Todd Bertuzzi was born in Sudbury, Ontario on February 2, 1975. Bertuzzi was a big kid that played up due to his size. He was listed as 6’ 2 and 195-lbs at just 15-years old. By the time Bertuzzi was playing pro hockey, he was listed as 6’ 3 and 246-lbs.
In the 1991 OHL Priority Draft, Bertuzzi was selected 5th overall by the Guelph Storm. Bertuzzi had a slow start to his junior career tallying just 7 goals and 21 points in 45 games. He also served a 15 game suspension for kicking an opposing player in a game. In his sophomore season, Bertuzzi found his game and produced 27 goals and 58 points in 60 games. Bertuzzi also had 4 points in 5 playoff games. At the 1993 NHL Draft, Bertuzzi was then selected by the New York Islanders 23rd overall.
After a late summer surgery for bone chips in his elbow, Bertuzzi was returned to Guelph for a 3rd season. Bertuzzi had 28 goals and 82 points in 61 games with the Storm. For the 1994-95 season, Bertuzzi participated in Islanders training camp, but was once again sent down to Guelph after going goalless in three pre-season games. As an overager, Bertuzzi dominated the OHL along with linemate Jeff O’Neil. Bertuzzi set a single-season team record when he registered 54 goals. He finished the year with 118 points in the regular season. Bertuzzi topped it off with a 33 point playoff performance in just 14 games. The Storm were eliminated in the OHL Finals by the Detroit Junior Red Wings. Bertuzzi finished his tenure with the Storm as the 3rd all-time leading scorer with 280 points.
Going into the 1995 season, Bertuzzi was still without an NHL contract. If he remained unsigned by July 7th, he could re-enter the NHL Draft. The Islanders were adamant to sign him and the GM even threatened to re-select him 2nd overall should they not come to terms by the deadline. Luckily, a deal was struck right before the deadline and Bertuzzi signed a 4-year $4.6-Million contract.
Islanders Head Coach Mike Milbury had nothing but praise for Bertuzzi through training camp. Bertuzzi made his NHL debut on October 7th and scored his first goal against Blaine Lacher in a 4-4 tie. Bertuzzi started the year on the Islanders top line alongside Žigmund Pállfy and Travis Green. He finished his rookie season with an impressive 18 goals and 39 points through 76 games. Bertuzzi struggled in his sophomore season and managed to score just 23 points in 64 games.
The Islanders were committed to seeing Bertuzzi succeed but there was also a lot of downward pressure on Bertuzzi after failing to improve off of his rookie season. The club hired former power forward Clark Gillies to mentor Bertuzzi. Gillies had an infamous line regarding Bertuzzi, “if you’re built like a freight train, you can’t drive around like a Volkswagen.”
Despite the help, Bertuzzi officially requested a trade during the 1996-97 season. Mike Milbury had then taken over as GM and demoted Bertuzzi to the Utah Grizzlies as punishment. Bertuzzi was later recalled and remained a part of the Islanders for the 1997-98 season. On February 6, 1998, Bertuzzi’s request was granted and he was traded along with Bryan McCabe and a 3rd round pick to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for veteran Trevor Linden.
Bertuzzi found his game in Vancouver and ultimately played his best hockey with the club across an 8 season span. Bertuzzi finished the 1998 season with 6 goals and 15 points in 22 games with the Canucks. Bad luck with injuries limited his play-time in the 1998-99 season. Bertuzzi broke his tibia after being hit by Mattias Ohlund’s slapshot. After returning to the lineup, he tore his ACL in a game on March 5th. Bertuzzi finished his season with 16 points in 32 games.
Bertuzzi returned to action for the 1999-00 season and had a strong bounceback. He set a career-high with 25 goals and 50 points in 80 games. He was recognized as the team’s most exciting player and finished 4th on the team in scoring. The following year, Bertuzzi matched his 25 goals the previous season, but finished with 55 points. Bertuzzi helped Vancouver qualify for the playoffs for the first time in five-years.
Bertuzzi got into some trouble early into the 2001-02 season. He served a 10-game suspension for leaving the bench to join a fight. Situationally, he was trying to help teammate Ed Jovanovski who was being harassed by Colorado’s enforcer (who was sent out on a delayed penalty by Bob Hartley). Despite the suspension, Bertuzzi had a stellar campaign. Midway through the season, Head Coach Marc Crawford put Bertuzzi on a line with Brendan Morrison and Markus Naslund to form the iconic West Coast Express and Bertuzzi flourished. Bertuzzi had 36 goals and 85 points which was 3rd in league scoring despite missing 10 games.
The following season, Bertuzzi qualified for the NHL All-Star game. He finished the 2002-03 campaign with 46 goals and 97 points in 82 games. He was 3rd in the league for goals scored and 5th in the league for points. Bertuzzi earned league wide recognition and finished 5th in Hart Trophy voting that season. Early into the season, Bertuzzi and the Canucks agreed to a four year extension valued at $27.8-Million. Bertuzzi was voted into the all-star game again that season as the West Coast Express continued to dominate opposing teams. Bertuzzi had 17 goals and 60 points in 69 games before facing an indefinite suspension for his on-ice actions against Steve Moore of the Colorado Avalanche. For more on the incident please read the following: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Todd_Bertuzzi%E2%80%93Steve_Moore_incident](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Todd_Bertuzzi%E2%80%93Steve_Moore_incident)
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9. Todd Bertuzzi — 518GP | 188G | 261A | 449P | 1998-2006
Todd Bertuzzi was born in Sudbury, Ontario on February 2, 1975. Bertuzzi was a big kid that played up due to his size. He was listed as 6’ 2 and 195-lbs at just 15-years old. By the time Bertuzzi was playing pro hockey, he was listed as 6’ 3 and 246-lbs.
