how it plays out.
Bottom-line:
The good - Bertuzzi is a proven top 6 forward who firms up this squads depth chart where it's desperately needed.
The bad - I'll leave it to Robert Cleave, who said it best in the comments below:
Slow, takes a lot of minor penalties, on the decline. Sure he didn't play defence for the Flames last year?
Seriously, I'm not sure even a league minimum 1 year deal is worth the hassle. He's not exactly known to be a great teammate, and this would put the lie to Sutter's claims of more youth and speed up front. Does Sutter think being in Calgary will get any more out of Bertuzzi than being in Detroit or Anaheim did? Those were two pretty stable environments, and he didn't do much. He had good linemates in both places, and a management group in Anaheim that were in his corner. Leave him to the Atlantas of the league.
The best news is he's only signed for a single year and the dollar figure isn't prohibitive (1.95M).
Here's hoping Keenan can squeeze some use out of the big lug.
UPDATE - I'll add the blogosphere reactions as they come in.
Mirtle.
Puck Daddy Wyshnyski.
Nick doesn't like it either.
Jes Golbez.
Jibblescribbits looks forward to hating the Flames.
Duhatschek frowns disapprovingly:
It was six years ago, in the 2001-02 season, that Bertuzzi chased Iginla and his former Canucks' teammate Marcus Naslund for the NHL scoring title. Iginla finished first with 96 points, Bertuzzi third with 85. Bertuzzi is slow by today's NHL standards, but Iginla's normal centre, Daymond Langkow, isn't exactly fleet of foot either. Once again, the operating philosophy in Calgary seems to be out of step with the rest of the league. As everyone else moves to young and fleet, Calgary continues to load up on experienced and physical. That's the polite way of putting it. It'll be up to Bertuzzi to prove he is more than just old, slow and cranky.
Here's a story from the Flames site on the Bertuzzi signing, with comments from Iginla and Bert himself:
"Jarome is 100 per cent why I am a Calgary Flame. It was exciting talking to him" said Bertuzzi, who signed a one-year deal as a free agent with the Flames on Monday. "We respected each other when we played against each other. I have always respected how Jarome has played and been in that market. He probably could have gone somewhere else be he has always stayed. I'm looking forward to being his teammate.
...
Iginla, who played on Canada's Olympic team with Bertuzzi, said Bertuzzi is a tough competitor and that he is looking forward to playing with him. "I'm excited he is going to join our club. I look forward to playing with him and doing some good things. I know when I played iwth him in the past there was a lot of chemistry. I know there are a lot of guys on our team that are excited."
36 comments:
Im sure Earl will chime in here (already has in the post below I see) to fill in the gaps with some qualitative takes on his performance for the Ducks.
Three things irked the hell out of me about Bertuzzi last year.
a) He had to be carried around by decent linemates, but was a drag on nearly all of them. An easy way to improve anybody's results (especially defensively) was to take Bert off their line. A possible exception was Ryan Carter, a sort of Pahlsson clone, who was a crazy enough backchecker that it seemed he could carry Bert's defensive load. But that was only a passable solution, not an ideal one.
b) As much as we'd love to see Bertuzzi effectively use his side to crash the net, he hardly ever attempted it. As a matter of fact, whenever Bertuzzi did take the initiative to put a shot on goal, my joke was that his "one shot per game quota" was used up. From that point on, he was passing.
c) When Selanne returned, at first Carlyle tried a Bert-Weight-Selanne second line, which on paper wouldn't have been that bad. However, it was horrid, because as soon as either non-Finn got the puck his first instinct was to give the puck straight to Selanne to "let him do the work". It was to the point where I wondered why the opposition didn't just put three guys on Selanne, because Bert and Weight were obviously looking to him for any offense.
These are strictly on-the-ice observations; I actually don't feel as strong a hate towards Bert the felon as you seem to. I'll add that none of these things seem "permanent"; it's quite possible that the Flames get a better version of the guy than the Ducks had (for sure they have a better salary gamble).
Still, it's not a guy I'm angry to see go (even though I was surprised at Burke's buyout). One less deadweight to hide in the forward ranks.
