Today, Monday July 7, 2008, the Flames signed power forward Todd Bertuzzi. I have a theory about this signing. I think that out of all hockey fans, next to the fans of the Colorado Avalanche, Flames fans boo Todd Bertuzzi the hardest. I don’t think Vancouver fans boo him at all, despite him leaving the team a couple of years back. They love that guy like the bad guys in The Goonies loved Sloth. Even though he left them and betrayed them, he’ll always be their gigantic son who’s retard strong. But I digress, my theory is that Brian Burke, former GM of the Vancouver Canucks, and current GM of the Anaheim Ducks, begged Darryl Sutter to sign Big Bert to stop all the booing. Being the father figure he is, he always defended Bertuzzi. He’s always been a strong advocate of Todd, and couldn’t stand idly by and watch hockey fans destroy the big guy’s self-esteem. Why not ask to put the guy in a place that would go from yelling things like “Don’t break his neck, Bertuzzi!” to yelling things like “Break his neck, Bertuzzi!”

Personally, I welcome the acquisition of a big forward like Todd Bertuzzi. The mere thought of a 650 pound Iginla-Cammelleri-Bertuzzi line, would be an awesome change from a line containing a streaky and ureliable Kristian Huselius, and a player like Alex Tanguay who’s had trade thoughts in his mind since the beginning of the 07’ training camp. Although Bertuzzi was very injury prone and mediocre performance-wise in the last couple of seasons (51 points in 82 games in 2 seasons), a fresh start in a hockey fuelled city like Calgary is just what this ailing forward needs to become the all-star tough guy we’ve seen in the past. Playing alongside a player like Iginla would hopefully rekindle a kind of chemistry we have seen with Bertuzzi and Naslund back in Vancouver, or perhaps an even stronger one.