Vancouver: When It Comes To Bertuzzi, Just Say No

With the news coming out today that Todd Bertuzzi has been waived by the Anaheim Ducks with the intention of being bought out, I'm sure there are many out there in Vancouver who feel it might be a good idea to get 'ol #44 (or #4, whatever he's using these days) back in the fold in the Canucks organization. 

Nostalgia has a way of clouding proper judgement.

While most of us in Vancouver will never forget the two-plus years Bertuzzi was among the most dominant players in the game, we also must remind ourselves not to forget the end of his tenure in Vancouver in which he began to turn into a player unwilling or unable to do the things that once made him so dominant.

Many will say the infamous "Steve Moore incident" was the beginning of the end for Bertuzzi's effectiveness, but what many people outside of Vancouver don't realize is, Todd was already beginning to show the bad habits that would become oh so evident after the Moore fiasco. 

Once the most feared and dominant player in the game, Bertuzzi seemingly decided he was ready (and had the talent) to turn into more of a "finesse" player. 

He abandoned the power game almost completely.  Instead of parking himself in front of the net, he'd do a flyby.  He'd dangle at the blue line instead of dishing it to his line mates and parking himself on top of the opposition goaltender. 

Todd Bertuzzi forgot the single most important thing that brought him the success he had from 2001 until 2004: his size.

The Steve Moore incident merely brought to the forefront the bad habits Todd Bertuzzi was already starting to develop...and then Mike Keenan went crazy.

Bertuzzi was traded to Florida along with Bryan Allen and Alex Auld for Roberto Luongo and Lukas Krajicek in one of the most lopsided trades in modern NHL history. 

Bertuzzi went on to play all of seven games for the Panthers, before the Red Wings decided it was worth the gamble to trade for Bertuzzi for their playoff run in 2006-2007.  Despite being tried with almost every offensive threat the Red Wings had, Bertuzzi was once again ineffective, and saw his ice time constantly fall.

Bertuzzi went into the summer of 2007 as a free agent when his old buddy and former GM in Vancouver Brian Burke came calling and offered him an absurd two year, $8 million contract. 

Bertuzzi managed just 14 goals with the Ducks in 07-08, while once again battling injuries and inconsistencies.  He again saw his ice time decline as the season progressed, despite getting every chance to play with the likes of Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry. 

The end of Bertuzzi's tenure with the Ducks certainly came today with his being put on waivers by his aforementioned good buddy, Brian Burke.

Now his friends and biggest supporters don't even want him on their team.

So now that we've refreshed ourselves on the recent history of one Mr. Bertuzzi, I ask you to name me one reason why he'd be a good fit on a Vancouver team starved for consistency and leadership. 

Bertuzzi, at any price, provides nothing but questions at best, and absolute disaster at worst.  There has been nothing shown by him in the last four years to lead anyone to believe he'll be anything more than the injury prone, inconsistent locker room distraction he has been since scoring 46 goals for the Canucks in 2003.

 So, Vancouver, when it comes to Todd Bertuzzi, just say no.