Very well said thus far, good sirs; I echo all your well-thought and intelligent sentiments, and I appreciate your actual hockey analysis of this particular player.
If the Flames manage to win the Cup with this lump of steaming brown stuff actually making a valuable contribution, I will shake my head, mutter "well I'll be damned" under my breath, toast Sutter's genius, and possibly even crack a smile (it would be a bittersweet victory, to be sure).
I would be interested to hear your opinion of the apparent "endorsement" of this signing by our captain? For me, this actually takes a bit of the sting out of this news. Maybe I'm being naive? Or maybe Jarome actually just can't say anything bad about anyone on the planet.
i am never going on vacation again.
i leave sutter along for five minutes and look what effin' happens...
ugh...
WI
(signed in from somebody else's email, again)
Thanks Earl. That puts some meat on the bones of my own perceptions of the guy. There's certainly a reason he's bounced from team to team since the lock-out and I doubt he somehow re-discovers his form in Flames colors.
He'll be a 240 pound top-6 place-holder for the organization this year. That's about it. If he can marginally outscore Nolan...great. I guess.
(signed in from somebody else's email, again)
Dont worry. The lack of capitals always tips me off.
I remember back when Keenan was hired and alot of people wondered out loud how long it would take keenan to fill the team with his players, being a control freak and all.
Well I guess about a year.
Keenan will take Sutter down with him very soon, and it will take the falmes a few years to recover; mark my words.
Sorry, but dont shoot the messanger
keenan vs. sutter... now there's a public fight I'd pay good money to see! :)
Oh wait, this is still about Bertuzzi... count me in the "I kinda like it, but I'm going to have a hard time cheering when he scores" camp.
I'd still rather have had Gelinas though. And if Williams signs for under $3M I'm going to puke.
I think the claim that Keenan might have his fingers in the managerial pie is a legit one with the Bertuzzi signing. The team has now chased away two of my favorite forwards (Huselius, Tanguay) and signed the guy I abhor most in the league in a very short span.
Ugh.
I'd like to know what pictures Bertuzzi has of Keenan to have this love affair forge on now into its third attempt.
The worst part will be the never-ending stories about how much he is hated in every single city. This is red meat for the Denver media alone.
On the plus side, he gets injured easily maybe you'll have the Florida Panther version of Bert: 7 games and then traded for picks at the deadline.
Bertuzzi is a short term risk, but the exposure is large, especially bringing him back to the NW division. Guess who's going to get all the press attention in Colorado and Vancouver? And when Bert decides he isn't going to play ball with even the local Calgary media, his teammates are going to have to answer the questions for him: big distraction.
But lets move on..
Where is going to play? Second line looks the most obvious and he takes over from Nolan, but can he keep up with Lombo? and who do you put on the other wing. Is Boyd ever going to make this team? Moss seems to me the better fit on the other wing, but if Cammalleri doesn't mesh on the first line for whatever reason, you really have to look at Bert on the first line (shudder). Even at 100% health you'd have to think ES+- is going to suffer (in fairness probably with Cammy too), and he probably pulls down ESGF as well as ESGA on either line. The only positive I see is maybe 2nd unit PP, but as MG outlines his PP rates are surprisingly bad. So to review, Bertuzzi probably isn't fast enough for the second line, will reduce ES rates on the first line, his PP production is in decline, he takes up ice time from younger developing players, he's frequently injured (at least those last two may cancel out) he's a clubhouse distraction, a scab the media won't be able to resist picking. Let's hope everything goes perfectly and he gets 40-50 points and the Flames coast into the playoffs, because anything else is just too painful to contemplate in frickin' July.
The only reason I like this move is because as far I can tell, Sutter didn't have a choice. If we didn't get Bertuzzi, we probably would have had David freaking Moss playing on our second line.
It would be nice if the team was in a position where we wouldn't even have to consider picking up guys like Bertuzzi, but the unfortunate reality is that we're a terrible hockey team with zero depth, so we have no choice but to make moves like this.
Ladies and gentlemen, your 2009 Calgary Flames!
Metro:
I come in peace, honest :-).
Just wanted to rattle off a few points in general on the Flames and see where you stand...
