The price was right, the need was there and the baggage ... well, Calgary Flames GM Darryl Sutter says that didn't really factor into his decision to sign notorious free-agent Todd Bertuzzi.
So a player who perpetrated one of the most vicious on-ice attacks in NHL history gets another chance to extend a career than has been on a downward spiral ever since it happened, and to make a couple of million bucks while he's at it.
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| 'I'm excited to come here,' Bertuzzi says about joining the Flames. (Getty Images) |
"I'm excited to come here," Bertuzzi said.
He should be.
Considered one of the league's top forwards in the early part of the decade when he was with the Vancouver Canucks, Bertuzzi has been just a shell of his former self since getting a lengthy suspension for blindsiding Colorado forward Steve Moore in March 2004, an attack that ended the Avalanche forward's career.
Bertuzzi scored 25 goals when he returned to Vancouver after the lockout, but with back problems and a concussion that subsequently hindered him. The league also became more conducive to speedy, skilled players rather than hulking, bruising types, so he connected only 17 times playing for the Florida Panthers, Detroit Red Wings and most recently, Anaheim.
That didn't leave Bertuzzi very high on anyone's must-have list when the free-agent market opened last week. However, with the Flames finding themselves somewhat thin and a little small up front after losing three of their top six forwards this offseason, Sutter decided to reach out to someone who was reviled in Calgary when he played for division-rival Vancouver and still creates controversy in most league precincts.
Even so, the Calgary general manager insisted he didn't spend any time worrying about any of the ancillary issues, like how Flames fans would react (the early blogosphere response has been overwhelmingly negative) or what kind of distraction Bertuzzi might create for a team based in Canada, where he'll likely be forced to deal with questions about his past on a regular -- if not daily -- basis. Sutter said he was thinking only in hockey terms about a deal that made sense to him on several levels.
"When you know what kind of player he is and the money works, everything else is pretty small in the big picture," Sutter said. "The size of our forwards was really important and his ability to play two (winger) positions; it gives us a lot of different options. He's a big guy willing to come in on a one-year deal and we're not overpaying him."
True enough, at least not compared to some of the salaries handed out since the free-agent market opened last week. Still, Sutter did admit that he wouldn't have considered Bertuzzi had he been able to retain veteran forward Owen Nolan, who signed a two-year deal for $5.5 million with the Minnesota Wild a day earlier.
The 35-year-old Nolan scored 16 goals in a decent comeback campaign last season with Calgary, but would not agree to a one-year deal. So Sutter, with a strong recommendation from captain Jarome Iginla, decided Bertuzzi was worth the gamble.
"Again, it goes back to understanding where the player's at," Sutter said. "What's relevant is, what we are going to pay him and where we think he fits. It's a really good fit for us. I don't think you're expecting Todd to come in and be a 30 or 40-goal guy. That's if he was a $4 million or a $5 million player."
For his part, Bertuzzi, who is a favorite of Flames coach Mike Keenan, said he is healthy and feels he can get back to his former level of play.
"Absolutely," he said. "I wouldn't be playing. I would have announced my retirement then.
"Moving around that much, moving my family that much, it takes its toll on your family. It'd be selfish for me to continue doing something like that. Calgary's giving me an opportunity to come in and to get some ice time and play. I still think I can get back up there and contribute what they need."
At least that's the belief of Iginla, who played alongside Bertuzzi for Canada at the 2006 Olympics, and pushed hard for Sutter to sign the free agent.
"Personally, when I played with him there was a lot of chemistry and scoring-wise he can add a lot," Iginla said. "He is a character guy who made a very bad decision that I assure you, if he could take it back, he would. But moving forward, he can help our team."
