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CALGARY — They filed into the Ed Whalen Media Lounge early yesterday afternoon, the five newest members of the Calgary Flames, the ones charged with helping to lift the team out of the middle of the NHL pack where it has resided these three postlockout seasons.
The last man in the door — No. 7 in your program, No. 1 in your hearts — was also the elephant in the room: big Todd Bertuzzi, accompanied to a makeshift podium by his seven-year-old son, Tag. The Bertuzzis accepted sweaters from general manager Darryl Sutter, posed for pictures and then dad started answering all the obligatory questions: about his legal problems (a lot of variations on "no comment") and about his plans to revitalize his career at the age of 33, in a city where he has often been treated as public enemy No. 1.
"Obviously, I'm well aware that I wasn't the most popular pickup in Calgary Flames history," Bertuzzi conceded, "but at the same time, I think you've got to give it a little time — and give me a chance. If given the chance, I think I can perform and help this team out."
Bertuzzi is, and probably will remain for an indefinite time, a lightning rod for controversy. More than four years after his on-ice attack on the Colorado Avalanche's Steve Moore, there is still a civil action pending in the matter.
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It means that as the Moore lawsuit inches forward, Bertuzzi will almost certainly be drawn into the dance as developments occur. Reporters will dutifully pose their questions, knowing full well no answers will be forthcoming as long as the case is still before an Ontario court.
Sutter, Bertuzzi's new boss, was far more forthcoming about the matter yesterday, saying the organization weighed all the pros and cons before offering Bertuzzi a modest one-year, $1.95-million (U.S.) contract.
"The big thing was full support from the ownership group on down," Sutter said.
"It's a four-and-a-half-year-old story that started up again because there's nothing else to talk about. He's done everything the league wanted him to do. He's apologized publicly, apologized privately — all those things. So ... we've moved on. Everybody's moved on, other than what's left."
What's left is a massive $38-million civil case filed by Moore against Bertuzzi and his former employer, the Vancouver Canucks. The case will probably go to trial this year.
"That's not a distraction at all," Sutter continued. "If it had been fresh and new, it might have been, but it's not.
"Todd wanted to play in Canada and he wanted to play on a good team. He chose to come here. He could have easily done it the other way. He picked good team, good city, knowing full well he was going to face the questions. I give him full marks for that."
Mostly, Bertuzzi tried his best to steer the conversation back to hockey. He is now two full seasons removed from the credible 71-point performance he managed for the Canucks during the first postlockout season. The next season, divided between the Florida Panthers and Detroit Red Wings, was a bust, thanks to a back injury, as he had only 11 points scored in 15 games played.
Last season was supposed to be the year his career came back on the rails — playing in Anaheim for the Stanley Cup defending champion Ducks, in a top-six role, for one of his staunchest defenders in the game, general manager Brian Burke.
Instead, Bertuzzi managed just 14 goals and 40 points in 68 games. He didn't like his role or ice time, and just after the entry draft, he had the final year of his contract bought out by the Ducks.
He then signed with Calgary as an unrestricted free agent.
"I can't lie to you, it's not the jersey I always thought I would wear, especially coming in here as many times as I did with Vancouver," Bertuzzi said. "But at the same time, I've played enough games in here to know what kind of fan base it is and what kind of team they are."
The fact that team captain Jarome Iginla, a 50-goal man last season, endorsed Bertuzzi's acquisition may help smooth the transition. Sutter says he likes Bertuzzi as a right winger (which is also where Iginla plays) and likes Michael Cammalleri, his other key off-season acquisition, on the left side. But at the end of the day, Bertuzzi, Cammalleri and Iginla will eventually get a chance to skate as the team's top line.
Bertuzzi, for one, sounds confident his days as a front-line NHL player have not passed.
Playing in Calgary, he says, means "you're under the gun and under the pressure of having to perform. I'm looking forward to having that kind of pressure."
Properly, Bertuzzi ended a day of interviews this way: "You can only talk so much. You've got to go out and do it on the ice."