I don't have Giordano's cap hit, but from what I can tell this signing puts the Flames slightly over the cap if you include the guys they waived who weren't picked up, does it not? I'm also pretty sure I've read that Sutter said he won't be buying anyone out, so what exactly is going to happen here? Is Warrener going to get paid $2,500,000 to play in the AHL? Or is there a potential destination for Aucoin?
Secondly, the Flames are... at least noticably weaker this year than they were last year, correct? Nolan played much tougher competition than Tuzzi, and isn't as injury prone.... most of the 'sphere seems to think that Cammy is a straight replacement for Huselius...
So that leaves GlenX coming in for Tanguay, which is obviously a huge downgrade, and Giordano replacing Hale, which is a nice, but minor, upgrade.
Sound about right? Are the Flames a playoff team right now? Am I out of my mind to think, that at least on paper, the Oilers have a better team?
pdo: I'd say you're out of your mind. The Oilers have a lot of powerplay specialists and very few defensemen, that means a lot.
pdo:
With the Flames now probably finished for the off-season, I'll likely do a team vs. divisional assessment this week.
Short version: The Flames bottom 6 is much improved while the top 6 is inferior as compared to last year. Flames are probably a play-off bubble squad, with the swing depending on how Kipper plays.
The only reason I like this move is because as far I can tell, Sutter didn't have a choice. If we didn't get Bertuzzi, we probably would have had David freaking Moss playing on our second line.
It would be nice if the team was in a position where we wouldn't even have to consider picking up guys like Bertuzzi, but the unfortunate reality is that we're a terrible hockey team with zero depth, so we have no choice but to make moves like this.
Ladies and gentlemen, your 2009 Calgary Flames!
I think a certain colloquial phrase works here...how's it go again? "better than nuthin'?" Yeah. That's where we're at I guess.
pdo: I'd say you're out of your mind. The Oilers have a lot of powerplay specialists and very few defensemen, that means a lot.
I'm not sold that the Oilers have a guy who can really drive results at 5v5...
The thing is, is it almost looks like we have 3 second pairings. No one you'd love to have against Iginla... but no one who can only play against Primeau. Visnovsky is at one end of that spectrum, Souray at the other. Depending on the steps taken forward and back by the kids, we'll see what happens... but guys like Grebeshkov and Gilbert played quality minutes last year and survived.
So if they can send out a top 4 that includes Gilbert, Grebeshkov, Visnovksy and Staios, I think that's good enough that they hold on.. and then Bobby Smid and Sheldon Souray get cleanup duty.
Short version: The Flames bottom 6 is much improved while the top 6 is inferior as compared to last year. Flames are probably a play-off bubble squad, with the swing depending on how Kipper plays.
Sounds about right; but I think the downgrade in the top 6 is pretty significant.
Iginla
Langkow
Tanguay
Huselius
Lombardi
Nolan
Goes to:
Iginla
Langkow
Cammy
Lombardi
Bertuzzi
... Boyd?
Anyway you slice it, the first two are a year older on the wrong side of 30, and the last 4 all look to be downgrades from the previous year imo... with Tanguay to Cammy being the most glaring problem.
After the Iginla line, whose left to play somebodies?
Of course, if Kipper plays like he can (read: top 5 tender in the league), that puts a lot of problems to rest in Calgary simply by going from mediocre, at best, to stellar goaltending over one season. Very curious to see how that plays out, especially with Kipper being a perennial slow starter and Keenan being Keenan.
Sounds about right; but I think the downgrade in the top 6 is pretty significant.
Iginla
Langkow
Tanguay
Huselius
Lombardi
Nolan
Goes to:
Iginla
Langkow
Cammy
Lombardi
Bertuzzi
... Boyd?
Anyway you slice it, the first two are a year older on the wrong side of 30, and the last 4 all look to be downgrades from the previous year imo... with Tanguay to Cammy being the most glaring problem.
After the Iginla line, whose left to play somebodies?
That'll be the issue. I think Keenan will have to resort to sending out Iginla against the other top guns (which should work, except when playing Detroit) and then hope the rest of the roster can play their counter-parts to evens (unless some combination of Moss/Conroy/Bourque can become some sort of shut-down trio - which is a questionable assumption right now, at best).
