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VANCOUVER — Todd Bertuzzi and Brian Burke sitting beside each other at a news conference Tuesday was a reminder how they once functioned during their swashbuckling days with the Vancouver Canucks a few years ago.
Brothers-in-arms, or at least it seemed like it.
Only this time they represented the Anaheim Ducks, emblazoned on Bertuzzi's grey T-shirt, when he addressed a special media session called by the Ducks in the morning, well before they played the Canucks at General Motors Place.
Burke sat quietly while slimmer, trimmer Bertuzzi answered questions about his return to play against the Canucks for the first time in Vancouver since he was traded in June of 2006.
Todd Bertuzzi listens to a question during a press conference prior to the Anaheim Ducks' game against the Vancouver Canucks in Vancouver Tuesday. (RICHARD LAM/THE CANADIAN PRESS)
Bertuzzi handled replies carefully, saying how he appreciated his 71/2 seasons with the Canucks, thanking management, teammates and fans for their support, even after the infamous Steve Moore incident on March 8, 2004, which left the Colorado Avalanche player injured badly enough that his career hasn't resumed and may never.
“Yeah, it's a little uncomfortable,” Bertuzzi said of the buzz in Vancouver over his return. “Wayne Gretzky getting traded is what you consider a big deal. It's Canada. It's neat to see where [this franchise] is now. I may have had a small part in that.”
So did sometimes bombastic Burke, the former Vancouver GM, who stood by his player after the Moore incident, sitting at the same table days later while Bertuzzi apologized to Moore, his family and NHL fans.
The Canucks had Bertuzzi in their lineup for another full season, after the lost lockout year, after he sat out a 20-game suspension. Then they traded him to the Florida Panthers in a multiplayer deal that sent netminder Roberto Luongo to Vancouver.
“I totally understand,” Bertuzzi said of the trade on the eve of the 2006 NHL entry draft. “They've got a good goalkeeper here. When you don't win, don't make the playoffs, something had to be done. It was tough leaving. I've got great memories of Vancouver.”
Burke decided to team up with Bertuzzi again last summer, signing the unrestricted free agent to a two-year, $8-million (U.S.) contract.
Bertuzzi finished last season with the Detroit Red Wings after a late February trade from the Panthers, but the Wings and Bertuzzi were knocked out of the playoffs by, of all people, the Ducks in the Western Conference final.
“He's a character person,” Burke said of Bertuzzi in a brief review of the Moore incident. “He went to the aid of a teammate and best friend [Markus Naslund].”
Naslund had been checked to the head and concussed by Moore in a game three weeks earlier in Denver. Moore has launched a multimillion-dollar civil suit against Bertuzzi, the Canucks and others that has not yet been settled.
“It's going to be resolved and that will be a good day for hockey in general, not just for Todd,” Burke said.
“I know Todd Bertuzzi is a character person, who thought he was going to the aid of a teammate. As I said at the time, sitting right here, right beside him, I cannot condone what happened that night, but I think what Todd meant to do was well intentioned.
“I think everyone wishes they could turn the clock back, but they can't. I believe that people deserve a second chance, people can make mistakes. I don't think players sit on the bench and say, ‘I'm going to hurt that guy.' Ninety-nine per cent of these hits [in the game today] are reaction hits.
“We demand that these players play at a high level of adrenalin and intensity, and then we're surprised when people cross the line. Well, I'm not.”
Burke's comments Tuesday were made in conjunction with queries about questionable checks this season that have caused injuries. He doesn't want to take hitting out of the game, despite the injuries.
The Anaheim GM was an NHL vice-president before he came to Vancouver as the GM and was in charge of handing out discipline for players who crossed that line.
Burke did credit Bertuzzi for being part of the turnaround of the Vancouver franchise in the late 1990s and early 2000s, along with linemates Naslund and Brendan Morrison, whom he faced in last night's game.
Special to The Globe and Mail