In the 1991 OHL Priority Draft, Bertuzzi was selected 5th overall by the Guelph Storm. Bertuzzi had a slow start to his junior career tallying just 7 goals and 21 points in 45 games. He also served a 15 game suspension for kicking an opposing player in a game. In his sophomore season, Bertuzzi found his game and produced 27 goals and 58 points in 60 games. Bertuzzi also had 4 points in 5 playoff games. At the 1993 NHL Draft, Bertuzzi was then selected by the New York Islanders 23rd overall.
After a late summer surgery for bone chips in his elbow, Bertuzzi was returned to Guelph for a 3rd season. Bertuzzi had 28 goals and 82 points in 61 games with the Storm. For the 1994-95 season, Bertuzzi participated in Islanders training camp, but was once again sent down to Guelph after going goalless in three pre-season games. As an overager, Bertuzzi dominated the OHL along with linemate Jeff O’Neil. Bertuzzi set a single-season team record when he registered 54 goals. He finished the year with 118 points in the regular season. Bertuzzi topped it off with a 33 point playoff performance in just 14 games. The Storm were eliminated in the OHL Finals by the Detroit Junior Red Wings. Bertuzzi finished his tenure with the Storm as the 3rd all-time leading scorer with 280 points.
Going into the 1995 season, Bertuzzi was still without an NHL contract. If he remained unsigned by July 7th, he could re-enter the NHL Draft. The Islanders were adamant to sign him and the GM even threatened to re-select him 2nd overall should they not come to terms by the deadline. Luckily, a deal was struck right before the deadline and Bertuzzi signed a 4-year $4.6-Million contract.
Islanders Head Coach Mike Milbury had nothing but praise for Bertuzzi through training camp. Bertuzzi made his NHL debut on October 7th and scored his first goal against Blaine Lacher in a 4-4 tie. Bertuzzi started the year on the Islanders top line alongside Žigmund Pállfy and Travis Green. He finished his rookie season with an impressive 18 goals and 39 points through 76 games. Bertuzzi struggled in his sophomore season and managed to score just 23 points in 64 games.
The Islanders were committed to seeing Bertuzzi succeed but there was also a lot of downward pressure on Bertuzzi after failing to improve off of his rookie season. The club hired former power forward Clark Gillies to mentor Bertuzzi. Gillies had an infamous line regarding Bertuzzi, “if you’re built like a freight train, you can’t drive around like a Volkswagen.”
Despite the help, Bertuzzi officially requested a trade during the 1996-97 season. Mike Milbury had then taken over as GM and demoted Bertuzzi to the Utah Grizzlies as punishment. Bertuzzi was later recalled and remained a part of the Islanders for the 1997-98 season. On February 6, 1998, Bertuzzi’s request was granted and he was traded along with Bryan McCabe and a 3rd round pick to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for veteran Trevor Linden.
Bertuzzi found his game in Vancouver and ultimately played his best hockey with the club across an 8 season span. Bertuzzi finished the 1998 season with 6 goals and 15 points in 22 games with the Canucks. Bad luck with injuries limited his play-time in the 1998-99 season. Bertuzzi broke his tibia after being hit by Mattias Ohlund’s slapshot. After returning to the lineup, he tore his ACL in a game on March 5th. Bertuzzi finished his season with 16 points in 32 games.
Bertuzzi returned to action for the 1999-00 season and had a strong bounceback. He set a career-high with 25 goals and 50 points in 80 games. He was recognized as the team’s most exciting player and finished 4th on the team in scoring. The following year, Bertuzzi matched his 25 goals the previous season, but finished with 55 points. Bertuzzi helped Vancouver qualify for the playoffs for the first time in five-years.
Bertuzzi got into some trouble early into the 2001-02 season. He served a 10-game suspension for leaving the bench to join a fight. Situationally, he was trying to help teammate Ed Jovanovski who was being harassed by Colorado’s enforcer (who was sent out on a delayed penalty by Bob Hartley). Despite the suspension, Bertuzzi had a stellar campaign. Midway through the season, Head Coach Marc Crawford put Bertuzzi on a line with Brendan Morrison and Markus Naslund to form the iconic West Coast Express and Bertuzzi flourished. Bertuzzi had 36 goals and 85 points which was 3rd in league scoring despite missing 10 games.
The following season, Bertuzzi qualified for the NHL All-Star game. He finished the 2002-03 campaign with 46 goals and 97 points in 82 games. He was 3rd in the league for goals scored and 5th in the league for points. Bertuzzi earned league wide recognition and finished 5th in Hart Trophy voting that season. Early into the season, Bertuzzi and the Canucks agreed to a four year extension valued at $27.8-Million. Bertuzzi was voted into the all-star game again that season as the West Coast Express continued to dominate opposing teams. Bertuzzi had 17 goals and 60 points in 69 games before facing an indefinite suspension for his on-ice actions against Steve Moore of the Colorado Avalanche. For more on the incident please read the following: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Todd_Bertuzzi%E2%80%93Steve_Moore_incident](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Todd_Bertuzzi%E2%80%93Steve_Moore_incident)
Love Bert
Big baddie, dude was a beast