Who called it??
in hindsight, I'm not sure why we Calgarians dislike bertuzzi so much? The guy almost won us a Stanley Cup... if not for for his attack on Moore and subsequent suspension, we probably don't get past round 1 in '04!
If we're thanking Bert for unintended consequences then I should probably thank him for today as well: this is - by far - the most hits this blog has gotten in a single day since it's inception.
Well, from ANA's perspective, out goes Bertuzzi and in comes Morrison, and I'm smiling.
Okay okay,
Push comes to shove, he's a $1.95 million top 6 forward. He has more upside, and more recent proven history than his predecessor, but unfortunately comes in with a horrible political tag.
The good news is that it's only a 1-year deal. A 1-year experiment. It works? Great! It doesn't work, it has no significant cap hit and he's buried in the bottom six with a kid excelling and taking his spot and we are better off with him in the line-up, than without.
Other than the public revulsion of having to cheer for a guy that we have spent the last 4 years despising, this could be a good hockey move. A sound hockey move. On paper it makes sense. Take a good player at his lowest value, with hopes that he will excel. We don't have many of those '?' on our roster.
Everyone has been talking about executing the guys who don't have the numbers to support their salaries, so look at this from a hockey perspective. A business perspective. He can be the second line RW/LW that the kids need to take the next step. he could be the mentor that Prust needs to excel in his role. Let it play out for the first 20 games then make your decision. Don't crucify the move until it utterly fails.
I'm more interested in the fact that we are probably the most hated team in the league now. Phaneuf. Bertuzzi. Vandermeer. Prust.
I think that if he feels fan support, and that he's playing for something rather than just collecting a paycheck, he will do much better than he has in the last two Sun-belt teams. Detroit notwithstanding (whom he played okay for 8 games)
Look at it this way. Who would you rather have for almost 2 million +: Tucker? Fedoruk? or Bertuzzi coming into a situation where he wants to excel?
He'll replace Nolan's numbers and then some. Keep in mind he only played 20 games with the kids in Anaheim (Getzlaf & Perry), and I think he could do some damage with langkow and iginla.
I also want to mention that if the flames commit to a strong forecheck, and bertuzzi commits his body (as he's playing for his last contract) he could be a great addition.
There's not too many bodies that can skate on a dump in with Phaneuf and knock him over, and knock him over handily. That's Bertuzzi. Think about the defensemen he's going to play against, and the youth he's going to protect. One of the most vivid Bertuzzi memories I have from last year is Bertuzzi jumping Regehr after he went after Perry. (the infuriating fact that WE got the extra penalty notwithstanding) His soft hands, strong forecheck (god hope he isn't a Sandra Bullock movie on the forecheck) and mean streak seems to fit with current flames philosophy.
Wow, I never thought I would defend this side.
Push comes to shove, he's a $1.95 million top 6 forward. He has more upside, and more recent proven history than his predecessor
I have no issue with the term or salary, as mentioned. However, when you're talking about a 33 year-old player with a history of injuries, serious baggage and generally falling offensive numbers, you can't really talk about "upside" anymore.
Last year, Bert played against nobodies, had just okay numbers at ES and a terrible PP rate. And according to a knowledgeable and obsessive Ducks fan, he was also a defensive liability.
Im very glad he's only 1.95M and that he's around for a 1 year term. He was one of the few options open to the Flames and is potentially replaceable if one of the kids somehow steps up. I think the most we can hope for out of him next season is "merely adequate". If he manages that, I'll be satisfied.
I forgot to bring up Bertuzzi's "other" upside.
If you're at the Saddledome, and Bertuzzi is about to hit anybody into the boards, shout out at the top of your lungs, "HEY BERT! END HIS CAREER!"
People nearby will either have a good laugh or assume you're an insensitive idiot, but either way, good times.
By upside, I mean his offensive contribution at only 1.95 million. Do I wish he was Juice at 1.4 million? Yes. But would I take Doug Weight at 1.75 million over Bertuzzi? No. Seeing this year's free agent frenzy, a 1.95 million signing is like a 1.2 million signing a year ago. It's quite the bargain with someone of Bertuzzi's pedigree.
It's a low risk, high reward. Although he may not be the best human being, but like Tiger Woods, it doesn't matter if he produces.
I'd be more upset with pedestrian play, than limited production with a significant on-ice effort.
He will likely play in the top 6, rather than being a healthy scratch in the press box.
Even in his damaged state he was scoring a point every other game. I honestly think he'll have a positive effect with the linemates he plays with, and if he can stay healthy he can provide offensive numbers that we need.
Would you all be ready to go to battle without a veteran top 6 presence? I think we all knew we needed some more punch.
Would you have sacrificed some youth or draft picks to get that scoring? Think about the alternatives, and what this signing can turn into and the deal seems to be more shrewd and clever.
Like I said, who would you rather have?
Jokinen minus Lombardi & Boyd & future picks?
Tucker?
Fedoruk?
Weight?
Rolston for 4 years?
Ruutu for 3 years at 1.3?
Recchi at 1.25 + bonuses?
even Cooke for 2 years at 1.2? how about Ryan Johnson?
How about Laraque for 3 years at 1.5???
Just let it play out, and see if he hits 70-ish games before we really get angry.
Question, do you think the Flames are engaged in damage control by attaching Iginla's name to the signing? I know it made me feel better.
I feel that the public is dizzy with indecision. On one hand we've disliked him for so long, on the other hand we KNOW that it could be a great signing, and that he got him cheaply. (4 million per just ONE SEASON AGO)
Im not disagreeing with you. You're painting the rosiest scenario. I'll admit it's possible. It's what I hope for. What I expect is something in between that and the worst possible outcome (injured all year, poorest possible performance, etc), but only time can tell.
Wow . . . I can feel the rationalization kicking in as I type.
1) We didn't have much of a choice at this point anyways. It wasn't a strong FA market to start, and a week in it's pretty picked over. It seems Sutter wanted Nolan, but couldn't get him on the appropriate deal.
2) He's a clear second line player on the team, which means there's a better chance that a checker isn't going to have to play out of role. If it's Bertuzzi vs. nothing, then Bertuzzi strengthens the third and fourth lines (while he's healthy).
3) Sutter is clearly learning from his mistakes. There is a huge difference between Bertuzzi and Primeau, Nilson, and Warrener, namely the length of contract. A year from today, none of this will matter. It's a temporary fix, and nothing more.
That being said, for Bertuzzi to be a success this year he is going to have to avoid both injury and sucking. That's a tall order.
I have this sneaking suspicion that Bertuzzi is headed for the left side of the first line, particularly if the stuff about Iginla pushing for the signing is true. That may not be a total disaster for two reasons:
First, he might be able to keep up with a Langkow-Iginla pairing. They're more mid-tempo guys than Lombardi, so it might be a better style fit. Second, moving Cammalleri to Lombardi's line might help with scoring balance, and Lombardi certainly deserves better linemates than what he was subjected to last year. Cammalleri could still be part of the first PP group. That's still not much of a best case scenario, but that's as good as could be hoped for.
Robert:
My thinking is running close to yours, BUT I'm a little more pessimistic. The problem I see is that although a Bertuzzi,Langkow, Iginla line won't get killed ES their goal differential is probably going to go down. That might be a bigger problem if overall GF are down (loss of Juice, Tanguay and Nolan) because then Iggy's line plays more and more and it becomes a bit of a vicious circle. If that's the case, then I'll worry more about an injury to Jarome then one to Bert. The key to making Bertuzzi on the first line work is that the second line will have to pitch in more, and what I think is the real key to the offseason FAs, is that we've got to scrape a PK together out of Borque and GlenX and Conroy and Boyd that can get our PK into the top half of the league. So even though we're all biting our fingernails about Bertuzzi, I think the key guy is going to be Borque.
I like your thinking, Joe, but I think the real keys to next year will be Lombardi, Boyd and Moss. Sutter has been forced to bank hard on all these guys taking a step forward - if Boyd and Lombardi can outscore soft competition and/of if Moss can become an effective checker (Travis Moen, for example), there'll be less emphasis on the Iginla's line carrying the load.
It's possible I guess...but that sure is a boatload of "ifs".
Hey the way I see it, now I can watch one team and see 2 of the top 5 dirtiest players. Bertuzzi will just help the young punk Phaneuf learn his true goon like talents.
Bertuzzi will just help the young punk Phaneuf learn his true goon like talents.
Yeah, the over/under on face-washes probably crept up a little.
Politics vs Hockey:
It's laughable watching others go on and on about the suffering of Steve Moore, and how Todd Bertuzzi is a monster. News-flash: Moore is alive and well, and continues to lead a comfortable life. So what if he can't play hockey? The guy sucked at it anyway. Please stop pretending his life was completely ruined because he was forced out of the NHL, or that Todd Bertuzzi deserves the chair for accidently breaking the clown's neck. If he had truely desired to cripple or kill Moore, then he most certainly would have done it off the ice, and without any apologies...
It seems many hockey fans cannot grasp the true nature of a violent mind, nor are they even remotely capable of putting real suffering into perspective. Hockey is only a game, and not being able to play in the NHL is hardly on the level of murder and torture. Well, to some it might seem so, but to the rest of us, it simply ain't the case...
Enjoy the 2009 season...
So what if he can't play hockey? The guy sucked at it anyway.
The morality of Bertuzzi's act is not adjudicated by the level of his victims skill or worth as a hockey player. I think it's funny that anyone would mention it. Do you think lawyers and doctors should be able to run over bums with impunity? Would you be crying foul if it had been Jarome Iginla rather than Steve Moore?
Please stop pretending his life was completely ruined because he was forced out of the NHL, or that Todd Bertuzzi deserves the chair for accidently breaking the clown's neck.
Not only is this disgusting, it's a strawman. I dont see anyone claiming Bertuzzi should "get the chair". As for Moore - his NHL career, however YOU may personally value it, was probably really, really important to Moore himself. Which is truer test of distress or ruination. In short, it's not your life or career - or neck - that was harmed by Bertuzzi, which is why it seems such a trivial matter to you.
If he had truely desired to cripple or kill Moore, then he most certainly would have done it off the ice, and without any apologies...
As if this bit of sophistry absolves anyone of anything. "I may have stabbed him, but I COULD HAVE shot him". I wonder if any defense lawyers try to run with that in court?
It seems many hockey fans cannot grasp the true nature of a violent mind, nor are they even remotely capable of putting real suffering into perspective.
Well, you ran into it here. Beyond being a hockey nerd, I also have a degree in psychology. For your first point, are you saying that because Bertuzzi isn't a serial killer or sociopath then his action wasn't *really* that bad? I suppose you're privy to Bert's motivations and inner workings are you?
I can't even fathom what your second point is getting at. I suppose Moore's pain and suffering isn't real because it occured on the ice while playing a game? Or, is it because he isn't starving in Africa we should have no real empathy for his predicament?
Hockey is only a game, and not being able to play in the NHL is hardly on the level of murder and torture.
Moore had his neck broken. I can only assume that's a few steps beyond being simply "not pleasant". In addition, hockey wasn't some hobby or past-time for him: it was his primary career mode. In addition, it takes years of dedication, hard work as well as incredible skill to make the NHL - even as a plugger on a 4th line. That was all wiped out by Betuzzi's careless and cowardly action.
Well, to some it might seem so, but to the rest of us, it simply ain't the case...
Right. "The rest of us". Do you speak for a group of callous pricks?
You're trying to claim YOU'RE the one with a balanced a perspective here. You've written off a grevous, career-ending, potentially life-threatening injury sustained through a callous, cowardly action because, as far as I can tell,
1.) the victim "wasn't that good anyways" and
2.) It wasn't, like, the holocaust or something.
I tried not get too far into this, but your comment forced my hand. Look, Bertuzzi apparently served his time and is sussing the civil case out in court. Very well. As I said, I wont begrudge him the rest of his NHL career. The sentence, as far as the NHL is concerned, has been satisfied.
But let's not pretend, 4 years later, that Moore is any less a human being, that his predicament is any less real or unpleasant or that Bertuzzi is any less responsible for the consequences of his actions - however much he may or may not have intended for them to occur.
I think these are the last words I'll have on this issue.
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